Men's Soccer Review: Sophomores the Heart of the Team 12/09 West Windsor, N.J. - Losses have traditionally been few and far between for the Mercer County Community College men's soccer program. The final one of the Vikings' 2009 season, only the second of the year, stung as much as any game could for both the players and Head Coach Charlie Inverso, who has compiled an amazing 434-46-14 record in 24 seasons of guiding the program. The Vikings fell to Essex County Community, 1-0, in the Region 19 Tournament title game, which they had won the previous eight seasons. That defeat ended a 14-2 season and ultimately kept the Vikings from playing at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Men's Soccer Championship, the eight-team tournament hosted at MCCC from Nov. 18-22. Top row, from left, Asst. Coach Bill Dailey,Victor Angulo, Amit Aburmad, Arturo Barajas, Rocike Kazouh, Mohammed Conteh, Robin Patten, David Schindewolf, and Sean Duble; second row, Asst. Coach Art Taylor, Nigel Blair, Darnell Edwards, Eric Waseleski, Kadeem Dacres, Dane Johns, Julian Ward, Israel Delgado, Frank Tweneboa and Head Coach Charlie Inverso; front row, Asst. Coach Larry Povia, Joe Joe Jappah, Darwin Vincente, Alex Shubert, Niv Bernstein, Mark Pratico, Luigi Moriello, Ido Ligety, Hosman Ramos, and Asst. Coach John Pietrowski. "Sometimes it is easy to take our success as a given and to take it for granted," Inverso says. "The players and coaches are still down about the loss to Essex and very disappointed." Not forgotten, however, is the overall excellence of the season. The sophomore class went 33-5 over two seasons, forward Frank Tweneboa was named an NJCAA First Team All-American in 2009, following sophomore midfielder Amit Aburmad's honor in 2008, forward Ido Ligety earned a full scholarship to Big East champion St. John's, and defenders Nigel Blair and Darnell Edwards made outstanding contributions while leaving a lasting impression on the freshman class. "I thought we had a very good team and played well throughout the season," Inverso says. "The sophomore players gave us two great years and have great futures." The Vikings posted two seven-game winning streaks and outscored opponents by a combined 59-16. Tweneboa was a versatile standout, totaling three goals and seven assists, while Aburmad posted team highs with 13 goals and eight assists. Both made the Region 19 and Garden State Athletic Conference first teams along with freshman goalie Sean Duble. Ligety's skilled play shined on the front line while he earned GSAC first-team honors. Forward Luigi Moriello (six goals, four assists) came on strong as another key sophomore and sophomore goalie David Schindewolf helped back Blair and Edwards. The freshman class featured Duble, Kadeem Dacres (six goals) and Joe Joe Jappah (six goals), as well as Arturo Barajas, Mohammed Conteh and Rocike Kazouh. Return to Men's Soccer Page All-Conference and Region Players Return to Sports News Directions to West Windsor Campus

Copyright © 2005, Mercer County Community College. All rights reserved. e-mail questions or inquiries to saveria@mccc.edu