By Christopher McLaughlin
After being only one week into practice, men’s soccer head coach Shaun Green is very optimistic about the upcoming season.
“I’m very excited about the upcoming season,” said Green. “We’ve got both players and coaches who are willing to give 110 percent so it will make for an interesting season.”
With returning captain Robert Cavener and newly appointed co-captain Connor Smith, CCSU looks to have one of the best midfield tandems in the NEC.
“Each player brings a ton of leadership. It was a no-brainer to make Smith a captain this year; we’re really looking forward to them working together to lead the team,” said Green.
With about half of the new recruits being defenders, it’s clear that this year the focus for CCSU soccer will be defense.
“We understand that we’re in a building year,” says Green. “ We’re in the first year of a two year plan with the focus of this year being defense. Next year we will focus on recruiting more offense.”
By bolstering their defense Central looks to be more competitive in a very difficult NEC conference. The improved defense will take the pressure off of an offense that will retain four of its top five point producers from last year.
Without taking a hit to the offensive production, the improved depth of the defense will help CCSU keep games closer and help CCSU pick up more wins as they look to comeback strong after an off year last year.
After losing two senior goalkeepers the battle for the starting spot begins with Anthony Occhialini and James Perkins.
“Both men have worked really hard for the starting spot,” says Green. “Each time it looks like it’s going one way, the other steps up and makes us reconsider.”
After winning the Nike New Hampshire classic last year to start their season, CCSU looks to repeat when they compete there at the start of September.
“Since we won the Nike Classic last year, we expect that bull’s eye to be on our backs when we go up there this year, but that doesn’t mean that our guys can’t pull out another win,” says Green.
The Men’s soccer season begins on Sept. 4 in New Hampshire, and the first home game takes place on Sept. 22 vs. Siena. The game against Siena is a game that Coach Green has already circled on his calendar and has begun to psych his team up for.
“Last season Siena beat us in a tough road game, so this year when they come to us we’re going to come out with a chip on our shoulders looking for redemption,” Green said.
With the start of the regular season looming, Coach Green and the Blue Devils are quickly getting ready. After winning a scrimmage over Hartford last Wednesday, Coach Green is really liking what he sees.
“We won a game in which we didn’t have our strongest squads on the field,” said Green. “Four of the goals were scored by new recruits so we are really getting excited to see what these kids can do this year.”
After a rough season last year the Blue Devils are looking to bounce back in a big way as they look to get off to a strong start and not let up.
“We realize that we’re in a tough division, we’ve got teams like Monmouth who were ranked 5th in the nation last year,” said Green. “We’ve got a tough schedule too playing good out of conference teams, but we still like our chances. Nobody’s won anything yet.”