CHC men seek sophomore season success
by TOM UTESCHER
In the first year for men’s soccer at Chestnut Hill College, the Griffins closed out their 2004 campaign with a respectable record of 7-10-1 overall and 5-5 in the North East Athletic Conference (NEAC). With his top players back in action for 2005 and a strong recruiting class figured into the mix, CHC coach Shawn Ferris aims to lead his club to a winning season both in and out of the conference.
The Griffins return both of last year’s co-captains, senior center back Greg Webb and junior midfielder Mike Devine, along with their high scorer from 2004, sophomore center-mid Boyd McCorkle. While sophomore Steve Foster will be back in the goalcage for Chestnut Hill, another keeper from last year, Joe Swoyer, remains enrolled at CHC but may forego soccer to devote more time to basketball. Clearly, swaying Swoyer to rejoin the booter bunch would give Ferris more depth in the nets.
In a pinch, the coach could assign Joe Grinkewicz to guard the goal, although the senior is primarily a striker. The other upperclassman on the roster is forward Raun Parker, and there’s just one other junior besides Devine, forward David Hohneker. George Roitzsch, also from the Class of ’07, was a utility reserve player for the Griffs last fall, and will serve as team manager this year.
Meanwhile, sophs Foster and McCorkle have four classmates on the team; defender Matt Guyon, midfielder Jeff Lewin, midfielder/forward Mike Ritter, and forward Mike Kuch. Half-a-dozen underclassmen from the 2004 team have not returned, but they’ve been replaced by six solid freshman recruits.
Forward/center mid Devin Jackson and forward Phillippe Lucas have both played with strong club programs in Maryland. Jackson, from the Baltimore area, is a member of the Baltimore Bays, and Lucas, who hails from McLean, VA, plays for the nationally-prominent Bethesda club program.
Another arrival from south of the Mason Dixon Line is midfielder Oscar Jones, who comes from Bear, Del. The remaining rookies have all crossed over from the Garden State; midfielder/back Don Russo is from the environs of Monmouth in central Jersey, while forward Bill Iannuzzi is from Moorestown and middie Leslie Muluh is from Cherry Hill.
The Griffins will once again compete in the NEAC, where they finished in fourth place last season. Chestnut Hill opens up at Haverford College this Saturday (9/3), and will face a tough non-league rival in Lebanon Valley before launching into the league schedule.
