The Monmouth University men’s soccer team is still the team to beat in the Northeast Conference. In the NEC coaches preseason poll, the Hawks were once again picked to win the conference championship.
PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Top: Monmouth University’s Drew Von Bargen (15) takes to the air to avoid contact with the Mercer County goalie during a home soccer scrimmage on Aug. 24. Coach Robert McCourt’s Hawks from West Long Branch have won the last four NEC regular season titles.
Finishing second in the coaches preseason poll was Fairleigh Dickinson, the 2008 NEC Tournament champions. Quinnipiac was third in the coaches poll on the eve of the 2009 season.
Monmouth (12-3-4 in 2008) has two returning standouts in forwards Chase Barbieri (Hillsborough) and Ryan Kinne (Naugatuck, Conn.) who have been named to the Hermann Trophy watch list for 2009.
The Hermann Trophy is awarded to the top player in NCAA Division I men’s soccer at the conclusion of the season.
Barbieri was the Hawks’ clutch scorer in 2008, scoring six game-winning goals, including the overtime tally against Central Connecticut State that won the regular season title for the Hawks.
Monmouth’s Ryan Kinne (10) works the ball against a Mercer player. Kinne and Barbieri, who are both juniors, led the Hawks in goal scoring with 10 goals each. Kinne added six assists for a total of 26 points, fourth best in the NEC. Both players were All-North Atlantic Region First Team picks a year ago.
The Hawks are secure in goal with Bryan Meredith (Scotch Plains). The junior is coming off a season in which he registered a conference leading 10 shutouts and had a 0.54 goals against average.
Also returning to the defensive backfield is veteran Daniel Bostock (Nottingham), a senior.
Monmouth received a lot of help from its freshman class last year and McCourt expects big things from that group of players, now sophomores, in 2009. Among last year’s freshmen was Manalapan High School graduate George Quintano. The forward started 14 games and led all Monmouth freshmen in scoring with two goals and one assist.
Forward Max Hamilton (Shawnee), midfielder R.J. Allen (Old Bridge) and midfielder Cesar Blacidio (Ramsey) all played key minutes as freshmen and are expected to play important roles this year.
So, too, is sophomore Ben Lowry (Ocean Township), another member of that talented 2008 freshman class.
The Hawks are looking to a pair of freshmen to contribute this year in Cody Calafiore (Howell) and Ryan Clark (Freehold Township). Both players are outstanding midfielders who led their teams to the last two Shore Conference Tournament championships — Calafiore with the Rebels in 2007 and Clark with the Patriots in 2008.
McCourt said he has been impressed with Calafiore and Clark in preseason workouts and sees them as major players.
“If this team is going to be successful this year, they have to play a major part,” he said.
Calafiore had 40 goals and 49 assists during his Howell career, and Clark had 11 goals and 15 assists in helping Freehold Township win the Shore Conference A North Division and Shore Conference Tournament titles in 2008.
Monmouth will open the 2009 season on Sept. 1 at home against Seton Hall at 3 p.m. After road games at Fairfield (Sept. 4) and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (Sept. 6), the Hawks will host Delaware on Sept. 11 at 3 p.m. and American University on Sept. 13 at 1 p.m.
The 2009 NEC Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 13 and Nov. 15 and will be hosted by the league’s regular season champion.