May 20, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's soccer team recently wrapped up a successful spring season, posting a 5-2-4 record. The busy Nittany Lion schedule featured just three home games, all played at the West Campus turf fields, a road trip to Maryland, and outings to locales throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
"Overall, we were very pleased with the spring," said head coach Barry Gorman, who is entering his 21st season at Penn State. "We played a lot of games. We played two games in one day and sometimes the second team hadn't played previously, so they were strong and we were looking at running out of legs. Generally, it was a good spring and kids got a lot of playing time."
Penn State navigated the spring schedule shorthanded with several key players missing time while recovering from injuries, including midfielder Ryan Badaracco (Wexford, Pa.), First Team All-Big Ten forward Jason Yeisley (Allentown, Pa.), and defender Andy Parr (Hummelstown, Pa.). Also, promising midfielder Matheus Braga (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) was not eligible to participate but will challenge for a spot in the starting line-up during fall training camp.
Gorman singled out several individuals for their standout performances during the spring season.
"Drew Cost (West Chester, Pa.) played very well and Liam Fitzwater (Schuylkill Haven, Pa.) did well in goal. Defenders Andres Casais (Caracas, Venezuela), Casey Derkacz (Hamburg, N.Y.), and Bobby Bohlen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) all had solid springs. We tried Jacobo Vera (Pamplona, Spain) in a different offensive position and he did well. John Gray (Lemont, Pa.) worked extremely hard and made leaps and bounds. Matt Smallwood (Cochranville, Pa.), who came in as a freshman in January, did well during what was an adjustment period for him."
Cost, a member of the All-Big Ten Freshman team a year ago, and Vincent Salvatico (Chester Springs, Pa.) led the Nittany Lions with three goals. Cost netted two in a 3-1 victory over Millersville University on April 26 while Salvatico scored a pair in a 5-1 win over Columbia (April 12) and recorded the game winner in a 1-0 victory against Hofstra (April 19). Gray and Treavor Gelsinger (Shady Grove, Pa.) each netted two. One of Gelsinger's goals represented the winning score in Penn State's match-up with Winstars, an elite club team from Canada, on April 18. Frank Costigliola (Dix Hills, N.Y.), Barkley Miller (New Freedom, Pa.), Andres Casais, and Marco Ciarla (Potomac, Md.) also netted goals during spring competition.
Fitzwater and redshirt freshman Warren Gross (Greenfield Center, N.Y.) split time in goal and will wage a battle for the starting goalkeeper spot throughout training camp and the preseason.
Gorman, who is one victory shy of reaching the 250-win plateau at Penn State, returns 14 letterwinners and eight starters for the 2008 season. The Nittany Lions begin their exhibition schedule on Tues., Aug. 19 when they host Marshall in a 7 p.m. game at Jeffrey Field.