HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (Sept. 3, 2015)- After raising the CSAC title in 2013, the Centenary College men's soccer team bowed out in the semifinals of the CSAC tournament a season ago. This left some unfinished business for Head Coach Keith O'Connor and his Cyclones.

Last season, Centenary posted a 12-8-1 overall and a 5-4-0 record in the Colonial States Athletic Conference. The Cyclones had six All-CSAC and two NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region selections. This season, Centenary returns 17 players, including 12 upperclassman and four out of the six All-CSAC selections.

Forwards
Junior Luis Marin (Union City, N.J. / Union Hill) returns as the top scoring option for the Cyclones. He ranked second on the team in assists, points and shots taken. Marin is joined by senior Sean Robinson, (Mount Olive, N.J. / Mount Olive) who has been a solid role player for the Cyclones. Sophomore Richy Castro (Landing, N.J. / Roxbury) has one season under his belt and continues to grow every day. He totaled six points on three goals for Centenary in 2014. Marin, Robinson, and Castro will be joined by newcomers Josh Weiss (Hackettstown, N.J. / Hackettstown), Roger Fernandez (Succcasunna, N.J. / Roxbury), and Mobolaji Martin (Ne­­wark, N.J./ Peoples Prep).

Midfield
The Cyclones boast probably the most experience with five upperclassmen listed at the midfield position. Seniors Abiodun Lawal (Irvington, N.J. / Irvington), Makenson Joseph (Haute-Feuille, Merchant Dessalines / Irvington), and Nick DePasquale (Toms River, N.J. / Toms River East) will be responsible to fill the large hole left by Quinn Khouri. Khouri earned All-CSAC and All-NSCAA selections, as he led the team in points, goals, assists, shots taken, shots on goal, penalty kicks and game winning goals. This year's seniors combined for 20 points on nine goals and two assists last season. Juniors Julian Alvarez (Dover, N.J. / Dover) and Chris Bonilla (Newark, N.J. / St. Benedict's Prep), along with sophomores Justin White (Minehill, N.J. / Dover), Chris Flores (Roxbury, N.J. / Roxbury) will provide the seniors with some much needed assistance. White totaled 14 points on seven goals and was named to the All-CSAC second team, while Flores played in all 21 matches and logged over a 1000 minutes played. Newcomers Chris Cameron (Waldwick, N.J. / Waldwick), Jared Miele (Flanders, N.J./Flanders) and Daniel Lamanna (Roxbury, N.J. / Roxbury) will all battle for time as well.

Defense
The defense was extremely unrated for the Cyclones last season. Centenary was responsible for only allowing 10 second half goals and held opponents to a 1.48 goals per game average. Seniors Glenn Brennen (Butler, Pa. / Butler Area) and Ian Kirkpatrick (Audubon, N.J. / Audubon) are the unquestioned leaders on this side of the ball. Brennen's strong defensive play earned him an All-CSAC selection in 2014. Junior Kevin Brix (Monroe Township, N.J. / Monroe Township) and sophomore Matthew Anderson (Monroe Township, N.J. / Monroe Township) provide depth to Centenary's backline. Newcomers Shane Nolan (Belvidere, N.J./Belvidere), Bryan Mason (Belvidere, N.J. / Belvidere), Ornette Sanchez (New York, N.Y. / Community School), Sebastian Hernandez (Dover, N.J. / Dover) and William Squares (Burlington, N.J. / Burlington Township) will give Coach O'Connor multiple options and allow for fresh legs on the field.

Goalkeeper
Senior Jesse Goleman (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Taylor Allderdice) has rewritten the record books at Centenary. The steel town native currently ranks first all-time in saves, goals against average, and save percentage. Last Season, Goleman made 119 saves for a .832 save percentage and a 1.17 goals against average. Sophomore Kyle Maris (Stewartsville, N.J. / Phillipsburg) was Goleman's understudy in his first season in Hackettstown. Maris made seven saves in two games, which included a start. Freshman Devon Warne (Belvidere, N.J. / Belvidere) has had a solid preseason and could see some time in goal.

Coach O'Connor and the Cyclones will return to action this weekend in the Frostburg State Tournament. Centenary will face Frostburg State on Saturday, Sept. 5^th, and Juniata College on Sunday, Sept. 6^th.