It is that time of the year. Soccer is back at NSU. With many fresh faces and a few familiar ones, the men’s soccer started the season at home on Sept. 2. Head Coach Giuseppe DePalo believes NSU fans will enjoy watching this team play for the rest of the season.
“I’m positive, in time, the fans are really going to like this team,” said DePalo. “[NSU fans can expect to see] hard work and talent in transition, some pace, athleticism, and enthusiasm. I think the fans are going to see a hungry bunch of guys who are proud to wear the NSU shirt.”
The team finished last season with a record of 8-6-2 and had the least-potent offense in the conference with an average of 1.75 goals per game. DePalo said there is work to do.
“[We need to improve] our goal scoring. That’s the one area we really tried to go out and recruit attacking players [for],” said DePalo.
One of the new attacking players is freshman forward, Tyree Clarke. Clarke describes himself as a physical and fairly quick player, and said he is looking forward to beginning his NSU career.
“I want to play on the big stage in front of everyone supporting us. [My goal is to] get established as an NSU player, and take it from there,” said Clarke.
DePalo said he is impressed with the new players’ speed. He said it’s an asset that will make the team better.
“As a whole, we can be better. We have the potential to be better now, because we have more attacking options than we did last year,” he said.
The team has most of its defenders returning, positions that DePalo thinks are the team’s strong suit. Alvin Quaye, senior defender said he is pleased with what he’s seen from the new players.
“I’ve played with some great players in the past, here at NSU, and I just think this team has more balance than any other team I’ve played in so far. I think we are lucky this season to have a lot of attacking options. I think coach [DePalo] has done a great job with his recruiting,” said Quaye.
The team’s goal for this season is to try and win an SSC Championship. However, Quaye believes the team’s success is dependent on the support from NSU fans.
“I honestly think I play better when there [are] more people out there. They’re like a 12th man on the field. I would love [to have] the stands packed and they [would] even have to put chairs on the side. The whole point of soccer, when you play away from home, it’s not supposed to be easy, and I’d love for teams to come here and have a hard time,” said Quaye.
