2021 Men's Soccer Season Preview

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University men's soccer team is set to begin the 2021 season on Friday in a road matchup against the Huskies of UConn. The Black and Gold finished with a 2-2-2 record during the 2021 spring season.

This year, depth will be a big strength for the Bulldogs as they have a total of 39 players on the roster.

Forwards

Forwards for the Black and Gold last season scored seven of the eight goals on the team. They will be led by senior captain and All-NEC First-Team selection Ben Williams who scored four goals last season. Williams will be joined by classmate Lucas Johnstone, junior Nick Awada who netted two goals during the year, sophomores Matthew Bilan, Kyle Mabe, Luis Fernando Paúl, and Barnaby Brandon who scored his first career goal in the 3-2 win against Fairleigh Dickinson. This group of forwards played in a total of 31 games during the spring. Williams has scored 13 goals in 31 career games as a Bulldog.

Defense

The defense has a lot of experience this season. Graduate student Thomas Murray, who dished out his first career assist last season, and seniors Casey Brine, Chris Ciullo, and Mason Danielson are the upperclassmen of the group. The rest of the defense consists of juniors Andrew Buss, Nevan Collins, Dominick DaCruz, and sophomore Abdel Talabi. The juniors collectively played in nine games making five starts.

Goalies

The Black and Gold have four goalies on the roster, graduate student and captain Jack Bacon, senior Will Swart, sophomore Michael Gasparino, and freshman Luca Marinelli. Bacon played in five games last year, recording 15 saves. Swart started in the 4-2 win against Sacred Heart, registering five saves. 

Midfield

Jonathan Brackett is the lone senior in the midfield. He will be accompanied by juniors Samuel D'Agostino, Jake Spaulding, Diego Rodriguez, and Matt Supczak. Supczak led the team in assists with three, and Rodriguez scored his first career goal versus SHU. Sophomores Andre Vieira, Keegan Reim, and David Medeiros played in 12 games during the 2020 season making seven starts. 

Newcomers

The Bulldogs had a signing class of 13 players during the offseason. The signees are Marinelli, Christian Godinho, Digger Iqbal, Harry Kanda, Camron Lawrence, Jack Longo, Pauly Moura, Landon Sartori, Patrick Sullivan, Nicholas Vitti, Marcus Voss, Lucas Gesmundo, and Aaron Madison.