The Dynasty Lives on for Terrier Men ’ s Soccer
There is no disputing that head men ’ s soccer coach Tom Giovatto has built the model soccer program in the Northeast Conference . The Terriers ( 14-5-1 ) made their fourth NCAA appearance in the past five years after winning the NEC title for the second straight season at Brooklyn Bridge Park in early November .
Giovatto was named the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division I Coach of the Year following another tremendous season . On a personal level , Giovatto recorded his 100th career win on October 20 in a victory over Robert Morris .
Brooklyn Bridge Park has provided an unbelievable advantage for the Terriers since beginning play at their new home in 2013 . The Terriers are a combined 33-5-4 (. 825 ) playing on the waterfront during those five seasons , never losing more than one home match a season .
The Terriers are a combined 12-0-2 over the past two years in Northeast conference play . Over the past five years , the Red & Blue are a combined 23-6-6 against NEC opponents .
They ’ ve outscored their NEC opponents 21-2 during the last two regular seasons and did not allow an NEC goal in all of 2016 , a stretch which extended into the NEC post-season . This past season they owned a 9-2 scoring advantage and outscored their opponents , 8-0 , in the 2017 NEC Championships .
A total of five Terriers were named to 2017 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men ’ s All-Northeast Region Teams : Defender Faouzi Taieb ’ 20 and midfielder Dominick Falanga ’ 18 earned First Team honors , goalie Roberto Bazzichetto ’ 18 and forward Ali Tounkara ’ 20 received Second Team accolades , and defender Collyns Laokandi ’ 18 was named to the Third Team . ●
Bowler Emma Catone Competes at Nationals
Bowler Emma Catone ’ 18 competed in the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Singles Championships , in Omaha , NE this April . Catone earned an automatic invite to the national event after placing seventh out of 174 competitors with a score of 1,240 at the 2018 Intercollegiate Singles Championship Sectional Qualifiers .
Catone , a Second Team All Northeast Conference performer , bowled the fourth highest score in qualifying , moving her to the second round of the national tournament where her tournament ended .
“ I ’ m so proud of Emma this past year , especially the last few months where I ’ ve seen some of the best shots ever from her ,” said Terriers ’ Head Coach Dawn Gugliaro . “ Her decision-making with on lane adjustments and ball selection have been on point . Her ability to stay in the moment and focused is the reason she has been able to put up the big numbers .” ●
Emma Catone ’ 18 .
St . Francis College Athletics ahead of the Curve on Mental Health
Mental health issues have always carried a certain shame in our society and that stigma , unfortunately , extends to college athletics as well . At St . Francis College , however , this is not the case . Last summer , Irma Garcia ’ 80 made a bold decision that she hoped would make a long-lasting impact for her student-athletes and coaching staff . Instead of budgeting all of the department ’ s precious funds for routine program upgrades , the Terriers ’ Director of Athletics hired Dr . Jarrod Spencer to instill the revolutionary “ Mind of the Athlete Program ” for the entire 2017 – 18 academic year .
“ The Northeast Conference recently instituted a wonderful new initiative to bring experts to our campuses to help student-athletes on a variety of different topics ,” Garcia explained . “ Mental health was the one area I felt would benefit our student-athletes the most . We wanted to give them a tool to deal with a variety of problems that arise due to the stress of being a college student and a Division I athlete .”
“ Mind of the Athlete ” helps improve the emotional health of athletes . The staff believes there is so much more possible within athletes . The belief is that this potential is often blocked by limitations of the mind . The program attempts to unlock that potential by equipping athletes with cutting edge sports psychology content , resources , and skills . The mission is to help athletes thrive !
Dr . Spencer focused the first year on three main areas : how the mind works best , sleep and how it effects performance , and how to manage performance anxiety .
“ I believe it ’ s really been a huge positive for our program ,” Garcia added . “ We have gotten great feedback from our student-athletes and coaches and we plan on continue our relationship with Jarrod next year .”
“ If you want your son or daughter to attend a school where they are honestly cared for , St . Francis College is the place ,” said Dr . Spencer . “ The student-athlete is cared for deeply as a person , not just an athlete , and it ’ s obvious from the top-down . It ’ s a tangible vibe that you feel at this place and it gives me more excitement and the love to perform my job every day .” ●
Men ’ s Track and Field Returns to the Penn Relays
Five members of the Men ’ s Track and Field team ran in the 2018 Penn Relays , making it the second year in a row the Terriers competed in the prestigious event . The men competed in the 4 x 400 meter relay and the College Men ’ s Sprint Medley . Paul Clarke ’ 19 was the only one of the five who raced last year . The others on the 4 x 400 were Daniel Pagan ’ 21 , Feguy Magnan ’ 21 , and Joshua Beausil ’ 21 . In the medley , Clarke , Magnan , Pagan , and Matthew Nieves ’ 21 raced , cutting more than four second off the team ’ s time from a year ago .
Graduate Wagner Elancieux ’ 18 also competed at the relays . He ran for Team Haiti in the USA vs . the World 4 × 100 meter event where he got to race against one of the world ’ s fastest men , Justin Gatlin . ●
ST . FRANCIS COLLEGE TERRIER | SUMMER 2018 , VOLUME 81 , NUMBER 2 15