’ ’ A special section of the The Ithacan 2 | FALL SPORTS PREVIEW THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017 NEW COACH, MEN’S SOCCER NEW TEAM BY CAL DYMOWSKI Michaels said a clean slate represents an excit- STAFF WRITER ing overhaul of the program. Despite a new league and a new head “Going in with a new team, a new head coach, the men’s soccer team is relishing coach, it sets that new standard,” Michaels the underdog role they have as they enter the said. “We’re going up against teams that are Liberty League. nationally ranked, so it gives us that motiva- Head coach Kyle Dezotell, hired June 1, tion of the underdog spirit.” had 12 consecutive winning seasons as head The Blue and Gold’s games against both coach of Manhattanville College and Norwich Clarkson University and St. Lawrence Uni- University, and wants to bring the success he versity will now have conference-standing had to Ithaca College. implications. Both schools defeated the He said he is not looking to make drastic Bombers last season, Clarkson 2–0 and changes to the program but is focused on St. Lawrence 2–1. making the Bombers a winning team. Dezotell said he’s eager for the test despite “I think to be successful, you need to sur- the difficulties the Liberty League brings. round yourself with winners,” Dezotell said. “It’s exciting more than daunting,” Dezo- “Winning breeds winning.” tell said. “These are the types of programs that Sam Factor, junior defender and captain, I want to be associated with as a coach and as said the arrival of Dezotell, along with being a competitor. I’ve never been a coach to be the new team in the Liberty League, brings ex- afraid of any team.” citement about this season’s challenges. Boylan’s exit means all hands are on deck, The 2016 season ended in frustration for but Factor is confident in the team’s offen- the Bombers as the 7–9–1 team fell in the sive firepower. Their key players include Jose Empire 8 semifinals to Houghton College Contreras, Alexi Brosnihan, Kevin Turi and 2–1, a game sophomore midfielder Justinian Max Barish. Michaels uses for motivation. The Blue and Gold must also be wary of The Bombers will look to Factor and their defensive struggles as well. Last year’s Michaels to lead the defensive unit now squad surrendered 15 of their 25 goals con- that Andrew Coburn ‘16, second-team ceded in the first half, a statistic Factor said All–Empire 8 center back, has graduated, while can be solved with confidence and by starting Sam Factor '19 senior goalkeeper Dan Hinckley will take games focused. over for Zach Jacobsen ’16, who also snagged “It’s something that I’m going to take per- second-team All–Empire 8 honors. sonally,” Factor said. “As a captain, it’s getting The loss of Sam Boylan ’16, a second-team people ready for the game right from the CAITIE IHRIG/THE ITHACAN All–Empire 8 selection, who led the team with kickoff, and if we get it right, we’ll be more 16 points and six assists, will force the Bomb- competitive.” Justinian Michaels '20 ers to strive harder for production on the offensive end. CONNECT WITH CAL DYMOWSKI Despite the switch-up in key positions, [email protected] | @CALDYMOWSKI AN INCREASE WOMEN’S SOCCER IN COMPETITION BY JACK HAMILTON “They are both exceptional leaders and soccer STAFF WRITER players, and we are looking to them to set a tone The Ithaca College women’s soccer team had a for the year,” head coach Mindy Quigg said. “That successful 2016 season, finishing with an 11–5–2 being said, every player on our team has a signifi- record and making it to the Empire 8 Champion- cant role, so expectations are high for all.” ships. The team ended up falling short, losing to Quigg said her goal for the season is to help the Stevens Institute of Technology 3–2 in overtime. new players understand the culture of the soccer With the move to the Liberty League and the program and to focus on putting the team first in loss of 10 seniors, the Bombers are looking to everything they do. take the season one game at a time and maintain a “I attribute a great deal of our program’s positive mindset. success to working hard, being honest with one Senior defender Caroline Matos is looking another, always putting the betterment of the team forward to joining the Liberty League this season, first and trusting one another and our process,” saying she believes it will present a new challenge Quigg said. “I believe that if those things are in and level of competition. place, great experiences will happen.” “I think the biggest impact that