Last season, the men’s soccer team finished with a disappointing 5-7-1: five of those losses came against NESCAC rivals.
It is notable, however, that throughout the entire season, the Camels never allowed more than three goals in a game, and the final outcome of every game was decided by two goals or less. The low-scoring, close nature of all of these matches can be attributed to solid defense on the part of last year’s Camels, but can this year’s team maintain that defense while also turning up the heat on offense? The team and their fans certainly hope the answer to this question is yes.
There have certainly been some changes since the end of last season. The men’s soccer team comes into the 2009 season with a new coach and eight new freshmen on the roster.
Coach Kenny Murphy, only the second head coach in the team’s history, comes from a successful background as a former assistant head coach of the men’s soccer team at Brown University. There he helped the team win three Ivy League Championships and four berths in the NCAA Tournament.
The Camels have been looking for this kind of success for a while, and many at Conn hope that Murphy can propel this team to the next level this season.
Helping Coach Murphy with this task will be his tri-captains Matt Addison, Thomas Giblin and Mickey Lenzi. These seniors will be doing their part to motivate the rest of the team, and the caliber of their leadership will certainly influence this season’s outcome.
Giblin was quoted last week on the College’s website as saying, “Camel fans can expect to see a team with a new look that is hungry and ready to make an impact in the NESCAC. We have all bought into Coach Murphy’s coaching philosophy and trained as hard as we could.”
These are encouraging sentiments, to be sure, but the team’s actions on the field will certainly speak louder than words.
On September 26 at 2:30 PM, the Camels will play their home opener against Amherst College on Tempel Green. A perennial contender in the NESCAC league, Amherst will come to Conn looking to get even after their 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Camels last season. It certainly looks like this will be one of the most exciting home matches of the 2009 season, so come to the Green and show some Camel pride for this year’s team.
