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Dive into men's soccer's historic 2023 campaign
Posted: Nov 30, 2023

Dive into men's soccer's historic 2023 campaign

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University men's soccer team had a historic and record-breaking 2023 season which saw the program accomplish many firsts under head coach Ruben Resendes, including winning the program's first conference title.

Following a spring of change and summer of new additions, the Bulldogs entered the 2023 season prepared to take the America East by storm. Opening the campaign in Smithfield against Central Connecticut, defender Abdel Talabi scored a header off an Inigo Villaldea corner in the 55th minute to win a season opener for the first time in a decade. That victory was the first in a seven game win streak. During that span, Bryant did not allow a goal and outscored their opponents 17-0.

After falling to Vermont, the Black and Gold rebounded by going undefeated for the next 11 games which became the squad's longest unbeaten streak in program history. The previous record was 10 games unbeaten which was set in 2014.

The Championship Run

The Black and Gold picked up a 4-1-2 record in conference play to earn them the No. 2 seed in the America East Conference Championship tournament. Seeded second,  the squad earned home field advantage and a first round bye going into the semifinal round.

In the semifinals, Bryant took on sixth-seeded Binghamton at Beirne Stadium in front of over 1100 fans. The Black and Gold scored two first half goals to secure the lead before scoring a third in the second half. With a final score of 3-1, the team advanced to their first ever America East Conference Championship.

The Bulldogs made the trip to Durham, NH to take on top-seeded UNH in the final. The game was scoreless through regulation and the first overtime period thanks to a stout Bryant defense and career game from goalie Antreas Hadjigavriel. Two minutes into the second overtime period, Jonas Lyshoj scored a breakaway goal to put the Black and Gold ahead. After eight minutes of all-out defending by the squad to finish out the second overtime period, Bryant won their first conference title.

Program Firsts

  • The Bulldogs started the season with back-to-back wins for the first time since becoming a DI program.
  • The Black and Gold broke into the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 rankings being ranked #24 in the Week 8 poll. By the end of the season the squad reached #19 in the rankings.
  • Bryant won their first America East conference game since switching to the conference in 2022. Their first win came in a 5-0 victory over NJIT.
  • In addition, the 5-0 victory over NJIT was the first time since becoming a Division I program that the Black and Gold had scored more than four times in a game.
  • The team made their first America East tournament appearance in the 2023 season.
  • After making six previous conference championship appearances without a win, Ruben Resendes' squad won the program's first conference title.
  • The Black and Gold's conference title earned them an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. They also hosted the NCAA First Round.

Record Breaking Season

  • In their semifinal win over Binghamton, Bryant set a program record for wins in a single season. Their final total of 16 wins overtook the previous record of 14 victories which was set in 1988 and matched in 1991.
  • The Bulldogs ignited their fans this season and broke their attendance record three separate times in 2023. In their season opener against Central Connecticut, the original record was broken with the 687 fans that attended the match. Then in their America East semifinal game against Binghamton the Bulldogs garnered 1137 fans. Finally, to cap off the season Bryant drew 2333 fans to pack Beirne Stadium in their NCAA First Round contest against Yale.
  • Junior Marc Pitarch Bayot set new single season records in points and tied the record for goals. Pitarch racked up 11 goals and six assists for 28 points on the campaign. His totals broke the previous points record of 26 points and tied the 11 goals set by Clint Santaeck in 2004.
  • Pitarch also tied a single game points record in Bryant's regular season game against Binghamton. His two goals and two assists for six points tied the record set in 2013 by Connor Norat against Central Connecticut.
  • The Bulldogs posted a new single game points record as well in 2023. In their 5-0 win over NJIT the Black and Gold recorded 14 points between the five goals and four assists in the game. They then matched this record in their regular season victory over Binghamton. Both of these games tied the single game record for assists as well.
  • Vicente Valor Martinez, Pitarch, and Inigo Villaldea now sit atop the record book in the single season assist record. The original record was five dishes in a season set by Alex DaCosta in 2019. Villadea matched that total with five assists on the year. Pitarch is right above Villaldea with his total of six. Valor sits atop the record with his total of seven assists on the campaign.
  • Antreas Hadjigavriel broke multiple single season goalkeeping program records. He posted a .875 save percentage, a 0.30 goals against average, 16 wins, 14 shutouts, 20 starts, and 1820 minutes to take himself to the top of those categories in the record book.
  • The Black and Gold took down many team single season records on the campaign. The 2023 squad became the program leader in points (129), points per game (6.45), goals (45), goals per game (2.25), assists (39), assists per game (1.95), goals against average (0.297), most wins (16), shutouts (14), and games played (20).

By the Numbers

  • Over the course of the season, Bryant outscored their opponents 45-6 and never allowed more than one goal to their opponents in a game.
  • The team also went undefeated in non-conference play, accumulating a 10-0 record outside of the America East.
  • The Black and Gold only allowed six goals all season, the fewest in program history.
  • 15 Bryant players recorded a point on the campaign with six of those players recording point totals in the double digits. Those players were Pitarch (28), Villaldea (19), Valor (17), Adrian Camacho (14), Javier Soler Gandia (14), and Jonas Lyshoj (11).

Entering the NCAA Record Book

  • Hadjigavriel enters the NCAA DI Record Book in the goals against average and shutout categories. His nation leading 0.297 GAA and 14 shutouts puts Hadjigavriel at ninth in GAA and tied for 13th in shutouts in the season record category.
  • The squad's improvement from 3-10-1 in 2022 to 16-2-2 in 2023 under head coach Ruben Resendes is a 10.5 game improvement which puts them tied for fifth in the most improved win-loss record category.
  • The Bulldogs will also go down as the NCAA annual team champions in goals against average, shutout percentage, and save percentage after leading the country in those three categories for most of the season. In addition, the Black and Gold ranked first in the nation in goal differential and were top five in win-loss-tie percentage and team goals.

Season Accolades

  • Five players earned America East Player of the Week accolades throughout the course of the campaign. Abdel Talabi, Soler, and Hadjigavriel all earned the defensive honor while Valor, who earned the accolade twice, and Pitarch garnered the offensive honor.
  • Those same five players all garnered America East All-Conference honors. Pitarch made the first team while Hadjigavriel, Soler, Talabi, and Valor made the second team.
  • Vicente Valor and Javier Soler were both named to the Team of the Week by College Soccer News and TopDrawerSoccer in 2023.
  • After winning the America East Championship, Hadjigavriel, Inigo Villaldea, Jonas Lyshoj, and Kerman Sukia were all named to the All-Championship Team. Hadjigavriel was also named the Most Outstanding Player after that game.