Purcell and company gear up for 2016, Bulldogs open season at home on Friday against UNH

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Entering the 21st season under the tutelage of head coach Seamus Purcell, the Bryant University men's soccer team will look to return to postseason play, as it gets ready to take on 16 teams, starting with the University of New Hampshire in Friday's home opener.

After making the Northeast Conference Tournament in 2013 and 2014, the Bulldogs suffered eight losses in 2015, seven of which were one-goal defeats. Five matches ended in draws and eight were decided in either overtime or double overtime.

Midfield and Production from Up Front

Motivated to turn around their misfortunes, this year's squad returns four of the top seven point producers from a season ago. Despite the graduation of leading scorer Brett Larocque ('15), junior forward Thomas Binder (Vienna, Austria) will help lead the offense following a nine-point campaign. He'll be joined up front by senior Matt Guerriero (Pickering, Ont.), who tallied six points in 15 starts, while classmate and defender Jake Lamar (New Haven, Conn.) contributed four points in 16 starts.

Fellow senior Curtis Orth (Ancaster, Ont.) returns to the offensive midfield after a three-point season in 12 games, eight being starts. Five additional point scorers from 2015 return, including senior Pedro-Lucas Ferreira (East Boston, Mass.), who started 12 games, and junior midfielder Jason Norat (Wilmington, Del.), who appeared in 15 games with six starts.

Also in the mix for significant playing time will be a collection of returning talent and new faces. Sophomore mid Derek Blanchette (Hope, R.I.) appeared in 13 games with three starts, registering an assist. Junior mid David Abunaw (West Hartford, Conn.) made 14 appearances and also tallied an assist. Junior transfer midfielder Alexander Wrona (Burlington, Conn.) had an assist during preseason and sophomore transfer Nathaniel Brown (Queens, N.Y.) scored a goal.

Keepers and Backline

For the first time in four years, the Bulldogs will see a different keeper between the posts, as Chris Knaub ('15) graduated following 62 appearances and 61 starts over a four-year career. Junior Nick Stewart (South Windsor, Conn.) takes over in net with four games and three starts on his resume. He'll be protected by his defenders, as nearly the entire starting backline returns to the pitch. Junior John Conry (Bolton, Mass.) and sophomore Charlie Booth (Concord, Mass.) join Lamar as the only three Bulldogs to start all 16 games last year. Ferreira spent most of last season at left back to round out a steady group along the back.   

Scouting UNH

The Bulldogs and Wildcats have met three times at the Division I level, the last time being in 2014 and a game that resulted in a 2-0 Bryant win. Binder chipped home the second goal of the contest from inside the box following a pass from Orth who was awarded the assist. The Wildcats won the first two encounters to hold a 2-1 series edge.

UNH was picked to finish fourth in the America East Conference preseason poll following a 10-5-3 season that ended with a loss to UMBC in the conference tournament. The Wildcats return two of their top three scorers, but lost four of their top six. The most notable return is that of America East Midfielder of the Year and All-Conference First Team member, senior midfielder Chris Wingate. The Norway native totaled 16 points on six goals and four assists in 2015, as he led the league and finished 26th nationally with 1.61 shots on goal per game. Also returning to the frontline is 2015 America East All-Rookie Team member, forward Chris Arling, who was third on the squad with 13 points on four goals and five assists.

Defensively, the Wildcats are young and inexperienced. Redshirt junior Andrew Pesci is the only keeper with prior playing time on this year's team, having started four games a season ago. The backline consists of three freshmen, two grad students, and two seniors. The only fourth-year man to play meaningful minutes is Duff Thomson, who started all 18 games in 2015 and registered a pair of assists.

The Bulldogs and Wildcats kick off the season on Friday at 3:00 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium. The game can be followed along via live stats on BryantBulldogs.com.