Men's soccer season preview: Defenders

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Experience at the back is key to any successful season and the Bryant University men's soccer team will be hoping to use that to their advantage this season, with all four defenders back for another season under head coach Seamus Purcell.

This is part three of a three-part series preview the Bryant University men's soccer team's upcoming season. We previewed the Forwards on Monday and the Midfielders on Tuesday.

"Defense has been our strength since I've been here," head coach Seamus Purcell said. "We have pretty much everybody coming back that played defense. They're a well-matured, well-experienced back four."

This is a defense that only allowed 1.72 goals per game last season and will be led once again by seniors John Conry (Bolton, Mass.) and Drew Rushton (Middlebury, Conn.), junior Charlie Booth (Concord, Mass.) and sophomore James Cochrane (Sandy Hook, Conn.).

The defense will be tested early in their four non-conference games, as they face two very good offenses in Delaware (1.71 goals per game in 2016) and Providence (1.41 goals per game) and take on Brown at home (20 goals in 17 games last season).

It all starts Friday night at UMBC against a Retrievers squad that scored 16 goals in 10 non-conference games last season and Coach Purcell's defense will be ready for the challenge.

"We're not going to let anyone sit in front of our back four and take a ball there without some pressure on them," he said. "We want to really focus on double-teaming when we can and make them go backwards."

The Bulldogs' defense has been physical ever since Purcell arrived with the squad in 1996 and this year will be no different as Bryant is looking to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2014.