Philadelphia, Pa. - (8/30/2019) – A year ago, the leadership of Jason Burns '19, Jason Doherty '19, Tales Domingues '19, and Tyler Johnson '19 galvanized Chestnut Hill College for their fourth Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship Tournament appearance in the last six seasons. In 2019, another steadfast senior class has taken their place. "As a coaching staff, we had a tough time finding replacements for last year's graduates," stated Head Coach Zack Ssebatindira. "There is no doubt their leadership has rubbed off on this year's seniors. In all honesty, all eight have grown leaps and bounds in my first two years. They are the heart and soul of this team and they are the foundation for our success in 2019."
 
Headlined by a trio of captains; defensemen Connor Bethel (Hartsville, Pa.) and Stephen Finore (Broomall, Pa.), and goalkeeper Frank Maniscalco (Philadelphia, Pa.), the Griffins' 2019 senior class also includes defenseman Paris Bruhn (Horst Holstein, Germany), midfielder Pedro Dutra (Passos, Brazil), midfielder Mo Ehmer (Staines, England), defenseman Andrew Johnstone (Liverpool, England), and defenseman Michael Roscioli (Turnersville, N.J.). Dutra led Chestnut Hill College in shots (56) last season and finished as the team's second leading scorer with six goals and a pair of assists (14 points). He and Ehmer, who has been a two-year starter in the Scarlet and Gold midfield, will be key in transition. Behind them, the experience of Bethel, Finore, Bruhn, Johnstone, and Roscioli provide a strong last line of defense in front of Maniscalco. Bruhn has proven to be a vital component to the backfield, providing eight points (1 goal, 6 assists) in his first three seasons.
 
Among those returning to the roster are seven juniors; goalkeeper Sergio Hernandez (Ossining, N.Y.), defenseman/midfielder Matt Kehr (Exton, Pa.), forward Miguel Marra (Ossining, N.Y.), defenseman Brendan Rush (Exton, Pa.), forward Lucas de Sá (Bahia, Brazil), forward Andrew Thompson (Atlantic City, N.J.), and defenseman John Zaggi III (Ewing, N.J.), and a pair of sophomore midfielders in David Cortez (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and Mustaf Nuredini (Norristown, Pa.). Hernandez was the Griffins' primary starting goalkeeper (13 games played/13 games started) in 2018, earning a 4-8 record with a 3.40 goals against average (GAA) and a .619 save percentage. Meanwhile, Marra enjoyed a promising sophomore season with five goals and an assist (11 points).

Coach Ssebatindira's newcomers for the 2019 season include three junior transfers; midfielder Lyle Lakey (Cape Town, South Africa/Garden City Community College), midfielder/defenseman Sky Pouchet-Benoit (Petit Valley, Trinidad and Tobago/North Carolina Wesleyan College), and goalkeeper Robert Andrade (Toms River, N.J./Ocean County Community College), and five freshmen; midfielder Diego Cabrera (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), goalkeeper Bryce Fadako (Philadelphia, Pa.), midfielder Aimane Kone (Philadelphia, Pa.), midfielder Cesar May Casteneda (Exton, Pa.), and forward Luciano Torres (Tucuman, Argentina). "The combined talent and versatility of the players we have added will provide us with great depth," indicated Coach Ssebatindira. "They will all offer much-needed competition to our returners. The freshmen are an aggressive group and they have the ability to play the ball quickly. In the short time we have had together this preseason, I am confident that Casteneda, Torres, and Cabrera will mature into significant contributors this season."
 
"Our biggest obstacle will be consistency," acknowledged Coach Ssebatindira. "We have a lot of players who will contribute, but finding the consistency in the way we prepare and compete will be the key to this program's success in the coming years." He concluded, "We are deeper for sure. Balancing playing time to match out fitness and talent is a welcomed challenge, but we are focused on finding the combination that will make our goal a reality and get us back to the CACC Tournament."
 
The Chestnut Hill College men's soccer team opens their 2019 season on Thursday, September 5, when they host Shippensburg University in a 7:00 p.m. contest at Victory Field #1.