Article By: Alex Mellion
The Suffolk men’s soccer team recently saw its season come to an end with a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Emerson in the quarterfinals of the GNAC tournament. Despite winning their final three regular season games by a combined score of 15-1, the Rams could not continue their hot streak in the playoffs and came up short against the rival Lions of Emerson. The Rams’ three game winning streak vaulted the team into third place in the division, while giving them the #3 seed and an opening-round home game in the GNAC playoffs.
The Rams were led this season by upperclassmen, as three of their four top scorers were seniors (Nick Celia, Arman Palian, and leading scorer Bernhard Lotterer). Leading the team in goals was sophomore sensation Danny Lloyd, who scored 12 goals to go along with three assists. Ben Rollins also was impressive in his freshman year with the team, starting 14 of the Rams 16 games, while notching five goals and four assists. The team will look to both Lloyd and Rollins to provide the same offensive spark next season, and to help the Rams continue to be successful. Junior goalie and captain Jack DeJesus (1.43 Goals Against Average in 15 games) will also be returning for his senior year, and will be counted on quite heavily to remain steady between the pipes.
In the end, Emerson proved to be the spoiler for the Rams yet again this season. After a close 5-3 loss to Emerson in the regular season, it was expected that these two would provide another back and forth game, and they did not disappoint. Emerson entered the GNAC playoffs on a four game winning streak and ended up being the hotter team. The game was very chippy, with eight yellow cards being handed out and both Lloyd and Palian being ejected after receiving red cards for unsportsmanlike behavior.Despite the disappointing end to this season, the Rams’ future looks somewhat promising, as next season they’ll return their top goal scorer in Lloyd, and their goalie and captain in DeJesus.
Along with those two, and talented players like Ben Rollins and Luis Flores, the Rams should be in the mix at the top of the GNAC for the foreseeable future.
