Men's Soccer Season Review :: The Blue Jays concluded the season 17-3 and a perfect 9-0 in the Centennial Conference.

Men's Soccer Season Review

The Blue Jays concluded the season 17-3 and a perfect 9-0 in the Centennial Conference.

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Johns Hopkins Men's Soccer Weekly Notes

Johns Hopkins Places Five on All-Centennial Conference Teams

Scheuch, Gill Earn Centennial Conference Player of the Week Honors

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Nov. 30, 2001

The Johns Hopkins men's soccer team entered the 2001 season with high expectations and through the regular season met those lofty goals. Even after a disappointing loss in the conference tournament the Blue Jays, led by one of the strongest senior classes in school history, responded by winning the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament, their second title in three years.

The Blue Jays finished 17-3, the third-best record in school history, and went a perfect 9-0 in the Centennial Conference for the second straight season. Included in their record was a nine-match winning streak in which Hopkins allowed just one goal.

Hopkins was led by senior forward Matthew Doran, who scored 18 goals and 13 assists, both putting him in the top 30 nationally in Division III. Doran finished his career with 70 goals and 28 assists, just two goals and four points shy of the school records.

Doran was joined on the forward line by senior Aerik Williams, who scored four goals and tied Doran for the team lead in assists with 13. Williams destroyed the school record with 40 assists, 12 more than the previous record.

Senior Ryan Kitzen led the Hopkins midfield with nine goals and an assist, while Paul Galli added five goals and one assist. The other senior, midfielder Michael Cordeiro, came on strong in his final season, appearing in all but one match and contributing a goal and an assist.

Joining the seniors was a core of talented underclassmen. Sophomore Chad Tarabolous ranked second on the Blue Jays with 25 points on nine goals and seven assists, while juniors Greg Mangels and Adam Hack led a formidible Hopkins backfield. Daniel Brienza, another junior, had an excellent season with five goals and three assists.

Sophomore Ryan Hanley had a breakthrough season, scoring three goals and three assists, while junior Matt Weill added two goals and two assists.

Mike Poston (two goals) and Rob Morrison (three assists) also had solid seasons for Hopkins, while freshmen Doug Pollack (three goals), Dave Walsh (three assists) and Chris Brown (one goal) contributed immediately. Chris Elser (one goal) and Alex Bradley, Jimmy Barr, and Maxwell Sa'Pereira came off the bench in reserve roles.

The newcomer who made the biggest impact was freshman goalkeeper Gary Kane, Jr., who started all 20 matches and posted a 0.78 goals against average. Kane, Jr. was backed up by junior Nicholas Challen, who did not allow a goal in seven appearances.

Four of the Blue Jay seniors were named to the Centennial All-Conference teams, joining three underclassmen. With seven players selected, Hopkins was the most represented school on the all-conference squads.

Doran, Williams, and Kitzen were all first-team selections, while Galli joined Tarabolous, Mangels, and Hack on the second team.

The seniors made sure the season started off on the right foot as Kitzen, Doran, and Williams combined for four goals and two assists in a 6-0 win over Buffalo State in the opener. Pollack also scored a goal and Walsh added an assist in their first collegiate games for the Blue Jays, while goalkeepers Kane, Jr. and Challen combined for the shutout.

The following day Hopkins captured the JHU Kickoff Classic with a 3-1 win over Virginia Wesleyan. Kitzen took home the classic's Offensive MVP award, while Hack received Defensive MVP honors.

The Blue Jays won their third straight as Doran scored two goals and assisted on another to lead Hopkins past King's, 5-0. Elser scored his first career goal in the win, and Weill added his first of the season.

After suffering a 3-2 loss to Arcadia, Hopkins recovered to shut out Swarthmore, 5-0, in the conference opener. Doran recorded a goal and three assists, while Tarabolous scored twice and Poston added a goal in the rout.

Hopkins improved to 2-0 in the league with a 3-0 win over Western Maryland, as Hack scored a goal and added an assist. Kane, Jr. needed to make just one save to post his first career shutout.

The Blue Jays next cruised past Ursinus, 5-0, as Doran and Brienza each notched a goal and an assist. Morrison also recorded his first points of the season with two assists.

Williams set the school career assists record in Hopkins' next match, a 6-0 win at Alvernia. Doran scored two goals and assisted on two others, while Hanley added his first goal of the season.

Hopkins continued to roll with a 3-0 win at Washington College, as Doran scored a goal in his fifth straight game. Galli and Tarabolous also found the back of the net, and Kane, Jr. posted four saves in the shutout victory.

A 2-0 win at Muhlenberg gave the Blue Jays their sixth straight win. Kitzen and Galli scored the goals, while Kane, Jr. recorded his second straight shutout.

Hopkins faced a stiff challenge against No. 18 Drew, but the Blue Jays pounced on the Rangers with three first-half goals en route to an easy 4-1 victory.

The Blue Jays returned to Centennial action against Haverford, cruising past the Fords in a 4-0 win. Williams scored a goal and set the conference career assists record with two helpers in the victory.

Tarabolous scored a goal and assisted on another in Hopkins' next match, a 3-0 win at Moravian. Seniors Kitzen and Doran also netted goals for the Blue Jays.

