Volume CXXXII, Number 1 September 13, 2002 f

Youth movement of Men's Soccer
SEAN WALKER
STAFF WRITER

If you run into a Bowdoin men's soccer player walking out of a first year dorm, don't be surprised. No, this is not a reference to the team's luck with the females of the Class of 2006.

Rather, the Polar Bears will boast twelve first year players this fall. With only three seniors and two juniors returning, the team will rely heavily upon its youth.

"We are an extremely young team. I think we're very talented, but I wish we had more upperclassmen in the program," said Bowdoin head coach Brian Ainscough. Since taking over before the 2000 season, Ainscough has recruited numerous talented players to mold the team into one one of the most dangerous in the NESCAC.

Luckily for Ainscough, many of those players already have a year under their belts. Several members of the sophomore class will be looking to build on solid first years.

The team's leading returning scorer is Bobby Desilets '05, a strong forward with a personality to boot who scored five goals and assisted on four others last fall.

Desilets is joined by stellar classmates including forward Tommy Bresnehan, a fiery redhead with a knack for winning headers and quick midfielder Jacques Guana. The backfield also relies heavily upon the sophomore class, as Bucky Jencks, Erik Shea, Drew Tsakos, Peter Schoene and backup goalie Tom Davis will look to stop Bowdoin's opponents cold.
Unfortunately for the Polar Bears, the backfield will be missing a key component in classmate Danny Sullivan '05, who will be sidelined for one to three weeks after having his lateral meniscus scoped nearly one month ago.
"I'm just taking it day by day now, hoping for the best," said Sullivan, speaking to the press for the first time since his injury. If his rehabilitation continues to progress as planned, look for this talented ballhandler to cause havoc to opponents' offensive schemes.

If a member of a rival NESCAC team does happen to penetrate this wall of defense, veteran goalkeeper Travis Derr '03 will be there to stop them. The youth of the defense in front of him doesn't faze last year's starting keeper.
"While we are young, we have a lot of talent back there," said Derr.
Some of talent that Derr refers to comes in the form of freshman backfielders Mike Crowley and William Waters, who will look to make an immediate impact on the Polar Bear program. They are part of an extremely strong recruiting class for Ainscough, which also includes Drew Russo, Ethan Galloway and Brendan Fisher, among others.

Russo, a center midfielder, was named to the high school All-American team last year. He joins Crowley, last year's Independent Soccer League (ISL), Defensive Player of the Year. The ISL is a private school league that is comprised of teams from around New England.

For the youth movement to succeed, however, the five upperclassmen will have to play huge roles, both in terms of of play and leadership. Jordan McQuillan '04 will be relied on to provide strong play from either the midfield or backfield. Along with Derr, McQuillan is one of only two Polar Bear juniors.

In order for the team to succeed, Ainscough is fully aware that his captains will have to lead in every facet of the game.

"A lot of responsibility will be on the shoulders of our captains," said the third year coach. The senior trio of Chris Fuller, Bart McMann and Kevin Folan are the three captains that have been selected to lead the Bowdoin men this year.

Two Massachusetts natives, McMann and Fuller will be looked upon to provide a significant scoring punch from the forward position, while Folan, a midfielder, will be relied upon to both stop opponent's offensive schemes and also trigger Polar Bear attacks.

According to Sullivan, "Team chemisty is strong this year, both on and off the field." This chemistry will prove to be important, as many young players will have to mature quickly in the face of adversity. Unfortunately, such adversity has already come, as one of last year's talented Polar Bears, Tucker Hodgkins '05, was lost for the season with an ACL tear.
The biggest factor, of course, is how the young Polar Bears will respond to a vigorous NESCAC schedule which opens up at Wesleyan College on September 14. According to Sullivan, this won't be a problem. "We are a young team, but I don't think that will hold back our potential to succeed."