Boca Players Leave Their Mark
November 19, 2003
In the advent of the 2003 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship which starts play on Friday, November 21st, the coaches and directors of Jersey Shore Boca reflect on 36 players from their soccer club who have made contributions during the 2003 NCAA intercollegiate men’s soccer season
Boca Players Leave Their Mark
Thirty-six members of the Jersey Shore Boca soccer club make significant contributions during the 2003 NCAA intercollegiate men’s soccer season
TOMS RIVER, NJ (November 19, 2003) – In the advent of the 2003 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship which starts play on Friday, November 21st, the coaches and directors of Jersey Shore Boca reflect on the players from their soccer club who have made contributions during the 2003 NCAA intercollegiate men’s soccer season.
Thirty-six Jersey Shore Boca players participated in NCAA intercollegiate men’s soccer for their respective schools during the 2003 men’s soccer season.
Of the 36 Boca players who competed in college soccer in 2003, 14 played at NCAA Division I institutions, 4 at the Division II level and 18 at the Division III level.
Fourteen of the 36 Boca players are in their senior year in college, nine are juniors, five are sophomores and eight are in the midst of their freshman year.
All but two of the thirty-six Boca collegiate players call New Jersey their home and twenty-seven of those NJ players graduated from High Schools in the NJSIAA Shore Conference.
“Our Directors and coaching staff are very proud of all of our players who have gone through our club and who are currently playing soccer at the college level” said Al Schwartz, President of Jersey Shore Boca who is also a coach for the club.
“Regardless of the level they’re playing at, all of them worked extremely hard to get there. These college players are a reflection of what our club is all about. We provided the highest level of competition and training that was available in order help these players advance in their overall development. These college players stuck with our program and are now seeing the results” Schwartz continued.
One of the most notable players of the 2003 Boca collegiate corps is senior midfielder Angel Rodriguez (Toms River, NJ – Toms River North) from St. John’s University.
Rodriguez is a three-year starter for the Red Storm which is seeded sixth in the 2003 NCAA Men’s College Cup. The Toms River native is a long-time member of the Jersey Shore Boca youth program who played under Schwartz.
Another senior midfielder Kevin Ara (Upland, CA – Upland) of Harvard University was a member of Boca’s Premiere Development League team this summer. He is a 2003 Hermann Trophy candidate, the college soccer equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.
Other seniors making significant collegiate contributions in 2003 include Andrew Cottrell (Brick, NJ – Brick Memorial) of Lafayette College and Jason Kutney (Freehold, NJ – Freehold Boro) of Duquesne University who also were both members of the Boca PDL team.
John Rennie (Cape May, NJ – Middle Township) a forward at DeSales University heads up the Boca collegiate juniors. Rennie has led DeSales in scoring for the past two years and is on track to break the school’s all-time scoring record among others. He was a member of Boca’s youth program and also played on the club’s U18 Super Y-League team in 2001.
Two other juniors, Chris Doran (Toms River, NJ – Toms River East) of Kean University and Ryan Aldridge (Colts Neck, NJ – Colts Neck) of Gettysburg College led the defensive troops at their respective schools during 2003. Doran and Aldridge were members of the Boca U18 Super Y-League team in 2001.
Kris Cheeseman (Barnegat, NJ – Southern Regional) of New England College and Dan Corti (Lakewood, NJ – Lakewood) of Nyack College are both standout second year defenders making significant contributions. Both have started every game during their freshman and sophomore year. Cheeseman and Corti were long-time members of the Jersey Shore Boca youth program and were also part of the Boca U18 SYL team of 2001.
The freshman class of Boca collegiate players includes some of the best young soccer talent ever to pass thru the club.
Heading the list is goalkeeper Chris Konopka (Toms River, NJ – Toms River East) who helped Providence College advance to the semi-finals of the 2003 Big East men’s soccer tournament for the first time since 1987.
Another Boca first year standout is Will McMaster (Rumson, NJ – CBA), a defensive midfielder who played in all 18 games for Coach Helmut Warner and the Randolph-Macon College Division III Yellowjackets.
Boca freshmen Christian Pontier (Forked River, NJ – Lacey) and Nick Gkionis (Jackson, NJ – Jackson Memorial) helped Stevens Institute of Technology capture the Skyline Conference Championship as well as leading the Ducks to the third round of the NCAA Division III championship.
Rounding out the Boca freshman class who made significant contributions this year are Mike Baiata (Pt. Pleasant Beach, NJ – Pt. Pleasant Beach) of William Paterson University; Pat Bulvanoski (Ocean, NJ – CBA) of Mount Saint Mary’s College; Sean Cahill (Whiting, NJ – Manchester Twp.) of Kean University and Andrew Krebs (Forked River, NJ – Lacey) of Mulhenberg College.
All eight of the Boca freshmen above were members of the club’s youth program and Super Y-League teams. In addition, Konopka was also a member of Boca’s PDL team this past summer.
Of the thirty-six Boca players competing at the collegiate level in 2003, 13 played just for the Boca Premiere Development League team this past summer, 5 played for Boca on previous Super Y-League teams, 7 played only with Boca club teams, 10 players were members of Boca’s club teams and Super Y-League teams and one player was a member of the Boca PDL team, Super Y-League teams and Boca club teams.
“It gives me a good feeling inside to see players from our club doing well at the college level. I am extremely happy for all of them, especially the underclassmen who I had the pleasure to coach while they were with us” said Walt Konopka a member of the Jersey Shore Boca Board of Directors and coach for the club.
