POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Marist men's soccer opens the 2020-21 spring campaign on Wednesday afternoon, with a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matchup against the Niagara Purple Eagles. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Tenney Stadium.
"I'm so thankful and it's such a relief to be getting back onto the field on Wednesday," Head Coach Matt Viggiano said. "You always hoped this day would come, but there's so much uncertainty in the world right now you just didn't know it would. I'm happy for the guys, and looking forward to seeing their faces when they finally get back to doing what they love to do – and that's play soccer. "
It has been 484 days since the Red Foxes last took the field, when they took on #1 Saint Peter's in the MAAC Semifinals on November 14, 2019. The road to this spring 2021 season has been rocky, but now that opening day is finally here, Marist is ready to role despite having a limited preseason.
"Typically, we're talking about a three-month season, but now we're talking about three weeks." Viggiano explained. "We play seven games in 19 days, including three games in five days to end the season. This season has been – and is going to be – anything but normal. But, despite the circumstances, I do have believe we have the talent to win the conference. The MAAC is extremely competitive, but we know what we're capable of. We know we can go out there on any given day, and compete with anyone."
Here's a breakdown of where the Red Foxes stand heading into the new season:
- Marist finished 2019 with a 10-9 record, which included a 6-4 MAAC mark.
- The Red Foxes beat #5 Manhattan in the first round of the MAAC Championships, but lost to #1 Saint Peter's in a thrilling 3-2 game in the semifinals.
- Samuel Ilin was named MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year, after starting every game and tallying 67 saves on a 72.0 save percentage.
- Samad Bounthong and Allen Gavilanes both were named to the All-MAAC First Team, but they will not be returning this year. However, Huib Achterkamp and Skylar Conway both return after earning First Team All-MAAC honors, along Stefan Copetti who made the All-MAAC Rookie Team.
- Marist lost 11 players from last year's roster, but also welcomed 11 new players for the new season.
- In the 2020-21 Preseason Coaches' Poll for men's soccer, Marist was projected to finish in third place, as voted upon by the 11 head coaches in the conference.
- Saint Peter's was pegged for first place, receiving six of 11 first place votes. The Peacocks' Dominic Laws was named Preseason Player of the Year.
- Ilin and Achterkamp were named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team
At goalkeeper, The Red Foxes are fortunate to 2019's MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year
Samuel Ilin return for another year as the starting goalkeeper. The Brooklyn product started all 19 games in his first season with Marist, and made 71 total saves, including a career-high of 10 in a shutout win against Monmouth. Ilin was also named First Team All-MAAC, and was a one-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Week.
Behind Ilin on the depth chart will be sophomore
Dylan McDermott and freshman
Jaiden Pean, with McDermott being the most experienced of the pair.
"I feel very confident in our goalkeeper situation," Viggiano said. "We feel that we have three Division I goalies, and that's not always the case – where you have three guys that you are confident in. All three of them I believe have the ability to be Division I starters. But we are very confident in Sam to start the year back there…he's the preseason goalkeeper of the year for a reason, and he is a leader for us and continues to get better every time he steps foot on the field."
Viggiano expects his group of defenders to be the most integral part of the team this season. Returning starters include Achterkamp, a senior captain who was a member of the 2019 All-MAAC Second Team, and
Christian Curti, a junior who has started 35 games in his first two years with the Red Foxes.
Also expect the defense to be the most impacted by the talented group of newcomers joining Marist for the 2021 season. Expect transfers
Demarre Montoute and
Justin Scharf to also start on the back end of the field and provide an immediate presence on defense. Both players come with a wealth of experience, having both contributed significantly to teams that played in the NCAA Tournament in 2019.
Joao Avila will also provide valuable depth at center back, and Viggiano noted that he felt extremely comfortable knowing that he his a fifth-year graduate student that he has full confidence ready to step in at a moment's notice.
"I think the back four will be the strength of our team," Viggiano said. I'm really excited to see this unit in action. They're steady, they're big, they're fast, and are some really good one-on-one defenders. It's been the most steady unit on the team during the first week of the preseason, so I'm counting on them to be our rock."
Three familiar faces will man the midfield for the Red Foxes this season. Junior
Skylar Conway returns, who Viggiano notes is one of the very best dribblers in the conference, after starting all 19 games last season and scoring three goals and dishing out four assists.
Antek Sienkiel slides into the midfield this year, joining Conway as a projected starter. He started all 17 games in 2019 and scored two goals and two assists.
Joe Mac is projected as the third member of the starting group, and he is a player that Viggiano expects to break out this year after making the adjustment to the college game late in the season in 2019.
Liam Salmon and
Justin Rodriguez are two midfielders that Viggiano says will see some playing time. The head coach also noted Rodriguez as the freshman he feels may make the biggest impact this season.
"They all complement each other so well," Viggiano said. "
Joe Mac is a very good passer, Skylar is a great dribbler, and Antek is like the energizer bunny running around out there. Meanwhile, Liam and Justin are both able bang in goals at any point. It's a nice complementary group with five guys that are legit Division I players that we can rotate through three midfield spots."
Stefan Copetti will be the primary striker for the Red Foxes in 2021. The two-time MAAC Rookie of the Week in 2019 scored five goals and had six assists in 19 games (18 starts) his freshman season. He will hope to turn his All-Rookie honors into All-MAAC honors this year.
The other two projected starting forwards are
Justin Jaime and
Cole Venner. Jamie is also an uber-talented striker, who has an extremely talented shot according to Viggiano. Meanwhile, Venner will play a lot on the wing, and has the ability to shred defenses apart.
Joao Avila may also receive some time at a forward spot, and don't be surprised to see him in the lineup early on into the season.
"I feel great about our forwards," Viggiano explained. "I think Stef has the potential to be one of the best strikers in the entire MAAC for starters, and I'm extremely excited to see what he can do this year. He is an example of a player who actually was able to benefit from all of this time off…He was able to get so much bigger, faster, and more mature, and he even grew a couple inches. He will give people fits."
- The Purple Eagles enter the spring season coming off a 5-12-1 (3-6-1 MAAC) year in 2019, which was the team's highest win total since 2014.
- Forward Rodrigo Almeida, who was an All-MAAC Rookie Team selection following the 2019 season, led the Purple Eagles in goals last year with six.
- Almeida scored the only goal for the Purple Eagles in their 1-0 victory over the Red Foxes last season. Goalkeeper Josh Savoni made six saves in the shutout.
- Niagara was projected to finish ninth in this year's preseason coaches' poll.
- All of Marist's home games will be streamed live on either ESPN3 or ESPN+. Mike Ferraro and Maria Quiroz will be on the call. Today's game can be found HERE.
- Live stats will be provided for every game, with stats from home games being provided via goredfoxes.com.
- Follow the team all season on @MaristMensSoc on Twitter and @maristmenssoccer on Instagram for live updates and score tracking during games, as well as program news throughout the season.
- The Red Foxes will play seven regular season MAAC games. Three of those games will be hosted at Tenney Stadium.
- The MAAC Soccer Championship will take place from Apr. 11-17. All rounds will be hosted by the highest seed.
- Following Wednesday's game against the Purple Eagles, Marist's next game will be Thursday, Mar. 25 against the Canisius Golden Griffins. Kickoff will be at 1 p.m. in Buffalo.
