10/29/22        
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Falcons men's soccer team came into the season expecting to compete with the best teams in the region. Now, this weekend, the Falcons will have their chance to do just that, when they host the Division II Subregional Tournament this weekend at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore, PA.
 
There are three teams in action this weekend. On Saturday, Region XIX representative Lackawanna College (6-1-0) will square off with Region XV representative, SUNY Ulster (9-2-1), at 11:00am ET on Saturday, October 29^th. The winner of that game will face the Region XXI representative, Massasoit CC (10-1-1) on Sunday, October 30^th, at 11:00am ET. Both games will be held at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore. Attendance is free and open to the public. There will also be a video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network (lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE) or the Region 19 Sports Network (region19sn.com). You can also watch via the Region 19 Sports Network app on mobile phones or tablets.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College has had a bit of a layoff, as their last game was nearly two weeks ago. In that match, the Falcons won on the road against Lehigh Carbon, 3-1, getting a pair of goals from Robert Jarvis Humphreys and another goal from Ahmed Kaid. The win gave the Falcons their sixth victory, tying the 2019 squad for the most wins in the eight-year history of the program. Lackawanna College is also guaranteed to finish with a winning record for the first time in program history.
 
In seven games, the Falcons have scored 20 goals, while conceding ten. Of those ten goals allowed, seven came in just two games. Lackawanna College is averaging just a shade under three goals per match, and is averaging just over 50% of its shots on target.  The Falcons have been very good in possession, with 49 corners to just eight for their opponents so far this season.
 
Humphreys (Soufriere, Dominica) leads the team with nine goals and one assist, giving himself 19 points on the year. Humphreys has put nearly 54% of his shots on target this season, and has three multi-goal games, including a first-half hat-trick in a 4-3 win over Delaware County CC earlier this season. In his last game, Humphreys had two goals on six shots in the win over Lehigh Carbon CC.
 
Darlyn Uceta (Philadelphia, PA) is second on the team with four goals this year. Uceta had a hat-trick two weeks ago in a road-win over Harrisburg Area CC. Uceta, a Lackawanna College baseball player, was pulled into duty to play soccer this season, despite never having played, and has fit in almost immediately to the squad.
 
There are three Falcon players with two goals on the year. Kaid (Staten Island, NY) has a team-high three assists, as well as his two goals, giving him seven points on the year. Kaid scored a goal on the road in a win against Catonsville, and had a goal and an assist in the win over Lehigh Carbon CC last week. Anthony D'Angelis (Holtsville, NY) has two goals and two assists this season. D'Angelis has recorded an assist in his last two matches, and scored his goals against Delaware County CC and Sussex County CC. Kevin Andrade (Scranton, PA) has a pair of goals and an assist this year. His goal against Catonsville turned out to be the match-winner, coming on a free kick. He had a goal and an assist in the first game of the year against Lehigh Carbon CC.
 
Willis Smith (Oxford, England) scored a screamer of a goal in the win over Sussex County CC, a game where he also picked up his lone assist on the year. He helps anchor the defensive side of the midfield, and provides some cover for the back four, which are made up of Gerard Borosky (Scott Twp, PA), Joshua Kalinock (Mount Pocono, PA), Connor Hillis (Vestal, NY) and Malik Yusuff (Bronx, NY). The defense has helped the Falcons allow just a goal or less in five of their seven matches this year. The majority of the goals the Falcons have allowed this season have come directly from, or soon following, dead ball kicks.
 
In net, Jahdale Givans (Bronx, NY) has picked up a pair of clean sheets and saved 35 shots on the year, including an impressive 16-save performance in the loss to Mercer County CC. He has only had to make five saves combined in his last two matches.
 
The Falcons are coached by Zachary Shiposh, in his first season with Lackawanna College. Shiposh, a Clarks Summit native, brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience from all over the world. Shiposh played at St. John's University in New York, gaining valuable high-level collegiate experience, and then transitioned into playing and coaching in soccer hotbeds like Brazil and Germany. He has several coaching certifications, and was the Falcon assistant in the spring 2022 semester before being elevated to head coach. 
 
About SUNY Ulster
The Senators (9-2-1) have won four straight, three of which were clean sheets, and are coming off their second straight Mid-Hudson Conference championship, having defeated SUNY Westchester 1-0 last Wednesday. This marks the second straight season that Ulster has made the subregional, having made it last year with a 9-2 record before dropping a 5-0 decision to Mercer County CC.
 
Ulster is averaging 3.5 goals per game, having scored 42 goals on the year, and have given up just eleven goals on the season, just under a goal per contest. The Senators have put 62% of their shots on target, and have also been very good in possession, getting a 71-42 advantage in corner kicks, and forcing 65 saves from their opponents.
 
Freshman forward Javier Rodriguez has been stellar for the Senators, leading the team with 14 goals on the year. Rodriguez also has a pair of assists, giving himself a team best 30 points on the season. Rodriguez had a great start the year, scoring eight goals in his first two games, splitting it even with four goals in each against Tompkins Cortland and Hudson Valley. He's quieted down as the season has progressed, but he did have two goals on four shots in the 5-0 win over SUNY Rockland back on October 6^th. He did not score in the win over Westchester, despite taking nine shots.
 
Sophomore forward/mid Modou Badjie is second on the team with ten goals this year, and is first on the squad with six assists, totaling 26 points on the year. Badjie has four different games in which he's scored a pair of goals this year, including a two-goal outing in a 4-0 win over Westchester back on October 1^st. Badjie had a goal and an assist in the 5-0 win over Rockland back on October 6^th. He had the assist on the lone goal in the win over Westchester last Wednesday.
 
