RIC men’s soccer aims for LEC title this fall

The Rhode Island College men's soccer team qualified for the Little East Conference Tournament for the seventh consecutive season last fall, but eventually fell to second-seeded Eastern Connecticut, 2-0, in the semifinal round.

Head coach John Mello (career record: 62-43-17) guided RIC to its first Little East Conference Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament berth in 2008 and is entering his seventh season at the helm for the Anchormen.

The Anchormen were picked to finish third in the annual Little East Conference preseason coaches' poll earlier this month. The Anchormen totaled 52 points in a vote by the league's eight head coaches, finishing just two points shy of first place Eastern Connecticut State and Keene State which were tied for the top spot.

One thing is certain; the Anchormen will have a hard time replacing the contributions of last year's senior class, which was headlined by First Team All Little East selection Ryan Kelley. Kelley closed out his three-year career as an Anchorman, having played in 59 games, starting 58 of them. He scored 14 goals and seven assists totaling 35 career points. Kelley was also selected as the team's MVP last fall.

Eager to fill the void left by Kelley will be senior captains Corey Carvalho and Louis Tavares. Carvalho was named First Team All Little East, as well as Little East Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a junior last season. He had one goal and one assist for three points.His classmate Taveras netted one goal and one assist for three points on the season. Tavares scored his lone goal in a, 3-0, win over MIT on Oct. 7.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Junior Forward Bruno Costa

Bruno Costaplayed in 19 games, starting 12 of them, and was named First Team All-Little East as a sophomore last year. Costa led the Anchormen in both goals and points, netting 15 goals and collecting two assists for 32 points. Costa came through in the clutch as well, scoring game-winning goals on three separate occasions last season. He had the winner in RIC's 1-0 win over Western Connecticut on Sept. 26, put home the tiebreaking goal in a 5-3 victory over Southern Maine on Oct. 24 and completed the trifecta in a 6-1 win over Johnson & Wales on Oct. 29.

Costa posted two four-game point streaks and netted a pair of hat tricks last season as well. The first came in a 4-2 win over Westfield State on Oct. 21 and the other in a victory over JWU. He was also named the Little East Conference Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week once on the season. Costa's goal scoring prowess makes him a force to be reckoned with in the Little East Conference this fall.

Can't Miss Game

Saturday, October 16^th

 RIC vs. Eastern Connecticut State University

1:00 p.m. at Home

Last year's results:

Lost 3-1, lost 2-0

The Anchormen were swept by the Warriors of ECSU last season, and will be looking to flip that 0-2 record from last season around against the team that will likely be RIC's biggest competitors for the Little East Conference title this fall.

The Lineup

Goalkeeper #1 Andrew Hogan

Defender #3 Pedro Hernandez

Defender #4 Sean Maguire

Defender #6 Liam Treacy

Defender #16 Anthony Mirafiore

Midfielder #21 Hector Espildora

Midfielder #24 Ryan Rasieleski

Midfielder #8 Corey Carvalho (C)

Midfielder #2 Louis Tavares (C)

Forward #5 Mike Patriarca

Forward #10 Bruno Costa

(C) Denotes team captain