Men's Soccer Team CACC Champs



Coming off a 1-0 win against number-one-seeded Teikyo-Post University in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship (CACC) game this past Saturday, November 4, Felician College’s men’s soccer team has much to celebrate as it captures the CACC championship. The game was won in quadruple overtime when John McGarry, a sophomore forward from Toronto, Canada, scored five minutes into the fourth overtime. He was assisted by Nick D’Anello, a junior midfielder from Montreal, Canada. Hector Kotei, a sophomore goal keeper from Newark, NJ, was named the CACC tournament most valuable player having saved a penalty shot in the first half of the game and having only given up one goal in the two previous tournament games. Kotei started the year as a midfielder and moved into the goal keeper position early in the season when the position opened up.

Coming off two conference wins where the Golden Falcons dominated both games, the team had confidence going into the championship even though they had lost to Teikyo-Post earlier in the season. “Our first goal of the season was to win the conference championship and we did that. Now we’re looking forward to the next game. We’re not done yet. We still have work to do, and our goal will be to advance as far as we can,” said Assistant Coach Mike Mueller who transitioned from Felician College soccer player to coach last year. The depth of the team and the strength of the players in all positions resulted in a collective effort that helped win the game, said Mueller.

Having won their first championship game, the number-two-seeded Golden Falcons will travel to Notre Dame College in New Hampshire on Friday, November 10, to compete against St. Joseph’s College of Maine which is seeded third in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Region Ten Tournament and is the Maine Athletic Conference Champion. If the Falcons win against St. Joseph’s, they will play the championship game on Saturday, November 11 at 1 p.m. against the winner of the Notre Dame College vs. Green Mountain College game. Depending on the outcome of that game, the team will either conclude its season or travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the NAIA National Tournament.

Led by Head Coach Anthony Scorciolla, the Falcons finished the regular season with a record 10 wins, six losses and one tie, earning the third seed in the CACC conference tournament. Hosting the quarter-final game against Goldey-Beacom College of Delaware on October 31, the Falcons emerged victorious with a 3-1 win and advanced to the semi-finals at Caldwell College on November 2, winning 3-0. With 16 returning players and just two new recruits, Scorciolla says the strength of the team has been in its experience and confidence. “It’s been a stellar season,” said Scorciolla who has been head soccer coach for the past four years. Named to the CACC All-Conference Team were Gary Hanly, a sophomore forward from Rosscommon, Ireland, and Kwame Telemaque, a sophomore defender from Pierrefonds, Canada.

With Felician College’s athletic program just five years old, the men’s soccer team will go down in the college’s history as one of the first teams to compete at the championship level. The men’s cross country team, in its inaugural season, competed in and won a CACC championship meet that same afternoon.