Sophmore forward Stefanos Galouzis.
It has been a successful season overall for men’s soccer. Head Coach Myles Berry and captains Brycen Dowd and Stefanos Galouzis have led the team to an impressive 11 win record. Although the Beacons did not qualify for the playoffs this year, Berry feels confident in the Beacon’s abilities to make the necessary improvements for next year. He said, “We had a successful season, but we had some early games in the conference where we just came out on the wrong end.”
Recently, the team has really showed their strengths and completed their 2011 season with some nice conference wins. Dowd broke the UMB the goalkeeping record for the most shutouts in a season this year with eight.
“It’s always nice to have a year of experience under your belt,” Dowd said. “In the back, we were strong defensively and it made my job really easy. We had games won with very little shots on me which was nice.”
Galouzis led the way in goals and assists, with 12 and seven, respectively. Ryen Johnson and Victor Hugo Costa also had huge years for the Beacons with 17 and 16 points, respectively. What really makes the UMass Boston men’s soccer impressive is their hunger for a challenge-something Berry is prepared to give them.
“We’ve got a good group of kids,” Berry said. “They’ve worked really hard this season and I’ve never been disappointed by them.”
The guys boasted the third best overall record in the LEAC this year but, Berry said, “Couldn’t put it together on Saturdays for conference matches.”
“This year was a little bit of a shock,” Dowd said. “Last year, we finished well, but at the beginning of this year we lost a lot of guys that we didn’t see coming, so [some players] were kind of bummed coming into this year. The new guys really stepped up and we had a successful year which was kind of surprising but it really came together.”
However, Dowd said, “It’s bittersweet, because we did everything right, but during the conference games it just didn’t come together. We had a great record, but our season has ended.”
The focus of next season is going to be “the one play that can change the game.” Berry is confident that with the majority of players returning, their growing experience, exceptional work ethic, and their leadership on the pitch will make them dangerous.
Dowd had a very positive attitude about the year. “It’s a disappointment, but we did a lot of things well and right now we are looking to return almost our whole team,” he said, “so hopefully we can build off of what we had this year, keep the success rolling, and step it up next year.” He also noted, “In my three years, this is our best record yet.”
Dowd also had plenty of praise for his teammates. He said, “John Distefano has really stepped up at center back. He’s put the defense on his shoulders. He’s really one of our leaders in the backfield.
“I think almost everyone has stepped up. Douglas Silvera is very skillful on the ball. Kelvin Martinez on the wing, he works his ass off. That kid never stops running. It’s nice. We thought we were going to have a really young team this year, and everyone jumped in and didn’t really miss a beat. That’s why I think we were so successful.”