JHU's nine-match winning streak came to an end at No. 18 Richard Stockton, which would go on to win the national championship. Hopkins would play the Ospreys tough, and the match was tied at two with under 11 minutes remaining before Richard Stockton scored two late goals. Doran and Weill scored for the Blue Jays.

Hopkins would get right back on the winning track at Dickinson, defeating the Red Devils, 5-0. Five different Blue Jays scored, as JHU jumped out to a 4-0 halftime lead and was never challenged.

The Blue Jays continued their Centennial dominance with a 2-0 win at Gettysburg on two goals by Doran. Williams recorded two assists and Kane, Jr. made four saves in the victory.

Hopkins wrapped up the top seed in the first-ever conference tournament by defeating Franklin & Marshall, 3-2, in its final regular season game. Hack, Poston, and Cordeiro scored to give the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead, but conference player of the year Scott Runyon countered with two late goals, the only goals Hopkins allowed to a conference opponent in the regular season.

As the regular season champion, Hopkins earned the right to host the four-team Centennial Conference Tournament on November 2-3.

The Blue Jays took on No. 4 seed Gettysburg in the opening match, but quickly fell behind on a header in the sixth minute. Tarabolous answered in the 42nd minute when he collected a header from Hanley and scored to tie the match. However, the Bullets would regain the lead in the 73rd minute and hold on to stun the Blue Jays, 2-1.

The loss dashed Hopkins' NCAA Tournament hopes, but the team did receive the top seed in the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament.

In the semifinal the Blue Jays faced a rematch with Moravian, and a goal by Kitzen with 1:16 left proved to be the difference as Hopkins escaped with a 3-2 win over the Greyhounds. Moravian took a 1-0 lead before Brown and Brienza scored for the Blue Jays.

Doran capped his illustrious career by scoring the match's only goal in JHU's 1-0 win over Franklin & Marshall in the ECAC Final the following day, the Blue Jays' second ECAC championship in three years.

The Blue Jays hope that the ECAC title will erase some of the sting of not advancing to the NCAA Tournament and serve as a springboard into the 2002 season. Hopkins loses five talented seniors but returns an experienced group of underclassmen who should keep the Hopkins men's soccer team among the elite programs in the nation.

Team Notes:

The Coach: Matt Smith (Towson, `88) has completed his ninth year as head coach of the Blue Jays. He is the program's all-time winningest coach with a 137-30-9 record. Smith has led JHU to the NCAA Tournament in five of the last eight years and has guided the Blue Jays to postseason play in eight straight seasons.

Tough Competition: JHU's win over No. 18 Drew marked the Blue Jays' first win over a ranked opponent since a 2-1 victory over No. 6 Rowan on October 8, 1998. This season Hopkins also defeated Gettysburg, Western Maryland, Muhlenberg, and Franklin & Marshall (twice), all of whom were ranked in the Mid-Atlantic Region when they played Hopkins. Additionally, all three of the teams that defeated Hopkins advanced to the NCAA Tournament, and Richard Stockton won the national championship.

Doran Heading West: Matthew Doran finished in second place on the Johns Hopkins and Centennial Conference career records for goals and points. All four records are held by Eric West, who played at Hopkins from 1994-97. Doran also finished his career with 28 assists, tying him for second place (with West) on the JHU career list.

JHU and Centennial Career Goal Leaders

Name, School Years No.

Eric West, Johns Hopkins 1994-97 72

Matthew Doran, Johns Hopkins 1998-01 70

JHU and Centennial Career Point Leaders

Name, School Years No.

Eric West, Johns Hopkins 1994-97 172

Matthew Doran, Johns Hopkins 1998-01 168

A Helping Foot: Aerik Williams recorded two assists against Haverford to break the Centennial Conference record for career assists. Williams, who finished his career with 40 assists, broke the previous record of 33 held by Gregory Stevcic of Gettysburg and Frank Adamson of Haverford.

Doran On The D-III Lists: Matthew Doran concluded his career with 168 points, putting him in 17th place on the career points list in Division III history. Doran's 70 career goals put him in 14th place in Division III history.

Tick, Tick, Tick: Before Drew's Olaksandr Stakhiv scored with 12 minutes remaining on Oct. 6, Hopkins had recorded six straight shutouts and had gone 642:15 without giving up a goal. Goalkeeper Gary Kane, Jr. (Lansdale, PA/LaSalle College) went 617:40 without giving up a goal, the 11th longest streak in Division III history. This season the Blue Jays recorded 13 shutouts, one short of the single-season school record.

Blue Jays Among Conference Leaders: Matthew Doran led the conference in goals and assists this season, and had 19 more points than anyone else in the league. Aerik Williams led the league in assists per game, while Chad Tarabolous ranked fourth in points per game. Ryan Kitzen was fourth in goals per game, and goalkeeper Gary Kane, Jr. led the league with a 0.78 goals against average. As a team, Hopkins led the Centennial in scoring offense (3.40 gpg) and in scoring defense (0.75 gpg).

2001 All-Centennial Honors:

1st Team

F - Matthew Doran

M - Aerik Williams

B - Ryan Kitzen

2nd Team

F - Paul Galli

M - Chad Tarabolous

B - Greg Mangels

B - Adam Hack

Centennial Player of the Week/Honor Roll:

Sept. 10 Matthew Doran, Sr., F POW