WESTON, Mass. – Coming off its fourth straight winning season, the Regis College men's soccer team aims to continue its improvement, move up in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, and contend for a conference title as the 2019 campaign approaches.
The Pride posted an 8-6-2 overall record in 2018, including five one-goal victories. Within the GNAC, Regis finished in a tie for seventh place with a 4-5-2 league mark, qualifying for the GNAC Tournament and challenging Johnson & Wales throughout its quarterfinal match before eventually falling, 1-0.
Head coach Renato Capobianco enters his ninth season at the helm of the program. He returns 17 players from the previous year, welcomes back senior Grayson Owens (Marshfield, Mass.) after a year away from the team, and brings in nine newcomers aiming to make an immediate impact with the squad.
"This year is going to be a challenge, as we have a large group of incoming players. A lot of them are very talented, but we still need to see if they can make the jump to the next level and integrate themselves with the returning players," Capobianco said. "I believe we have a lot of talent at every position, which is going to make practice better, as competition makes for good training sessions."
Owens is one of six seniors on the 2019 roster, including three returning starters. Ken Niyonzima (Dracut, Mass.) earned All-GNAC honors last year after leading the Pride with nine goals, Jared Barroso (Central Falls, R.I.) also picked up All-GNAC recognition as he helped drive the Regis attack from the midfield, and Scott Holcomb (Natick, Mass.) played a significant role in the Regis defense as the Pride collected five shutouts in 2018.
Other returning starters include forward Fabyanno Furbino (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), midfielder Cesar Da Silva (Boca Raton, Fla.), and defenders Sal Madera (Rocky Hill, Conn.) and Diego Roman (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico). After scoring seven goals in 2017, Furbino scored the only goal during a 1-0 victory at Pine Manor as well as the first goal of the match in wins at Rivier and against Becker.
One major competition within the team entering the season is happening between the pipes, as the starting goalkeeper job is up for grabs after the graduation of Jesse Bonilla. Junior Josh Barrows (Rochester, N.Y.) and sophomores Freddie Beckmann (Franklin, Mass.) and Ivan Ramirez (San Juan, Puerto Rico) all saw action during the 2018 season, with Ramirez making seven saves as he played all 110 minutes during a 1-1 tie at Lasell last year.
Regis collected 78 points to finish sixth in the GNAC preseason coaches' poll, just three points behind fifth place Emmanuel. Nationally-ranked Saint Joseph's College ended up atop the poll with seven first place votes and 135 total points, just ahead of Norwich with three first place votes and 131 points as well as Johnson & Wales with 126 points, including one first place vote.
"Every single conference match this season is going to be really tough. We play in a very even league, so every game is going to be difficult. We just have to make sure we prepare every day for the challenge," said Capobianco.
Regis College officially opens the 2019 season at home against Lesley University Friday, Aug. 30, beginning at 4 p.m.