Brooklyn Heights, New York---The St. Francis Brooklyn men's soccer team is prepared to kick off the 2013 season this Friday, August 30th, in Storrs, Connecticut against the #5 ranked UConn Huskies.  Last season, St. Francis Brooklyn finished the campaign with a 7-10-1 mark, which included a season-high four match unbeaten streak from September 15th to September 30th. St. Francis has posted three double-digit win totals in head coach Tom Giovatto's six years at the helm.

"As a whole, we go into every season with the mentality of being competitive and hope to vye for a Northeast Conference championship," commented Giovatto. "We have a deep roster filled with experienced players (16 upperclassmen).  The guys spent all preseason training and improving on their overall skills while creating bonds with the newcomers to form a real 'family' atmosphere.  With the comradery formed and having our new home field at Brooklyn Bridge Park, there is an added excitement to start this season."

On the offensive attack, the Terriers have a veteran group of players who can take over a match and score at will.  Junior forward and 2012 Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year Kevin Correa (Flushing, NY/Flushing) returns up front after posting a remarkable inaugural season.  The Flushing native led the Northeast Conference in nearly every offensive statistical categories as he paced the circuit in points (25), points per game (1.39), goals scored (11) and goals per game (.61).  On a national level, Correa was ranked 25th in goals, while placing in the top-50 in goals per game, points and points per game.  He was selected to the All-Northeast Conference First Team.

Another key player for Giovatto's bunch is senior forward Gabriel Bagot (Nevers, France/Edison Academic Center).  Bagot had a solid third season for St. Francis Brooklyn.   After scoring a team-high eight goals in 2011, the Nevers, France product led the squad with six assists while contributing five goals of his own.  Last season, Bagot matched his total from 2011, tallying six multi-point games.  He was rewarded with a All-Northeast Conference Second Team selection.

Solidifying the offensive attack, the Terriers will be looking for contributions from three experienced midfielders in the form of John Johansson (Kalmar, Sweden/Stagneliusskolan), Viktor Bakkioui (Halmstad, Sweden/Sannarpsgymnasiet) and James Caicedo (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Ford).  In 120 combined games played, the trio has tallied nine goals, thirteen assists and thirty-one points.  All poised for their final season in Brooklyn Heights, look for these three to contribute in addition to Correa and Bagot.

Switching to the other side of the pitch, the Terriers have a formidable duo of defenders in senior Riccardo Milano (Caracas,Venezuela/Colegio "Los Arcos") and junior defender Andy Cormack (Plymouth, England/Hele's School).  Milano, a three-year member of the squad, has played in 33 career games, tallying a goal, two assists and four points while Cormack, a second-year player, appeared in and started in fourteen games last season.  In Cormack's first game of his career, against then #4 ranked UConn, he helped the St. Francis Brooklyn defense hold the Huskies off the scoreboard for the first forty-five minutes of the match.  Both players were recently named to the 2013 College Sports Madness Northeast Conference Preseason Second-Team.  For even more leadership, Giovatto will have fifth-year starter Klement Gjushi (Shkoder, Albania/Manhattan International) at his disposal.  All three players will be turned to keep the opposition from scoring.

Between the pipes, the Terriers added two experienced transfer netminders to replace the void left by the graduated Tyler Clarhaut.  Junior Jack Binks (Darlington, England/Hurworth Comprehensive/Siena College) completed one of the greatest season's by any keeper in Siena Saints program history.  He played every minute in goal for the Saints, posting five shutouts, while stopping 51 shots for a .750 save percentage.  Most impressively was his miniscule 0.89 goals against average, which stands as Siena's best single-season mark.  Binks was named to the 2011 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Rookie team.  Sophomore Seth Erdman (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin/Longwood University) appeared in seven games for the Longwood Lancers, recording a career-best  five stops in back-to-back matches at American (October 17, 2012) and home against Navy (October 23, 2012).  Prior to joining Longwood, Erdman was a four-year member of the soccer team at Lower Dauphin, where he was an All-Star selection during his senior season.

The 2013 Schedule
Seven of the Terriers' eighteen opponents in 2013 had RPI's in the top 150 in 2012, with three of those teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament last season (UConn, UMBC and Fairleigh Dickinson). After opening up the season against the Huskies, the Terriers will tour the "Chesapeake Bay State" as they take on Navy in Annapolis on September 5th at 7:00 pm and conclude in Baltimore against the UMBC Retrievers on September 7th, also at 7:00 pm.  The Retrievers advanced to the Second Round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

The home opener will be a "homecoming" of sorts on September 10th as the Terriers welcome Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) member Saint Peter's with kickoff slated for 7:00 pm.  This will be the very first home contest that the Terriers will play at the brand-new Brooklyn Bridge Park.  It will also mark the first time the Terriers and Peacocks have squared off since the 2006 season. Coach Giovatto will be facing a program that he helped lead back in 2003 to their first MAAC Championship and a second round appearance in the NCAA Men's College Cup.  Saint Peter's recorded 18 wins that season and coach Giovatto's team was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame back in 2009.

After a brief home stint, the Terriers head to our nation's capital to square off against the Howard University Bison on September 14.  The Terriers and Bison are meeting for the third straight time, with St. Francis Brooklyn holding a 2-0 record against Howard.  St. Francis Brooklyn will play back-to-back matches against MAAC opponents, as they first welcome the Rider University Broncs on September 18th to Brooklyn at 7:00 pm.  The Terriers will then head up the Henry Hudson Parkway to Riverdale to tangle with the Manhattan Jaspers on September 22.  for an 11:00 am kickoff.

To close out the month of September, the Terriers will welcome the Saint Joseph's Hawks on the 26th at 7:00 pm before heading up to Cambridge, Massachusetts to square off with the Ivy League's Harvard Crimson on September 29th at 3:00 pm. One final non-conference game opens the month of October as the Terriers travel to Newark, New Jersey to square off against the NJIT Highlanders on October 5 at 7:00 pm.

The Northeast Conference season commences with three straight home contests for the Terriers, starting with an October 11th matchup with the Sacred Heart Pioneers at 7:00 pm.  St. Francis Brooklyn will welcome the Western Pennsylvania duo of Saint Francis University Red Flash on October 18th for a Friday night meeting at 7:00 pm and welcome Robert Morris on October 20th for a 1:00 pm kickoff.

St. Francis Brooklyn returns to the New England area as they take on the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils on October 25th for a 7:00 pm start.  The home finale will be played on October 27th against the Bryant Bulldogs at 1:00 pm.

To close out the Northeast Conference regular season and open November, the Terriers will travel to Teaneck, New Jersey to tangle with the defending Northeast Conference Tournament champions, the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on November 1st at 7:00 pm.  The Knights advanced all the way to the Round of 16, after picking up victories against St. John's and Saint Louis before falling to North Carolina.The finale is scheduled for November 10th at noon as the Terriers make the short trip down Fulton Street to take on their rival, the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds.

The 2012 Northeast Conference Tournament will once again be contested at the home site of the top seed.  Semifinal matches are scheduled for November 15th before the November 17th championship game. Times for the Northeast Confernce Tournament are to be announced.

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