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2001 Delaware Men's Soccer Outlook Quick Facts | Outlook     General Information Location Newark, Delaware 19716 Founded 1743 Enrollment 16,000 Undergraduates Nickname Fightin' Blue Hens Official Mascot YoUDee Colors Royal Blue & Gold Affiliation NCAA Division I Conference America East Joined Conference 1991-92 (10th season) President Dr. David P. Roselle NCAA Faculty Rep Dr. John L. Burmeister  Athletics Information Athletic Director Edgar N. Johnson Athletic Office Phone 302-831-4006 Sr. Assoc. Athletic Director Mary Ann Hitchens Associate AD/Programs & Facilities Kate Pohlig Assoc. AD/Business Affairs Scott Eatough Asst. AD/Compliance Sue Groff Marketing Director Curt Krouse Operations Associate Jerry Oravitz Events Supervisor Shane Brey Athletics Development Kathleen Houghton Sports Medicine Physician Dr. Vincent Disabella Head Athletic Trainer Keith Handling Assoc. Head Trainer Joan Couch Assistant Trainer Mike Higgins Assistant Trainer John Smith Strength & Conditioning Coach Russell Barbarino  Sports Information Office Phone 302-831-2186 Sports Information Director Scott Selheimer Selheimer's Home Phone 302-368-8639 Assistant SID Mike Hirschman SID Interns Jon Markle (Soccer Contact), Craig Everett Markle's E-mail Address jmarkle@udel.edu SID FAX 302-831-8653 Blue Hen 24-Hour Sports Hotline 302-831-8139 E-Mail Address 36246@udel.edu Internet Address www.udel.edu/sportsinfo  Men's Soccer Information Head Coach Marc Samonisky (Delaware '71) Record at Delaware 37-101-6 (8 seasons)_ Career Record 37-101-6 (8 seasons)_ Office Phone 302-831-8603 Asst. Coaches Greg Esposito (Delaware '99) Keith O'Connor (Loyola, Md. '99) Home Field Delaware Mini-Stadium Features Natural Grass/Lights Capacity 1,000 Press Box Phone NA 2000 Record 3-15, 1-8 America East (9th) All-Time Record 333-505-68 (74 seasons) 2001 Captains Dan Keane, Brian Shepanski, Kyle Shilcock-Elliott Letterwinners Ret. / Lost 13 / 6 Starters Ret. / Lost 7 / 4   2001 University of Delaware Men's Soccer Outlook   When teams rebuild, there are usually a lot of new faces on the roster. When you look at the 2001 University of Delaware roster, there is certainly a need for "Hello, my name is..." tags. The Blue Hens return just nine letterwinners from last year. The 2001 roster features 15 players of freshmen or redshirt freshmen eligibility.   Brian Shepanski Along with that are an additional five transfers who were not at Delaware last year. "We have a lot of new faces," said coach Marc Samonisky, who enters his ninth season as Delaware's head coach. "We feel good about what we have, though. There is a lot of young talent on this team and we feel we will get better as the season goes on. "So much of our problem last year revolved around the injury bug. Only one player started all 18 games and only four appeared in all 18. We need to stay healthy in order to have more consistency." There are a couple of faces that Delaware fans will recognize on the front line. Dan Keane returns for his fourth season as a starter, while Mike Honeysett is a redshirt junior. Keane struggled through an injury plagued junior year. He appeared in 11 games with eight starts. Because of injuries, Keane was limited to just one goal last year, but appears to be ready for the start of this season. "Dan should be 100 percent," said Samonisky. "We need him to be. He is a great distributor of the ball and is one of the best individual talents to come through the program." Honeysett tied with fellow frontliner Pat Werner for the team lead in goals last year (three). The native of Mechanicsburg, PA has five goals and 12 assists in his two seasons at Delaware. Honeysett may also slide back into the midfield from time-to-time, a move he has made in each of his first two seasons. "Mike is a hard worker and that is where his goals come from," said Samonisky. "He passes well and then works to get his shots." Pat Werner, a sophomore from Virginia Beach, VA, had a strong rookie campaign. He started 10 of the 12 games he appeared in last year and scored two goals in a 3-2 overtime loss to Hofstra. He, too, struggled at times with injuries last season. They will be joined up front by freshmen Eric Carlson, David Egosi, Mark Ellison and Ted Merchant. Merchant may also see time in the midfield, but all will gain experience as rookies. In addition, transfer Jeff Skinner will see significant playing time. Skinner spent his freshman season at Division III Hampden-Sydney. He sat out last year due to NCAA transfer regulations. This year, he will slide between midfield and the front line. "Carlson and Egosi are a pair of very talented players," said Samonisky. "They will have an immediate impact on our success as a freshmen. In addition, Skinner's a kid who strikes the ball very well. He has a powerful leg and will certainly be an asset to this program." In the midfield, along with Honeysett, Delaware will look to senior Brian Shepanski, and the group of Jeff Martell, Richard Zelller, Roger Garrison, Josh Brugger, Nate Danforth, Brent Ruge and Nick Kreider. "Brugger is a pleasant surprise," said Samonisky. "He didn't play soccer at all last year, but has come in and really shown he has what it takes to play in the midfield and in the back. "Shepanski brings so much to us. He was the team MVP last year and an all-region selection. He works hard and can play just about anywhere I need him... in the midfield or backfield, on the inside or outside." Ruge is a transfer from Herkimer CC in New York. A junior, the native of Rhinebeck, NY was a part of two NJCAA Championship teams at Herkimer. In addition, freshman Adam Flanigan joins the program and should see significant time as a rookie. The native of Newark, DE was one of the top high school players in the state last year at nationally ranked St. Mark's. In high school, he was a teammate of UD sophomore Stephen Mangat. On defense, the Blue Hens will look to transfer Mike Marino to lead the way. A junior who spent the last two seasons at St. John's, Marino will be counted on to anchor the defense with his vocal leadership. "Mike has been a leader both on and off the field since coming to Delaware last winter," said Samonisky. "I think he will help to tie things up in the backfield." Joining Marino will be Kyle Shilock-Elliott, a two-time captain and three-year starter, transfers Chuck Coombs and Spencer Long, and sophomore Stephen Mangat. Shilcock-Elliott has started 52 games in his three years at Delaware, including 17 last year. He has misssed just three games in three years at Delaware. Combs is another transfer, coming to Delaware via Division III Goucher College. At Goucher, he was an all-conference selection last year after leading the team in scoring his freshman season. Long sat out his redshirt season at Kentucky last year. He has been plagued with injuries in the pre-season, but should be in the line-up during the regular year. Mangat moves to the backfield this year after starting in the midfield as a freshman. He started 16 of the 17 games he appeared in last year. Also competing for a spot in the backfield are redshirt freshman Justin Reid and freshman Justin LeFauve. The Blue Hens return no one with prior experience in net. Morgan Funsten was on the roster last year, but did not see game action. Along with Funsten, true freshmen Kyle Haynes, Nicolas Mordecai and Adam Manger will all compete for the starting job. Haynes, a native of St. Michael's, MD, will get the nod opening day. Samonisky, however, will look to whoever has the hot hand to do the job. "We want to be able to step out on that field and be able to compete day in and day out," said Samonisky. "We need to work hard everyday. If we can do that, we'll compete with people and we'll be the team that sneaks up on a few people."