Falcons aim to improve on the soccer field

Courtesy of Matt Stewart, Sentinel & Enterprise

It's been a bit of a struggle for Fitchburg State University men's soccer team the past few seasons, a lot of which head coach Werner Thissen attributes to the team's mentality. Thissen is looking to change the team's culture and mind-set, which he feels will improve the Falcon's performance.

"There's a change needed in attitude and determination," Thissen said at Wednesday's Media Day. "I think that is one of the key ingredients to be successful. A lot of times on the field your mind determines the outcome. You need the technical side of the game too, but I think if the players on the field are determined and have the right attitude we can accomplish a lot."

The Green and Gold adopted a new motto, 'Be 212', as part of this mentality shift, which the team displays on its practice jerseys and wrist bands. The reasoning behind the motto is that at 211 degrees water is very hot, but at 212 degrees water starts boiling and creates steam that can run a machine.

"Just one degree makes a huge difference," Thissen said. "They need to understand that, during games and in practices. If I just push myself one more degree I can accomplish so much more. It doesn't seem like a lot, but with our motto you can see the difference between one degree."

'Be 212' is part of a larger effort at changing the culture in the FSU program, which also includes adopting a team constitution, developing a mission, and bringing in guest speakers.

"We talked about it in passing last year, but this year we're really going after it," FSU captain Kenneth Kelly said of 'Be 212'. "We just got to give it all we got this year. We don't want to have a repeat of last year, and we have to step it up."

Fitchburg State -- which opens September 1st in the Rogers Williams Tournament -- lost the majority of its offensive production from last season, as the team's top scorers either graduated or are no longer on the team. Gone are Oakmont alum Lionso Ventura and his 15 points, Chris Kleindl (12 points), and Kevin Mascary (nine points).

Additionally, there will be a new look defense as well. Helping to transform the team are 11 freshmen on a team where the majority of players are underclassmen.

"We are going to be very young," Thissen said. "We only have three seniors, and four juniors. We did lose some firepower from last year. But that's not an excuse. We've got some good talent on the team."

Last year's team had some defensive issues which Thissen is hoping to correct. In 2011, the Falcons allowed 2.69 goals per game, while only scoring 1.3 goals per game en route to a 3-13-1 (1-6 MASCAC) record.

"I think one of the key ingredients to be successful is to tighten up the defense," Thissen said. "We got scored on so many times last year on individual mistakes, and we cannot let that happen."

The Falcons should have some decent depth in the net and the starting position is still up for grabs. Sophomore Aiden Hanratty took over the starting role as a freshman and returns this season. Senior Evan DeAmicis, who suffered a season ending injury prior to the start of 2011, returns in good health and newcomer Kurtis Burke is in the discussion.

"(Hanratty) has a lot of potential and he's only in his second year," Thissen said. "Last year (Hanratty) was thrown into the starting role when (DeAmicis) was out, and we didn't have a backup goalie. This year was have three goalkeepers who can challenge each other during practices and the best one will play."

Despite no games to judge them on, several freshmen are showing a lot of promise in practice. Thissen is excited about the opportunity for these players to develop cohesion over the years as they mature.  

"We have three or four freshmen who have really good potential," Thissen said. "What we gained this year in recruiting was height and defense. We have the right ingredients, we just have to do the simple things right."

On the defensive side of the ball, junior Colin Shea returns, and takes over captain responsibilities with the expectation of being a key player.

"We've got a lot of new talented players on defense," Shea said. "I think we're going to really hit the sketch board a little bit harder this year, look at formations a little bit better, and try to figure out what we did wrong."

Carmen Bordonaro, last year's fifth-leading scorer (two goals), will be a captain and primary offensive threat for the Falcons.

"I feel confident because we have some good players up top coming in," Bordonaro said. "I feel that as a team we are going to gel. It's still earlier in the preseason, but I think as a team we're going to do some great stuff."

The Falcons' home opener is September 5th against Curry College.