Men's Soccer Opens Up 2014 Slate On Friday In San Diego
8/28/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo men's soccer team opens up their 2014 season with a two-game road trip in San Diego, starting on Friday night at 8:00 pm as they take on the San Diego Toreros. On Sunday the Bulls will travel to take on the San Diego State Aztecs at 3:00 pm.
The Bulls enter the season after a successful exhibition slate that saw the Bulls go 3-0 without allowing a goal. The Bulls outscored their opponents 14-0 in the three contests. Leading the Bulls offensively was freshman Abdulla Al-Kalisy who recorded five goals, including a hat-trick against Seton Hill. Waleed Cassis and freshman Cameron Hogg split time in goal for the Bulls and did not allow a goal, playing 135 minutes each.
Scouting the Toreros
The Toreros finished last season with an overall record of 6-10-4 and finished seventh in the West Coast Conference standings. San Diego returns nine starters from 2013 and they will welcome eight newcomers, two freshman and six transfers. Midfielder Conner Brandt returns for the Toreros after leading the team last year with 16 points (five goals, six assists) and being named First Team All-WCC. Michael Turner enters his sophomore season for San Diego after accumulating 11 points and being named to the WCC All-Freshman team last season while forward Keegan Smith returns for his junior season after posting 10 points (four goals, two assists) last season. Defensively, Julian Ringhof will anchor the Toreros after being named First Team All-WCC as a junior.
Scouting the Aztecs
The Aztecs finished the 2013 season with an overall record of 6-11-2 including a conference mark of 2-6-2, finishing fifth in the PAC-12 Conference. San Diego State returns only two starters from last year's squad and lost 14 letterwinners to graduation. The Aztecs will welcome 15 freshman to the squad this year as they are one of the youngest teams in the nation. Some key returners on defense are Evyn Hewett who started 14 matches as a junior and finished fifth on the team in minutes played. Also anchoring the defensive unit will be Wil Cannon who started 11 matches as a junior. In goal, John Marcuzzo returns for his junior season following a sophomore campaign that saw him appear in five matches with four starts and tallying 15 saves.
UB Roster Breakdown
Goalkeeper
One of the most competitive and interesting battles throughout camp so far has been the starting goalkeeper battle. Waleed Cassis returns for his senior campaign following a junior season which saw him start 16 of 17 games while recording a goals-against average of 1.42 and two shutouts. Giving Cassis a push for the starting job is freshman Cameron Hogg who comes to Buffalo from Auckland, New Zealand. Hogg is a part of the New Zealand U-20 National Team as they prepare for the 2015 U-20 World Cup.
Sophomore Ryan O'Mara will serve as the third string keeper for the Bulls and will provide great depth to one of the UB team strengths.
Defense
With the drastic turnover in the roster over the past two seasons, the back line of the defense will be one of the youngest in the conference this upcoming season. The Bulls back line will consist of three sophomores and three freshmen.
Leading the back line this season will be sophomore Daniel Cramarossa who was one of the Bulls pleasant surprises during his freshman campaign in 2013 as he started 17 of 18 games and was very strong defensively. Fellow sophomore Austin Place will aim to elevate his strong play from last season after starting 15 of 16 games for the Bulls as a true freshman. Another returner to the Bulls that will have a key hand in the back end will be Alec Fisher. Fisher appeared in nine games as a true freshman last season and started two while showing signs of being an every day defensive stopper for the Bulls.
A trio of newcomers to UB will look to provide the Bulls back end with some stability and stinginess, led by Fox Slotemaker. Slotemaker comes to Buffalo following a successful high school and club career in New Zealand. Slotemaker is a tough-tackling, no-nonsense central defender that will be looked upon to make an immediate impact. Another impactful freshman defensively for the Bulls will be David Enstrom. Enstrom possesses great size, strength and with his technical abilities he is ready to come in right away and contribute. Also adding depth at the position will be Charlie Norman.
Midfield
The Buffalo midfield will return three players that saw loads of game action last season. Leading the way for the Bulls is Kristian Lee-Him who appeared in 17 games while starting in 12 last season. Lee-Him is a very experienced player who recorded one assist and was a vocal team leader in 2013. Braden Culver returns for his sophomore season after starting 15 of 18 games as a true freshman. Ryan Pereira will see lots of action in the midfield as well after starting nine games last season under Riddle.
Providing the Bulls with much needed depth at the midfield spot is Iona College transfer, Dylan Cope. Cope appeared in 13 games for Iona last season and will be a major contributor to UB as a junior. Another transfer, Sean Young will vey for some significant playing time in the midfield after playing at North Florida last season. The sophomore will come in right away and give the Bulls steady minutes off the bench.
Forward
Quite possibly one of the most intriguing attack groups in the entire Mid-American Conference, the Bulls have multiple dangerous players that will test opposing defenses all season long. UB is of course led by 2013 MAC Newcomer of the Year Russell Cicerone who led the Bulls with six goals and two assists as a freshman. Cicerone proved to be one of the quickest and most dangerous players in the conference last season and with his strong play this summer for FC Buffalo, people around the program are excited to see what is in store for the talented sophomore.
Another matchup nightmare for opposing defenses, Nicolai Berry returns for his sophomore campaign after finishing second on the team in scoring with three goals and four assists last year. Berry has the quickness and skill to score at any time for the Bulls and he will be leaned on to take off some of the pressure Cicerone will face this season.
Marcus Hanson made the transition from defender to forward quite smoothly at the end of last season and he has only continued to grow at the position this season. Hanson closed out the 2013 season with two goals and two assists and has been all over the attacking third so far this preseason. Nicolay Netskar will also battle for some playing time in the very crowded forward group of the Bulls.
True freshman Abdulla Al-Kalisy has been the biggest surprise so far in preseason for the Bulls as he has came on with five goals through the first two exhibition matches of his career. The lightning quick forward has terrific strength and pace and he will provide an instant scoring punch to the Bulls high octane offense from day one.
Providing much needed scoring depth from up front for UB will be sophomore Steven Stryker who appeared in 17 games and made four starts as a true freshman last year. Also giving some depth at the position will be a pair of freshman in Zack Compton and Jeremy Norman.
