Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Soccer team begins the season with two road contests, beginning with Gwynedd Mercy on Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. The Knights also travel to Vassar to take on the Brewers on Sunday afternoon for a 5:00 p.m. kickoff.
 
At a Glance: Mount Saint Mary claimed its second straight Skyline Conference crown in 2018, defeating the United States Merchant Marine Academy 2-0 in the conference final. The Knights earned a bid in the NCAA tournament, traveling to the #11/#14 University of Rochester for its third ever NCAA tournament contest. The Mount returns three All-Skyline honorees as well as its top two point producers from a season ago.
 
Forward: Sophomore Connor Doyle (New Windsor, N.Y.) returns after posting a stellar freshman campaign where he was voted first team All-Skyline Conference. Doyle finished the year with eight goals and two assists, good for second on the team in goals. Matthew Iaria (Suffern, N.Y.) also returns up front for the Mount.

The Mount adds two players back from the 2017 conference championship team as 2017 Skyline Conference Player of the Year Joey Dolan (Highland, N.Y.) and Jonathan Schefer (Greenlawn, N.Y.) return to the Knights after missing the 2018 campaign. Dolan led the Mount in goals with 18 in his junior season in 2017.
 
Midfield: The Mount returns first team All-Skyline conference and third team United Soccer Coaches All-East Region honoree Matthew Wyant (Beacon, N.Y.) as well as second team All-Skyline conference member Joseph Mesoraca (Oceanside, N.Y.). Wyant finished his freshman campaign with the team lead in goals with nine as well as assists with eight. He was also voted the Skyline Conference Championship's Most Outstanding Player.

Junior Joseph Bacalhau (Woodbridge, N.J.) returns after playing significant minutes last season as the Knights also bring back Daniel Grella (Glen Cove, N.Y.), Zidan Douglas (Middletown, N.Y.), and Tyler Vermilyea (Rosendale, N.Y.).

Five freshman were added to the midfield spot as Ismael Bravo (Middletown, N.Y.), J.C. Lopez (East Islip, N.Y.), John Meza (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.), Peter Ramirez (Newburgh, N.Y.) and Chett Kelty (Narrowsburg, N.Y.) will all vie for playing time in their freshman campaign.
 
Defense: Senior Jared Whitford (Melrose, N.Y.), junior Max Antisell (Kendall Park, N.J.) and sophomore Christopher Maggi (Franklin Square, N.Y.) all return to the Knights after posting a strong season where the Mount Saint Mary backline that allowed only six goals to league rivals and did not surrender a marker in two Skyline Conference Championship contests.

Anthony Guglielmo (Setauket, N.Y.), Matt Flanagan (Rhinebeck, N.Y.), Vito Lombardo (Franklin Square, N.Y.), Matt Connoly (Walden, N.Y.) and Andrew Marcantonio (Bristol, Conn.) also return for the Mount.

The Knights have added freshman Johnny Mesnick (Beacon, N.Y.) as well as Justin Pettyjohn (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) to the backline for the 2019 season.
 
Goalkeeper: Tyler Rapp (East Berne, N.Y.) returns to the goal for the Knights for his junior season. Rapp finished the 2018 season with a 9-5-1 record, recorded a 1.30 goals against average and recorded five shutouts. Junior Sean Madden (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) also returns for the Knights after appearing in four game as a sophomore and not allowing a goal last season.

Newcomer J.C. Varrasi (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) will look to vie for playing time as well this season.
 
Head Coach: Kevin Longacre returns to the sidelines for his ninth season as the Mount's head coach in 2019. He holds an 84-59-14 record as the Mount's mentor and guided the Mount to the NCAA Tournament in 2013, 2017 and 2018. He has been named the Skyline Conference Coach of the Year three times, with the most recent citation coming in 2017.
 
Preseason Poll: The Mount has been tabbed the preseason favorite in the Skyline Conference according to the 2019 preseason poll, topping the poll after earning 112 points and six first place nods from the league's 12 head coaches.
 
The Knights edged out conference newcomers Manhattanville, who totaled five first place nods and amassed 110 points. 2018 Runner-Up USMMA picked up 101 points from the head coaches and earned the remaining first place nods.

The 2019 Schedule: The Mount's 2019 slate features eight home games, including a matchup with local foe Bard in the first game on the new turf at Kaplan Field. The Knights will also play host to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in a rematch of the 2018 Skyline Conference Championship Final. The road schedule features a pair of games at the Best Western Plus Cardinal Classic, hosted by SUNY Plattsburgh, as well as trips to Middlebury and Rutgers-Newark.