Anthony Murcia is a freshman forward who scored that lone goal, and is third on the team with eight goals and five assists this year. Murcia has totaled 21 points, good for third on the team. He has two games where he's scored two goals this year, and he has scored in his last three appearances, totaling four goals and an assist in those three games. He scored both goals in a win over Bryant & Stratton, then had a goal and an assist in the October 1^st win over Westchester, before scoring the lone goal in the 41^st minute in the most recent win over Westchester last Wednesday.
 
Cody Baker is the main keeper at the back of the stout Ulster defense this year. For the Senators, Baker has put up five clean sheets, and nine games overall where he's given up a goal or less. Baker had a season-best 12 saves in the 4-0 win against Westchester back on October 1^st. He only had to make three saves in the win over the Vikings last Wednesday. He's had three straight clean sheets for the Senators.
 
The head coach for SUNY Ulster is Jamal Lis-Simmons, now in his sixth full season, and seventh year overall with the college. Lis-Simmons took over in 2016, inheriting a program that had gone three years without a win. He turned that around, getting them a victory in his very first year. Lis-Simmons steadily built the Senators into contenders, competing for conference championships and Region playoff berths before actually accomplishing that goal last season. Before his time at Ulster, Lis-Simmons spent four years at SUNY New Paltz as an assistant, his alma mater. Lis-Simmons was a two-sport athlete at New Paltz, becoming an all-conference soccer player. He also coached his HS alma mater, Highland HS, to an impressive 40-14 record in three years before joining New Paltz as an assistant.
 
About Massasoit CC
The Warriors (10-1-1) are the top-seed in the subregional, and also come in on a win streak, having won their last three matches. The latest was a 3-0 victory over the Community College of Rhode Island on October 15^th. Massasoit scored two goals in the first 14 minutes to take a lead they'd never surrender, and peppered the CCRI goal with 15 shots on target.
 
Massasoit has been stellar on defense this year. Nine of their ten wins are clean sheets, and only once have they allowed more than a goal, which came in a 2-2 draw with the Putnam Science Academy. Their lone loss came to Bunker Hill on October 4^th, a loss the Warriors would avenge with a 1-0 win just nine days later.
 
The Warriors have outscored their opponents 46-3, averaging just under four goals per contest this year. Massasoit is just under 46% of its shots on target, and it has earned 72 corner kicks this season. The Warriors have accumulated ten cards this year, including two reds.
 
Gracian Moreira, a freshman forward, leads the team with ten goals and four assists, totaling a team-best 24 points. Moreira has scored in seven games this year, including five of his first six. He has hit for two-or-more goals in two matches, including a season-best three goals in the 5-0 win over New Hampshire Tech back in September. Moreira scored two of the three goals in the win over CCRI in his last appearance.
 
Hans Takang, a freshman midfielder, is second on the team with six goals this season. He has twice scored two goals, last doing so against Bristol CC in a 9-0 win last month. Otherwise, Takang has gone three straight appearances without a goal. He did pick up an assist in the 3-0 win over Rhode Island.
 
Another freshman, Romell Brown, is a combo forward and midfielder, and is tied for third on the team with five goals this season, alongside fellow midfield Rushawn Plummer, a sophomore. Brown has three helpers on the year, and has put eleven shots on target. Brown was on fire to start the year, scoring in four of his first five matches, as well as piling up three assists, but didn't do much else until scoring a goal against CCRI back on October 8^th. Brown appeared but did not score in the latest match with CCRI. Plummer also had a similar hot start, scoring four goals in his first five matches, as well as picking up a pair of assists. Plummer had a goal against Bristol CC, but hasn't scored again since then. He had two shots in the win over CCRI.
 
There are three players with four goals on the Massasoit squad, but Angelot Jerome might be the most interesting of the three. The freshman is the back-up keeper, but can double as a forward, and has four goals and four assists on the year, putting six-of-ten shots on target this season. Jerome has a multi-goal game to his name, scoring a pair in a 6-0 win over Springfield Tech. He also had three assists in the 9-0 win over Bristol CC last month. Jerome most recently scored a goal in the win over CCRI last week.
 
Caio Soares, a freshman midfielder, is another stuck on the number four in the goal department, but has dished out a team-high five assists. Soares scored a pair of goals in the win over Bristol CC last month, and had two assists in the win vs. Springfield Tech. He did not score or register a shot in the last match against CCRI.
 
Nicholas Fontilus is the main keeper this season for the Warriors, going 7-0-2 in his nine games. He's allowed all the goals, but is only giving up about 0.3 goals per game. He has 30 saves on the season. Fontilus had a season-best seven save game against New Hampshire Tech back in early September. Fontilus came up with three saves in the win over CCRI last week.
 
The Warriors are led by the decorated veteran Rui Estrela, now in his 16^th season with Massasoit. Estrela has amassed 190 wins in his career, and has won numerous Region XV championships with the Warriors. Estrela had maybe his best season in 2015, when he led the Warriors to a 13-8 record, but got a Region championship, a runner-up finish in the Northeast District, and an NJCAA National Tournament bid for the first time since 1995. Estrela, a Massasoit grad, took over the program in 2006, after helping as an assistant with the team in the two years prior. He earned an NSCAA East Region COTY nod for his efforts in 2015. Estrela, after competing at Massasoit CC, transferred to the University of Hartford on a full-ride to play for the men's soccer team.
 
Details
The first game of the weekend will be on Saturday, October 29^th, when the third-seeded Lackawanna College Falcons play the second-seeded SUNY Ulster Senators. That match will take place at 11:00am ET at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore. The winner of that game will face top-seeded Massasoit CC the next day on Sunday, October 30^th, at 11:00am ET, also at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore.
 
Attendance is free and open to the public for both games. There will also be a video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network (lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE) or the Region 19 Sports Network (region19sn.com). You can also watch via the Region 19 Sports Network app on mobile phones or tablets.