Endicott Athletics and Recreation

    • Gulls Ready to Tackle CCC Foes

    Gulls Ready to Tackle CCC Foes
    August 17, 2005

    Aug. 17, 2005

    BEVERLY, MA -- The Endicott men's soccer team will be looking to string together its fourth consecutive winning season after a 9-9-1 record in 2004.

    The Gulls were ready to play from the opening kickoff in 2004. The team earned a huge win over Brandeis (2-1) and used it as a building block for the rest of the year. Endicott had never beaten the Judges, who were a top 10 team in New England.

    The team enjoyed two more wins versus rivals Salem State College to receive its first New England ranking of No. 9 in the region. The Gulls scored two more victories over Eastern Nazarene College and Colby Sawyer before the injury bug plagued Endicott the rest of the way.

    But the rash of injuries opened the door for several freshmen to make an impact. Elias Carrero (Great Barrington, MA) played a major role in the midfield, becoming a CCC All-Star. He roamed the midfield with junior captain Daniel Duvernoy (Hamilton, NY). Eric Booth (Belchertown, MA) started 17 games on the Endicott backline and received plenty of help from Douglas Lindblad (Branford, CT), who was slowed by nagging injuries for the better part of the season.

    Eitan Bendesky (Mexico City, Mexico) inherited his brother Jonathan's jersey number and played just as hard as the Gulls' former two-time captain (2002-2003). Bendesky will start at stopper while Brandon Jones (South Kingston, RI) and Pranam Lipinski (Adams, MA) will be major contributors.

    Endicott lost five senior to graduation - defender Ryan Vigilant (Westford, MA), defender/midfielder Shawn Bullis (Barre, VT), defender Nathan Girard (Adams, MA), forward Cody Barbierri (Shaftsbury, VT), midfielder Pete Mendel (Adams, MA) and goaltender Braden Monaco (West Newbury, MA) - but head coach Stefano Franciosa is confident the team can reach new heights. Franciosa enters his fourth season at the helm for Endicott and believes the team needs to become more consistent but has all the ingredients to be very special. The Gulls should have great team chemistry, strong leadership and a lot of talent.