“Historically our soccer club has always had a very high ratio of players going on to compete at the collegiate level. Our staff and coaches are very proud of this fact. Many of the previous players who have gone through our program, just like this current group, have made significant contributions for their respective schools during their college careers” finished coach Konopka.
Jersey Shore Boca has been a fixture in the soccer community since 1978 and is one of the most respected soccer clubs in New Jersey. The club is celebrating its 25-year anniversary during 2003.
Jersey Shore Boca will compete in the United Soccer Leagues elite Super Y-League for the fourth straight year in 2004. Boca is the only soccer club from Monmouth or Ocean County (NJ) that is a member of the Super Y-League.
The club was also a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League in 2003.
Jersey Shore Boca alumni include several former National and Olympic Team members as well as numerous collegiate DI –DIII players, coaches and former local high school standouts.
One of the most recognized Boca alumni is current U18 United States Men’s National Team & University of Virginia Coach George Gelnovatch who played under Boca Coach Walt Pericciuoli while also staring at Wall High School in the 1980s.
Gelnovatch is also a former member of the US National Team and played professionally with DC United of Major League Soccer.
Complete details of all 36 Boca 2003 college players:
Name, Grade, College, Hometown, High School, HS Grad Yr., Boca Teams Played On
Coulas, Vincent, SR, Virginia Wesleyan, Lakewood, NJ, Toms River South, 1999, Club
David, Johnny, SR, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Hillside, NJ, Hillside, 1999, PDL
Masuhr, Ken, SR, Richard Stockton College, Island Heights, NJ, Monsignor Donovan, 1999, PDL
Sthay, Adam, SR, Loyola Marymount University, Honolulu, HI, Punahou, 1999, PDL
Ara, Kevin, SR, Harvard University, Upland, CA, Upland, 2000, PDL
Cottrell, Andrew, SR, Lafayette College, Brick, NJ, Brick Memorial, 2000, PDL
Hoffman, Mike, SR, Richard Stockton College, Whiting, NJ, Manchester Twp., 2000, Club
Kutney, Jason, SR, Duquesne University, Freehold, NJ, Freehold Boro, 2000, PDL
Marrone, Frank, JR, Ramapo College, Brick, NJ, Brick Memorial, 2000, Club
Nelson, Jamie, SR, Richard Stockton College, Toms River, NJ, Toms River North, 2000, PDL
Poznanski, Tom, SR, Monmouth University, Howell, NJ, Howell, 2000, PDL
Rodriguez, Angel, SR, St. Johns University, Toms River, NJ, Toms River North, 2000, Club
Schneider, Ari, SR, Syracuse University, East Brunswick, NJ, East Brunswick, 2000, PDL
Solheim, Brian, SR, William Paterson University, Toms River, NJ, Toms River East, 2000, Club
Tripicchio, Giafranco, SR, Princeton University, Clark, NJ, Pingry, 2000, PDL
Aldridge, Ryan, JR, Gettysburg College, Colts Neck, NJ, Colts Neck, 2001, SYL
Carrozza, John, JR, Monmouth University, Bayville, NJ, Central Regional, 2001, PDL
Cooney, Jim, JR, College of NJ, Scotch Plains, NJ, Scotch Plains, 2001, SYL
Doran, Chris, JR, Kean University, Toms River, NJ, Toms River East, 2001, SYL
Iapiccio, Travis, JR, Stevens Institute of Technology, Lacey, NJ, Lacey, 2001, SYL
Moynihan, Chris, JR, Caldwell College, Manchester, NJ, Manchester Twp., 2001, Club
Rennie, John, JR, DeSales University, Cape May, NJ, Middle Township, 2001, Club SYL
Severs, Chad, JR, Penn State University, Ocean City, NJ, Ocean City, 2001, PDL
Cheeseman, Kris, SO, New England College, Barnegat, NJ, Southern Regional, 2002, Club SYL
Corti, Dan, SO, Nyack College, Lakewood, NJ, Lakewood, 2002, Club SYL
Gaven, James, SO, Seton Hall University, Hamilton Square, NJ, Steinert, 2002, PDL
Herring, JP, SO, Caldwell College, Barnegat, NJ, Southern Regional, 2002, Club
Wilhem, Dan, SO, Caldwell College, Beach Haven, NJ, Southern Regional, 2002, SYL
Baiata, Mike, FR, William Paterson University, Pt. Pleasant Bch., NJ, Pt. Pleasant Beach, 2003, Club SYL
Bulvanoski, Patrick, FR, Mount St. Marys College, Ocean, NJ, CBA, 2003, Club SYL
Cahill, Sean, FR, Kean University, Whiting, NJ, Manchester Twp., 2003, Club SYL
Gkionis, Nick, FR, Stevens Institute of Technology, Jackson, NJ, Jackson Memorial, 2003, Club SYL
Konopka, Chris, FR, Providence College, Toms River, NJ, Toms River East, 2003, Club SYL PDL
Krebs, Andrew, FR, Mulhenberg College, Forked River, NJ, Lacey, 2003, Club SYL
McMaster, Will, FR, Randolph Macon College, Rumson, NJ, CBA, 2003, Club SYL
Pontier, Christian, FR, Stevens Institute of Technology, Forked River, NJ, Lacey, 2003, Club SYL
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