Young MCCC squad looking for consistency

A fast start has lost some steam for the Mercer County Community College men’s soccer team, as the Vikings try and rebuild with a freshman-oriented squad.

“The team is 90 percent freshman,” coach Tigana Dalce said. “We are very young. I look at it as a rebuilding process. When these kids come to Mercer we have to start fresh with them in basic coaching. It is frustrating, but we have to do our job as a coaching staff.

“We have been playing OK, just average. Nothing really special yet. But we are still competing and trying to find ways to win games. There have been ups and down. We are not consistent and that is what I am trying to harp on.”

After an opening-day tie with Massasoit, Mercer won five of its next six games for a 5-1-1 record. That was followed by consecutive 2-0 losses at Nassau and against Essex at NJIT.

“We just didn’t play well enough (in the two losses),” Dalce said. “We were a half step late to almost every ball. Every time we don’t do the little, simple things we will get hurt.

The Vikings carried a 5-3-1 record in Wednesday’s game with ASA, and had a roster heavily laden with Colonial Valley Conference players. Dalce noted that the team’s key players are Nana Osei (Ewing), Lorenzo Laurenti (Northern Burlington), whose father Mark is head coach at Hamilton High, Jo-Wayne Butler, Fulvio DeStasio (Nottingham) and Valdo Jean Baptiste (Trenton Daylight/Twilight).

“We are mostly a local team,” Dalce said. “We are not strong unless we play together as a team. When we do that, then we are strong, but when we choose to do individual things, we fall apart.

“We are trying to keep them playing as a group. Hopefully, it will help them when the playoffs come.”

Despite sitting at 0-2 and in last place in the Region XIX Division I standings, Dalce is still looking for a strong playoff run by the Vikings in November.

“My expectations are always high and will always stay that way as long as I am coaching, it doesn’t matter what level,” he said. “But we haven’t met those expectations yet. I am still working with them towards that.

“Remember that some of them take more times than others to adjust to my system or the Mercer system. We really have to be patient with them.”

Mercer also has a favorable schedule coming up. After playing six straight road games, the Vikings’ Wednesday night contest began a stretch of five home games in their final seven matches.

TCNJ SERVES NOTICE:

The third and fourth games of a conference season might be too early to say they are make-and-break, but you could make an exception for The College of New Jersey.

Coming off a 2-1 loss to Stockton that put the Lions at 1-1 in New Jersey Athletic Conference play, TCNJ’s next two games were against Montclair and Rutgers-Camden, ranked No. 17 and No. 3 in NCAA Division III, respectively.

The Lions promptly proved they can compete with the best in the conference (and nation) by taking a wild 2-1 win over Montclair Saturday and playing R-C to a 1-1 tie Wednesday night. The tie was the first blemish for Rutgers-Camden (11-0-1).

In the win over the Red Hawks, all three goals were scored within six minutes during the final 10 minutes of the game. Kevin Shaw scored the first goal in the 80th minute and, after Montclair tied it with just over 40 minutes to play, Shaw set up freshman Nick Costelloe for the game-winner with 4:10 left.

In the tie with R-C, Shaw converted a penalty kick for his teamleading 13th goal of the season. Shaw has scored at least one goal in eight of the Lions 11 games.

With five conference games remaining, TCNJ (7-2-2, 2-1-1) is tied with Montclair for third in the NJAC behind R-C (3-0-1) and Stockton (31). The Lions visit Rutgers-Newark (9-3, 1-2) tomorrow.

RIDERS RISING RPI:

While Rider’s win total is obviously up with a 5-3 record, a lesser known fact is that the Broncs RPI rating is also on the rise.

And as anyone who has ever watched an NCAA selection program knows, the RPI can make a difference in whether a team gets in a tournament or not. At the very least, it shows how well a team is playing considering its schedule and other intangibles.

When Charlie Inverso took over the program in 2011, Rider’s RPI was 203 out of 204 teams. Last year it was 192, and this year it has jumped 124 spots to 68. And while that may not seem top notch in the whole realm of things, it is indicative of the Broncs’ progress.

“The RPI is something that I take seriously, but more than anything I want our players to realize that they are bringing respectability to our team by moving up in the rankings,” Inverso said. “One aspect that we are always stressing is that we need to bring respect back to our program and that it is not going to be an easy game anymore when you play Rider.”

Inverso said part of the reason for the climb came from getting rid of some dead wood and bringing in players who take pride in Rider soccer.

“It was a tough locker room to be in for the past two years and some of the players couldn’t handle it so they left,” the coach said. “I am always harping on the freshmen and sophomores that they are going to be the ones who are going to make Rider soccer something to be proud of so any sign of progress like a jump in the RPI reinforces this belief.”

TIGERS GEAR FOR

IVY:

After a 2-5 start to the season, it’s time to start over for Princeton as the Ivy League season begins at Dartmouth tomorrow.

“It’s a fact that the winner of the league goes to the NCAA tournament, and everyone starts even this weekend,” coach Jim Barlow said. “We know we have played a very tough schedule and we hope that has helped us prepare for these seven games.

“We know everything is still in our control. In terms of our 2-5 record, we believe we are better than that but we need to prove it over the next few weeks.”

One of the problems Princeton has had in the first month is injuries. Several players are back and a few more are on their way back, but it has affected the Tigers’ ability to be consistent for an entire game.

“That is the focus heading into Ivy games,” Barlow said. “Against Loyola and Georgetown, we gave up goals at really crucial points of the game, when we were playing well. Last weekend against the Florida teams, we struggled in the first half of both games but played well in the second half of both games — against most college teams that isn’t going to be good enough to win.”

As usual, the Ivy will be a dogfight with every team feeling it can win. Dartmouth provides a tough opening test as the Big Green is 4-0-4.

Princeton got some good news on Monday when junior Cameron Porter was named Ivy Co-Player of the Week after having a sixpoint game in the Tigers 4-2 win over Florida International.

“He can be very dangerous, but he’s still searching for that consistency in his decision making, the timing of his runs and his passing, and his finishing,” Barlow said. “We are hoping that he is finding his form at the right time.”

KNIGHTS SHIINES:

FRESHMAN

Rutgers freshman midfielder Erik Sa scored his first collegiate coal in a 1-0 win over No. 19 ranked Memphis on Saturday, and won his first American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week award to boot.

Sa’s goal came in the 74th minute of the Knights win and came off a corner kick. The goal helped snap a 274-minute scoreless streak for Rutgers. It also gave the Knights their first road win.

Sa had some impressive credentials prior to coming to Rutgers. He played high school at Watchung Hill Regional and Seton Hall Prep, and also captained the Redbulls U-18 Academy team and was a member of the U.S. U-15 National team.

“Erik has tremendous talent on the ball,” coach Dan Donigan said. “He has the competitive nature to do what is needed for the team to have success on both sides of the ball.”