Newburgh, N.Y. – Sixth year head coach Kevin Longacre will lead the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Soccer squad into the 2016 season on Thursday night with a home non-conference contest against the Culinary Institute of America before welcoming Vassar to Kaplan Field on Sunday evening in two of the team's nine home tilts in 2016.
 
At A Glance: The Knights are coming off a 2015 season that saw them post a 5-10-4 overall record and a 4-3-3 mark in the Skyline Conference, missing the conference championship tournament by just two points.
 
The Mount returns a talented core from the 2015 squad, including Second Team All-Skyline Conference pick Ivan Dorador (Valley Stream, N.Y.) who will be asked to anchor the defense once again in 2016. The Knights top returning goal scorer from a season ago is sophomore Joey Dolan (Highland, N.Y.) who tallied four times and assisted on a fifth goal for nine points as a freshman.
 
Head Coach Kevin Longacre returns for his sixth season on the sidelines in Newburgh and has guided the Knights to a 47-39-11 overall record. He mentored the Knights to their first ever Skyline Conference title in 2013 and added a regular season crown in 2014. Longacre was named the Skyline Conference Coach of the Year in both 2012 and 2014.
 
Forwards: The Knights feature five returners up front that combined for six goals and 13 points a season ago. Senior Mike Zanfardino (Saint James, N.Y.) appeared in each of the team's 19 games in 2015, scoring a pair of goals as a junior. Eric Hayes (Westhampton Beach, N.Y.) was limited to 13 games as a sophomore, but potted three goals for the Mount.
 
Also returning at forward are Johnny Schefer (Greenlawn, N.Y.) who played in 15 games as a freshman, Bereket Watts (Southold, N.Y.) who totaled three points in 15 games and Joseph Sadofsky (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) who appeared in 13 games and made three starts in 2015.

Midfield: Mount Saint Mary welcomes back three young players in the midfield and adds a trio of talented newcomers in 2016. Sophomore Fred Stark (Hollis, N.Y.) was second on the team in assists in 2015 and is the top returning player in the category after helping on four goals and totaling six points last season.
 
Sophomore Matt Fuge (Avon, Conn.) is one of just five returners to appear in all 19 games last season, starting 13 times as a rookie. Senior Matthew Minniter (Mahopac, N.Y.) also returns after assisting on three goals as a junior in 17 games played.
 
Longacre and the Knights will look to Joe Bacalhau (Woodbridge, N.J.), Jared Whitford (Melrose, N.Y.) and Kenan Kizar (Manalapan, N.J.) to add depth and to contribute early on in their rookie campaign.
 
Defense: The backline will be anchored by three players who played in all 19 games in 2015, including Dolan and Dorador who are the only returners to start every game a season ago. Dorador earned Second Team All-Conference honors in 2015, scoring a goal for the Mount, while Dolan is tops among returning players in both goals (4) and points (9).
 
Sophomore Bobby Caronia (Ossining, N.Y.) logged 19 games as a rookie, making 12 starts on defense, while Shacore Graham (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) and Elmer Moran (Brentwood, N.Y.) each are back after combining to play in 21 games in 2015.
 
After missing a season, senior Nick Ciani (Sussex, N.J.) returns to the Mount Saint Mary lineup after appearing in 15 games in 2014 and recording one assist. He joins Chris Pozo (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and Andrew Marcantonio (Bristol, Conn.) as newcomers to the Knights in 2016.
 
Goalkeeper: Senior Tyler Biscone (Garden City, N.Y.) will take the lead in goal in 2016 after playing in eight games and making three starts as a junior. In 441 minutes last season, Biscone posted a 2-1 record, 2.04 goals against average, a .600 save percentage and stopped 15 opponent shots. Over his previous three seasons with the Mount, Biscone holds a 1.83 goals against average and made 41 saves.
 
Joining Biscone in goals is freshman Thomas Trainor (Patterson, N.Y.).
 
Upcoming Schedule: After two straight home games to open the year, Mount Saint Mary will travel to Bard on September 7 and play twice in Upstate New York at the Potsdam College Cup September 10-11. Following the three game road trip, the Mount will open a season-long three game home stand against Rutgers-Newark on September 14.