2007 NICHOLS COLLEGE MEN'S SOCCER (5-12-1, 2-9-1)
The Nichols men’s soccer team suffered some growing pains this season as it finished the year 5-12-1 overall and 2-9-1 in the conference. After kicking off the season by winning the Albertus Magnus Tournament, the Bison posted three wins in its 16 remaining games.
The Bison picked up wins over Mitchell and Mount St. Mary to capture the 2007 Albertus Magnus Tournament Title. Senior tri-captain Ryan Johnston (Woodstock, Conn.) was named MVP of the tournament as well as The Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Week.
In the win over Mitchell, sophomore Beyen Kamara (Webster, Mass.) scored the only goal of the game in the 1-0 victory while sophomore Clayton Johnson (Williamstown, MA) recorded the shutout in net. The following day, the Bison posted a 3-0 shutout over Mount St. Mary with goals from freshman Ryan Wytrych (Feeding Hills, Mass.), senior tri-captain Scott Thomas Gruner (Torrington, Conn.) and Kamara. Junior goaltender Stephen Mochun Jr. (Sutton, Mass.) had the shutout in net but shortly after suffered a season ending injury.
Nichols first conference win came against the University of New England, 1-0, during Homecoming Weekend at Nichols. Gruner scored his third goal of the season with 5:30 left in the game. Johnson posted his second shutout of the year with five saves in net. The victory moved the Bison to 3-2-1 overall but six straight losses dropped the team to 3-8-1 by the beginning of October. Nichols other two victories came against TCCC foe Eastern Nazarene and Fitchburg State.
Gruner and Johnston led the team with four goals and one assist each, respectively. Gruner played in 15 games, starting 14 as he missed three games with an injury. He had two game winning goals for the Bison, his first in the win over UNE, the other coming in the win over Eastern Nazarene. Gruner played in 62 career games, totaling seven goals and two assists for 16 total points. Johnston started 16 games as he anchored the Bison defense. He finished his career playing in 60 games with three goals and three assists for nine points.
Scott Thomas Gruner’s Career Statistics
OFFENSE GP G A Pts Shots GW
2004 16 0 0 0 4 0
2005 16 2 1 5 12 0
2006 18 1 0 2 8 1
2007 12 4 1 9 18 2
TOTAL 62 7 2 16 42 3
Ryan Johnston’s Career Statistics
OFFENSE GP G A Pts Shots GW
2004 16 0 2 2 3 0
2005 13 0 0 0 3 0
2006 18 1 0 2 8 1
2007 13 2 1 5 3 0
TOTAL 60 3 3 9 17 1
Senior Brian Giaccone (Enfield, Mass.) played in 17 games, starting 12 as the team’s other captain. He finished the season tied for the lead with three assists while senior Chris Hess (Westfield, Mass.) played in 12 games in which he started three. Giaccone played in 33 career games as he joined the Bison as a junior in 2006 while Hess saw time in 41 games as a four-year letterwinner.
Brian Giaccone’s Career Statistics
OFFENSE GP G A Pts Shots GW
2006 19 0 1 1 28 0
2007 14 0 2 2 4 0
TOTAL 33 0 3 3 32 0
Christopher Hess’ Career Statistics
OFFENSE GP G A Pts Shots GW
2004 14 0 0 0 8 0
2005 8 0 0 0 2 0
2006 9 0 0 0 1 0
2007 10 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 41 0 0 0 11 0
Johnson did an outstanding job in net for the Bison this season as he led the conference in saves per game with 6.29 and finished second with 107 total saves in 17 games. He recorded five or more saves in all but three games and had three ten or more save games.
Kamara played in 15 games, starting five. He finished the year with two goals, including the game winner against Mitchell. His five total points ranked fourth on the team.
Junior Aaron Kelly (Dover Plains, N.Y.) recorded two goals as well, including the game-winner against Fitchburg St.
Juniors Adam Schremser (Dudley, Mass.) and Sean Foley (South Hadley, Mass.) both saw a lot of playing time on the field. Foley started all 18 games while Schremser played in 13, starting 11.
Sophomore Timothy Mann (Marshfield, Mass.) played in 16 games with 11 starts and had one assist on the year. Sophomore Matthew Soderberg (Douglas, Mass.) played in all 18 games, starting 15 of them.
Sophomores Daniel Milot (Tiverton, R.I.) and Sean Dorgan (Methuen, Mass.) played in 14 and 15 games, respectively and even saw some time in net this season.
Sophomore Steven Hutchinson (Naples, Fl.) played in 14 games, earning seven starts in his first year with the Bison.
Freshmen Michael Schell (South Windsor, Conn.) and Wytrych had solid rookie campaigns as each scored two goals. Wytrych started all 18 games, scoring the game winning goal against Mount St. Mary. Schell finished third in points with seven off his two goals and three assists, which tied Giaccone for first on the team. Freshman Justin Saltojanes (Canterbury, Conn.) played in 16 games in which he earned one start.
Freshman Matthew Nash (West Springfield, Mass.) saw time in 17 games, posting 10 starts while freshman Steven Engstrand (Webster, MA) played in 16 games, with six starts. Freshman Kyle Brockway (Lebanon, N.H.) started three games while getting playing time in 11 games.
Freshmen Basil Roy (Abu Dhabi), Matthew Skowronek (Three Rivers, Mass.), Alex Lajoie (Webster, Mass.), and Brett Distasio (Burlington, Conn.) will look to increase their playing time next year as they combined to play in 28 games as rookies this season. Roy saw time in three games while Lajoie and Skowronek played in eight games. Distasio saw action in nine games.