moving to the As far as teams that look to give the Liberty League this upcoming season has on us is Bombers a challenge, Cirella said every game mat- excitement,” Matos said. “We are excited to take on ters, but there are some that stick out to her as new challenges and really test ourselves. We thrive more important. off of competition, and I think that is exactly what “I would say William Smith is always going to the Liberty League will allow us to do.” be one of our rivals since they are always a top- There are some impact players from last year ranked team and are well-coached,” she said. “Also, that will be returning for the 2017 season. I would say every home game is important because Returning to the team are integral upperclass- we take a lot of pride in defending our home field.” men such as junior goalkeeper Stacey DiGiorgio The team posted a winning 5–2–2 recod at and junior midfielder Shoshana Bedrosian. Carp Wood Field in 2016. DiGiorgio started 17 of 18 games last season With the mentality that Quigg has instilled in Caroline Matos '18 and posted 83 saves, while Bedrosian scored six them, the Bombers have high hopes for what they goals to lead the underclassmen in total offensive can accomplish this season. points on the season. “This year, I would say our goals are to take The team also has four rising seniors who are one game at a time and control what we can con- looking to have substantial impacts this season. trol,” Cirella said. “Ultimately, we would want to Senior defender Kendall Cirella and Matos have be undefeated at home, win the conference tour- played significant roles on the team since their nament and go to the NCAAs, and then anything Kendall Cirella '18 freshmen seasons, as they are key members of a can happen.” consistently strong back four for the Bombers. The two started all 18 games last year and CONNECT WITH JACK HAMILTON helped the team post nine shutouts. [email protected] | @JACK_H_HAMILTON CAITIE IHRIG/THE ITHACAN THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017 FALL SPORTS PREVIEW | 3 MEN’S CROSS-COUNTRY LOOKING TO CONQUER THE CONFERENCE BY MAX O’NEILL sophomore Garrett Bampos and junior STAFF WRITER Dan Hart. Bampos raced his fastest time at the Ham- With a big impact made by the freshman and ilton College Short Course to come in 50th place out sophomore classes last year, the Ithaca College men’s of 69 runners with a time of 17:32.1. Hart competed cross-country team looks to match its success in the in five races in the 2016 season with his fastest time 2016 season. being 27:13.6 in the Paul Short Run 8K to come in The reigning Empire 8 champions will be 209th place out of a field of 284 runners. moving to the Liberty League, which has tough compe- Head coach Jim Nichols laid out the expecta- tition, including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and tions for the Bombers and the need to fill in for the Rochester Institute of Technology. graduated runners. “The level of competition will certainly The team lost Phillips and Shane Connor ’16 due increase, but we’re ready for it,” junior runner John to graduation, but four of its top seven will be return- Blake said. “We’re excited for the challenge. The ing this season. conference championships should be a very “Our expectations are to improve and get bet- competitive race.” ter,” Nichols said. “We are in a new league. We have The Bombers have to adjust to the change in con- tougher competition with RPI, who went to nationals ference, and it will be a big switch as they are coming last year.” off seven consecutive Empire 8 Championships. As Bampos said the change in conference will moti- a result, they will have to step up their play against vate the team because the squad will be competing top teams. against even harder teams. The Blue and Gold finished in ninth place in “RPI and RIT have extremely good distance the 2016 NCAA Division III Atlantic Region Cham- squads and good track and field teams overall, pionships with seven Bombers competing in but then when we roll around to the region- the race. als, Geneseo is one of the best in our region,” Out of that group, Sean Phillips ’16 advanced to Bampos said. the 2016 NCAA Division III Cross Country Champi- Nichols said he is hoping the team’s veterans step onships, where he finished 148th of 278 runners. In up and be leaders for the new freshmen. the regular season, the team had three top-10 finishes “I think the greatest asset is they have their fresh- Daniel Hart '19 and three top-20 finishes.