Seton Hill Men's Soccer

The 2011 version of the Seton Hill men’s soccer team is looking to take a big step forward this season after taking a small step back last season. Two seasons ago, the Griffins finished in fourth place in the WVIAC with a 6-3-1 record before falling in the first round of the WVIAC playoffs to West Virginia Wesleyan. SHU finished that season with an overall record of 10-7-4. Last season the Griffins dropped to seventh place in the conference with a 3-4-2 mark and a 4-10-3 overall record. This season, the Griffins are looking to return to the WVIAC postseason and take that next step towards a WVIAC Championship.

This year’s squad is looking to improve offensively and find the back of the net more often. Last season the team only scored 18 goals in 17 games. The good news is that the Griffins return their top scorer in Macdonald Taylor. Taylor, who is the only returning All WVIAC performer, led the Griffins with 5 goals. Up front, the Griffins return seniors Mike Belsito and Jordan Eddens along with sophomores Matt Luchetti, Stefan Walcott and Manuel Mazo who all saw significant playing time last season and will be looked upon to give the Griffins that scoring punch. Also returning up front are Alex Bradshaw, Trey Buvens, Joe Gorirossi and Bryan Meteny. Newcomers Dilveer Chaggar, Bovey Masioli, Andrew Starcevic, Nick Piccirilli, Mike Burnheimer, Chris Long and Tyler Kluck will look to push the returnees and give the Griffins additional scoring.

The Griffin defense was the strength of the team last year as it gave up just 22 goals in 17 games and one of the main reason’s for that returns in net. Senior Jon DeLuca is back for his final campaign in net and looks to continue to be the Griffins last line of defense. Last year, DeLuca registered four shutouts with a 1.24 GAA. Backing up DeLuca will be freshman Scott Matthews. The defensive corps return four players who say significant time last season. Senior Tim Harrer along with juniors Paul Cornelius and Nico Morocco and sophomore Kevin Behar provide head coach Dan McCarty with an experienced and solid backline. Other returners on defense include Paul Reiser and Cory Fox. Newcomers Mark Cornelius and Tyler Breth will look to provide depth for the Griffins.

The Griffins will open the season on September 1st when they host PSAC power Mercyhurst. The team will then travel to Cedarville and Tiffin over the Labor Day weekend. SHU opens up WVIAC play at home against Concord on September 10th. The schedule also includes tough non conference matchups with California (PA), Millersville and Slippery Rock. The Griffins close out regular season play on October 26th when Wheeling Jesuit comes to the hill.

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