East Stroudsburg, Pa. - East Stroudsburg University perhaps has never entered a men's soccer season with brighter prospects than in 2001.
Nine starters return from last year's squad which reached the NCAA Division II semi-finals for the first time, won its fourth straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship and finished with an 18-3-2 record. This includes three All-Pennsylvania first team players in sweeper back Sean Stewart, forward and leading soccer Jorge Chapoy and goalie Jason Land and two second team selections in forward Tom Mustac and back Kurt Nusshag. So why is veteran coach Jerry Sheska somewhat anxious about the season. "Everything fell in place last year. We got a break here and there and won some close games which could have gone either way." said Sheska. "If we rest on our laurels, the close games may go the other way and we're not going to have as successful a season.
Sheska emphasized that he doesn't list any season goals or expectation. All he wants is for his players to practice hard, play well in each game and stay together as a team. "I don't look ahead. You have to concentrate on every opponent because we're going to be the big game on everyone's schedule - everyone wants to knock off the top dog. We have to keep our composure, be consistent and then things will fall in place for us ," he added.
The Warriors do have plenty of talent, Sheska acknowledges, starting on defense where Stewart, a two-year starter from St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, is developing into the one of the nation's best collegiate players. He was chosen on the All-Tournament at the NCAA Final Four. "Sean takes control on the field. He directs people, knows when to attack and when to defend. He possesses leadership qualities and talent you don't see in many players," said Sheska, who has coached eight All-Americas in his 19 years as head coach.
Land set a school record last season by allowing only nine goals in 14 games for an average of 0.59 goals per game, which ranked seventh in the final NCAA statistics. He won the award as the team's outstanding player. Now a graduate student, Land made eight shutouts, including six in a row at the close of the season and had a string of 573 straight scoreless minutes. He was chosen as the outstanding player in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship game in which he made five saves as the Warriors blanked California, Pa., 2-0.
Other starters returning on defense are stopper back Kamar Samuels, a sophomore also from St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, and Nusshag, a senior outside back from Media, Pa. Samuels is coming off a strong spring practice in which Sheska says he got "faster and tougher and opened up his game." Nusshag is the team's top man-to-man marker and usually guards opponents' best forward. At the other end of the field, Chapoy, who booted in 20 goals and eight assists, and Mustac, who added 13 goals and eight assists, give the team a strong one-two scoring punch. Chapoy had either a goal or an assist in 17 of the 23 games. The junior from Montclova, Mexico tallied four goals in a win over Molloy and three in a victory over Shippensburg. Mustac had a 'hat trick' in the team's 4-2 NCAA quarter-final round win over New Hampshire College.
There are three starters back in the midfield area in defensive midfielder Eric Kolar, who was one of the team's defensive stars during the NCAA tournament, and outside backs Ahmet Kose and Troy Grubb. Three other players, Mike Lotocki, Chris Pinto and Joey Piscopo, also saw action in the midfield area in NCAA games. Other letter-winning reserves included forwards Brandon Smith, Brad Konawalik and Jason Cropper, midfielder Damian Thompson and backs Matt Giordano and John Sunshine. Two of the reserves are expected to move into the starting line-up to replace the two missing starters, four-year inside midfielder Karl Nusshag, a three-time All-Conference first team player, and outside back Erik Buksa.
As usual, the freshman class also is strong with numerous all-star scholastic players. The most likely to earn playing time is back or midfielder Justin Schildt, a top defender for Lower Dauphin High School. The Warriors will play a 19-game regular-season schedule starting with two contests in the Dominican College Tournament Sept. 1-2. The home opener will be against Caldwell Sept. 12th. They will play host to the 15th annual Kiwanis-ESU Soccer Classic Sept. 22-23, meeting Bridgeport Saturday and Concordia Sunday. Slippery Rock will be the opponent Oct. 20 for the annual Super Soccer Saturday festivities, sponsored by ESU's Sport Management Club.
Other highlights of the regular season will include two home games against top regional opponents, C.W. Post Saturday, Oct. 6 and Dowling in a rematch of one of last year's NCAA tournament games, Sunday, Oct. 24 and an away contest at another regional power, LIU-Southampton Saturday, Sept. 8. Sheska enters his 20th season as head coach with a 278-107-18 career coaching record with ten conference titles, including eight in the nine years, and ten NCAA tournament appearances. He was named the NCAA Division II District II Coach of the Year last season for the fifth time.
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ESU Home... Pete Nevins , Sports Information Director
Updated 8/2/00
ESU Home... Pete Nevins , Sports Information Director
Updated 8/2/00