Mike Giannattasio
Journal Staff
After starting off the season 2-3, the Suffolk University men’s soccer team has won their last three games to improve to 5-3 this season.
The Rams defeated Johnson & Wales 3-1 on September 18 and then won 2-1 in double overtime against Daniel Webster on September 22. On September 26, the Rams beat Mount Ida 2-1 in overtime.
The Rams are a very young team this season, as the club only has three seniors and three juniors, while the rest consists of freshmen and sophomores.
Andrius Zeikus is the coach of the men’s soccer team, and he said he hopes the players can improve throughout the season.
“Since there are quite a few new players on the team, it will take us little more time for everybody to get on the same page, for players to understand my requirements and to develop [a] good understanding of each other on the field,” said Zeikus, who has been coaching the Rams for three seasons.
“Therefore, I do believe we will be performing much better every day and should reach our peak towards the later part of the season. I have seen an improvement since we started and as a result we have won two overtime games last week.”
The Rams have a core group of returning players who are expected to bring their best every day, whether it is a practice or a game. Senior goalkeeper and team captain Jack DeJesus has performed very well on the soccer field this season.
Other returning players who have contributed are Danny Lloyd, David Best, Nick Cugine, Ben Rollins, Luis and Carlos Flores.
Zeikus said he is pleased by the play of his incoming players this season.
“Nicholas DiCicco has proved that he can be a very good college player having performed very well and scoring twice, including a game winning goal in one our recent games,” said Zeikus. “Christian Zambrano, Massogui Samb and Jeff Williams have successfully stepped in to their roles on defense and have been playing very well so far.
“Jeff Harvey has played very well scoring twice this season and providing some very solid minutes in our rotation. I was very pleased with Dean Agen’s performance during the match against Wheelock. Since then, he understands what is required of the soccer player at the collegiate level and as a result has been performing much better.”
Zeikus said the team has high expectations for the rest of the season. And if they continue to play well, there is no telling how far they can go in the competetive conference.
“The Great Northeast Athletic Conference is a very close conference where anybody can beat anybody on any given day,” said Zeikus. “Hard work, leadership, discipline and team work are the core principles of our philosophy.
“As long as every member of the team understands that they have to work hard and bring their best everyday whether it’s a game or a practice, there are more great games to come this season.”
