Men's Soccer

Men's Soccer 2009 Season Outlook

The 2009 season begins with very high expectations for the Wilmington University Men’s Soccer Program. Head Coach Nick Papanicolas has added Jared Hughart as an assistant coach to join his other assistants, Jeff Zoyac, Miles Dean, Musa Kaba, and Greg Cope. Recruiting has brought a crop of new talented players to this years’ roster.

Coach Papanicolas is coming off another successful season as a head coach in 2008, finishing with a record of 12-6-2 and qualifying for the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) playoffs. Last season brought many first time honors for the Wildcats, including the program’s first national ranking (23rd), which they held for two weeks straight. The squad, who scored a season high 43 goals last year, also was regionally ranked for eight out of nine weeks, including a season high mark of third in the poll. Wilmington had one player on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-East Region Second Team, and saw three players earn All-CACC honors.

Leading the cast of returning players are the six seniors. Headlining that class is forward Sargbah Tarpeh (Overbrook HS/Philadelphia, PA), who was a three-time NSCAA All-East Region and three-time All-CACC First Team selection. Tarpeh led the team in points (36) and goals (14) last season. Midfielder Fatoma Turay (Bartram HS/Philadelphia, PA) is back off a solid 2008 campaign, where he earned Second Team All-CACC honors. Rounding out the seniors are midfielders Jose Coronado (Washington Lee HS/Fairfax, VA), Probyn Allen (Woodstown HS/Woodstown, NJ), along with defenders Mario Yepes (St. Thomas de Villaneuva/Caracas, Venezuela), and Dave Dease (Delsea HS/Newfield, NJ).

The talented junior class welcomes back seven returnees, including midfielders Anthony Randazzo (Cumberland HS/Bridgeton, NJ), Joe Stant (Caesar Rodney HS/Dover, DE), and Ryan Zuvic (Middletown HS/Middletown, DE). Also returning are forwards Socrates Joachim (Caesar Rodney HS/Dover, DE), and Mohamed Camara (South Philadelphia HS/Philadelphia PA), as well as defenders Tony DiVirgilio (A.I. duPont HS/Wilmington, DE) and Lynton Pompey (Vessigny/Aripero, Trinidad).

Leading the sophomore class is goalkeeper Ethan Kavanagh (Woodstown HS/Woodstown, NJ), defender Carsten Wagner (Hofecker-Germany/Carneys Point, NJ), and midfielder Nickalus McDonald (Martin Luther King HS/Philadelphia, PA). Forward CJ Prettyman (Nottingham HS/Hamilton, NJ), midfielder Alex MacCready (Central HS/Philadelphia, PA), and defenders Nick Smith (Washington Township/Sewell, NJ) and Melvin Tarpeh (Bartram HS/Philadelphia, PA) also look to contribute.

Recruiting has added many new faces to the program, including seven transfers and one freshman. Leading this new ensemble are forward Jorge Zapata (Santiago Leon de Caracas/Caracas, Venezuela) from Gennessee Community College, and defender Jamal Wiggins (St. Anthony’s/St. Thomas Central, Trinidad), who comes from Mars Hill College and is also a member of the U20 National Team in Trinidad & Tobago. Other transfers include midfielders Mike Lewis (Glasgow HS/Bear, DE) from Wesley College and Ryan Doyle (Delsea HS/Malaga, NJ) from Richard Stockton College, as well as goalkeeper Duhan Malali (Absegami HS/Galloway, NJ) from Chestnut Hill College. Two other impact players who are coming off red-shirt years, both hail from Canada. They are midfielder Danny Nguyen (St. Joseph/Mississauge, Ontario) and forward Chris Simm (St. Thomas Auinas/Brampton, Ontario). The squad’s lone freshman is midfielder Justus Henry (Delsea HS/Vineland, NJ).

Coach Papanicolas and his staff have high hopes for the season, and he knows the pressure will be on his squad, as they begin the year as one of the preseason favorites in the CACC.