2021 Men's Soccer Season Preview

Smithfield, R.I. - After over a year of waiting and a postponement of the first game of the season, the Bryant University men's soccer team is set to begin the 2021 season on Monday.

The Bulldogs will use a combination of experience and youth to succeed this year. After the 2019 season, the Black and Gold had nine players graduate, and out of those nine,  six started every game.

Forwards

 In the 2019 season, forwards scored 13 out of 22 goals for the Bulldogs. Junior Ben Williams scored five of those goals. During his sophomore year, Williams recorded five goals and two assists for a total of 12 points. Williams was ranked third in the Northeast Conference in points per game with 1.33. Sophomore Nick Awada played in 11 games last season and made his first career start against Merrimack. Anthony Barreira played in a total of four games and scored a goal against Central Connecticut. Junior Lucas Johnstone played six games and made his first career start against Merrimack.

The rest of the forwards, Matthew Bilan, Barnaby Brandon, Kyle Mabe, and Luis Fernando Paúl, will be making their Bryant debut this season. 

Defense

The Black and Gold defense last season allowed 23 goals, which ranked sixth in the NEC. The Bulldogs will be returning seven defensemen from last year's team. Chris Ciullo, Mason Danielson, Andrew Buss, Matthew Kane, Nevan Collins, Dominick DaCruz, and Casey Brine all played 31 total games. 

The defense will also be made up of graduate transfer Thomas Murray and freshman Ryan Nichols and Abdel Talabi.

In goal, Will Swart played in five games and started in three of them. He recorded 18 saves last season and two shutouts against Mount St. Mary's and Fairleigh Dickinson. The Black and Gold will have depth in the net as they added graduate student Jack Bacon and freshman Michael Gasparino to the team.

Midfield

 Jake Spaulding posted three goals last season, including a two-goal game against Mount St. Mary's. Spaulding will be joined by Matt Supczak, who played in 16 games last season and scored a goal against Siena. Diego Rodriguez as a freshman last season was selected to play for the U20 Puerto Rican National team. Sophomore Samuel D'Agostino started in 12 games. Junior Jonathan Brackett will round out the upperclassmen in the midfield.

The veteran midfielders will be accompanied by freshmen Jaiden Jacob, David Medeiros, Keegan Reim, and Andre Vieira.

The Black and Gold will make their season debut tomorrow against Long Island at Beirne Stadium.