The 2009 Mississippi Brilla FC team featured college players from all over the country with all division of college soccer represented from NCAA Division I to the NAIA. These players along with a group of returning veterans were able to help Brilla to their most successful season in franchise history finishing with a 9-2-6 record and Divisional Playoff Final Appearance. The fall season has been very busy for the players that represented Brilla on the field with games all over the country with several players facing each other head to head in very important conference games or tournaments.
Our first stop takes us to Akron, Ohio to visit the number #1 ranked team in the NCAA Division I polls the University of Akron. Akron currently sits atop the polls with a 11-0-0 record. Coach Caleb Porter has built a national powerhouse in his tenure and most of the country fully expects them to be a contender for a National Championship. Stefan Ostergren (North Olmstead, OH) enters his senior season with the Zips and is looking to bring home some National Championship hardware to end his career with one of the elite soccer programs in the country. Fellow teammate Josh Pantazelos (Birmingham, AL) enters his sophomore season as a goalkeeper with the number #1 team in the country. Both players are key reserves and will hopefully be in Cary, NC this year for the College Cup. Also in the state of Ohio we have Jacob Lawrence (Brandon, MS) and Ahmad Smith (Jackson, MS) at Bowling Green State University. Currently Bowling Green sits at 1-8-2 on the year under first year head coach Eric Nichols as he looks to build the program into a contender in the MAC Conference. Jacob has been a fixture in the line-up throughout his career and has started every game once again in his senior season as a defender. Ahmad is coming off a red shirt season and has seen limited action this year appearing and playing in three games.
Next we head to Northeast Tennessee to visit Tusculum College and the Pioneers to catch up with Lucas Paulini (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Anteneh Lemma (Stockholm, Sweden), Nick Rich (Kent, England), and Scott Lucky (Orangevale, CA). As we catch up with the Pioneers we find them sitting with a record of 7-2-1 and battling many injuries in their team. Coach Brett Teach’s attack is lead by the quartet of players from Brilla’s summer 2009 roster. Anteneh Lemma, Lucas Paulini, and Scott Lucky, and Nick Rich were part of a brilliant midfield for Brilla this summer and they have taken that with them this fall as they have combined for 12 goals and 22 assists on the season. Sophomore Nick Rich is leading the country in assists per game with .78. Both Nick Rich and Anteneh Lemma have received SAC Player of the Week honors this season. Tusculum is looking to repeat as SAC Champions and make their way back to the NCAA DII Tournament and improve their Elite 8 finish from a year ago. Staying in the state of Tennessee we stop in to check on Carson Newman and junior defender Matty Finlay (Liverpool, England). Carson Newman currently sits with a 7-3-1 record and in second place in the tough Southern Athletic Conference standings. After a summer full of injuries Matty has anchored Carson Newman’s backline starting every game for the Eagles while scoring 2 goals and having 1 assist from his centerback position.
In the northeast section of the country we find three former players plying their trade. Martin Dell’Arciprete (Lansdowne, PA) is entering his senior season at Temple University. Currently Temple is 6-3-1 and Martin has started every game at left back and contributed one assist. Coach Dave MacWilliams Temple side is looking to get back to the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament and push for a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Also in the northeast are Justin Farnsworth (Spencerport, NY) a senior at Houghton College and junior Jake Schindler (Irondequoit, NY) at Roberts Wesleyan College. Justin’s Houghton team is currently 7-6-1 and he has contributed two assist while starting in all 14 games at centerback. Schindler’s Roberts Wesleyan side is currently 5-6 and he has started every game and added one goal and one assist. Both of these teams play in the same conference and they are hoping to meet sometime in conference tournament play.
Our next stop will focus on the southeast region of the country, specifically the Carolinas. Our leading goalscorer and All PDL forward Debola Ogunseye (Lago, Nigeria) is currently finishing up his senior season at Furman University. Furman is sitting with a record of 5-5-2 and Debola is leading the team with 16 points (5 goals and 6 assists). Earlier in the season Debola received All Tournament honors during Furman’s tournament. He is looking to help Furman finish the season strong and go into the conference tournament ready to compete for a championship. Down in Charleston sophomore goalkeeper Clark Hankins (Montgomery, AL) has helped the College of Charleston to a 7-7 record. Clark earned an All Tournament selection at the Furman University Tournament along with his Brilla teammate Ogunseye. Clark has started in 9 games this season and is looking to build upon his freshmen year success. Up the road at Francis Marion University senior Kyle Clinton (Safety Harbor, FL) and junior Juan Rivas (Clearwater, FL) have helped their Francis Marion team to a 6-3-3 record and they are currently sitting in 5th place in the Peachbelt Conference Standings. Kyle has scored 5 goals and 2 assists and was named Peachbelt Player of the Week in September. Juan spent the summer slowed by injuries and still is recovering from them this fall. He has played and started 7 games and contributed a goal and an assist in his last game. The guys are working hard to get Francis Marion back to the NCAA tournament. In North Carolina Campbell University member of the Atlantic Sun Conference currently sits with a 4-7-1 record and is in 1st place in the A-Sun Conference Standings. Coach Doug Hess’s team has had a tremendous amount of success in the Conference and seniors Jason Keever(Trinity, NC) and Austin Skakle (Cary, NC) are looking to end their Camel careers in the A-Sun Final earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. Both Jason and Austin have battled some injuries this fall and they are looking to regain their form and continue their winning ways through the remainder of conference play. Jason currently has one goal and one assist and Austin has contributed one assist from his defender position.
We wrap up our college update with our local college players. Every year we have several local talented players that play for us during the summer and this year wasn’t any difference. Alan Hannon (Offaly, Ireland) is currently in the middle of his senior season at Belhaven College here is Jackson. Belhaven sits with a record of 7-3-2 and they are ranked #24 in the latest NAIA poll. Alan has stared all 12 games at left back and currently has 1 goal and 3 assists on the season. Belhaven is looking to make a return to the NAIA National Tournament and once again compete for a championship. Stay in the GCAC Conference we head to the University of Mobile where Coach Peter Fuller’s squad sits with a 5-6 record having played one of the most difficult schedules in the NAIA. Junior forward Ruben Diaz (Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic) is looking to help the Rams overcome a difficult start to the season and repeat their Elite 8 appearance at the National Tournament from a year ago. In Clinton at Mississippi College junior goalkeeper Andrew Dailey (Tupelo, MS) has helped to lead Coach Kevin Johns MC squad to a 9-1-3 record on the year. Andrew currently has 5 shutouts and a .792 goals against average and his Choctaws are currently sitting in 3rd place in the American Soutwest Conference.
“The 2009 season was a very memorable season for our organization. These guys with our older veterans were very committed this summer and that showed through our results on the field,” commented President Rusty Bryant.
“It was a great summer and I really enjoyed coaching and getting to know the guys during the season. We hope to get a lot of these guys back, but we also feel some of these guys will have futures in the pro leagues this summer as well,” said Dave Dixon, PDL Head Coach.
As the fall season wraps up and conference tournament play begins we will continue to monitor all their results and we wish all these guys the best of luck as they continue to pursue championships with their college programs.
