Boca boasts 67 on college teams – Ocean County Observer
August 25, 2007
Boca boasts 67 on college teams
Published by the Ocean County Observer on 08/25/07
STAFF REPORT
When the 2007 NCAA college soccer season kicks off this weekend, chances are that Shore area fans will not have to look very far to find a former or current Jersey Shore Boca player participating with some college team either facing opponents on the field or coaching from the sidelines somewhere throughout the United States.
A total of 67 Jersey Shore Boca standouts who previously played for the club on either its men’s, women’s, Super Y-League, PDL, club or youth teams will participate in NCAA intercollegiate soccer this fall representing their respective institutions as players and coaches in some of the top college soccer programs in the nation.
The 67 mark the highest number ever of Jersey Shore Boca players and coaches to participate in NCAA intercollegiate soccer during the same season in the Club’s 29-year history.
Eight former Boca standouts will lead theire teams from the sidelines, including West Virginia head men’s coach Marlon LeBlanc (East Windsor), who was tabbed the 2006 Coach of the Year by both Soccer America and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
LeBlanc was part of the two-time Boca NJ State Cup Championship teams coached by Dave Ellis in the early-1990s.
Also guiding his team for the 12th season is George Gelnovatch (Wall), head men’s coach at the University of Virginia and one of the most recognized Jersey Shore Boca alumni in history.
Gelnovatch, who played several years in Boca’s youth system in the mid-1980s under long-time Boca coach Walt Pericciuoli while attending Wall, has led Virginia to numerous ACC titles and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances as head coach.
In addition to the eight coaches, 59 Jersey Shore Boca players will be either battling opponents, including squaring-off against each other, or will be college teammates when the season begins.
Leading this season’s list of Boca’s collegiate players are seven club standouts who will take the field for teams in the Big East Conference, one of the top Division I conferences in the country.
The seven include Syracuse University’s Tyler Stoviak (Malvern, Pa.), Seton Hall’s Justin McGrath (Monsignor Donovan), Jon Levondowski (Midland Park); Rutgers University’s Joey Sorrentino (Hamilton) and Jake Wienberg (Highland Park), St. John’s Jara Habib (Englishtown) and Villanova’s Chris Quinn (Hazlet).
Boca veteran Jason Mancuso (Toms River North) will begin his final year of eligibility at York College (Pa.) after playing two years at Ocean County College and one at Central Connecticut State University.
Another ex-Mariner and Boca veteran Mark Schmiegel, who finished second on the Boca U23 team in scoring (three goals, six assists) behind Mancuso last season, will try to lead Bucknell University to consecutive Division I tournament appearances.
A total of 16 standouts from Boca’s inaugural U23 women’s team which also advanced to the 2007 MSSL Championship game this summer will take the pitch for their respective schools this season, including three-time All-Skyline Conference selection Tanya DiDonna (Colts Neck) of Centenary College, Monmouth University’s Katie Bubnis (Marlton), Sarah Conway (Brick Memorial) and Brittani Heller (Newton), Jessica Fuccello (Brick Memorial), a 2006 All-Ivy League second-team selection last year as a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania and The College of New Jersey senior Courtney Krol (Howell), a 2006 NSCAA all-region first team All-American.
Krol and her fellow teammates junior Erin Cunliffe (Lakewood), who led the Boca U23 women in scoring this summer with seven goals and two assists, and seniors Lori Adriance (Hazlet) and Jennifer Olszewski (Brick Memorial), helped lead TCNJ to the 2006 NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer National Championship game a year ago. It lost to Wheaton College of Illinois 2-0.
There will also be two sets of Boca siblings taking the pitch for their respective college teams this season as recent high school graduates and new college freshmen Charles Cunliffe (Lakewood) and Michael Krol (Howell) become the second members of their families playing NCAA soccer this season as they join their older sisters on the pitch in 2007.
The remainder of the Boca college freshmen class includes Jane Dorsey (Oceanport) who will attend Dominican College; Jonn-David Gutierrez (Lakewood), who will head to the New Jersey Institute of Technology; Rob Wilson (Point Pleasant Beach), who will be at TCNJ, and Francisco Guatreaux (Lacey), who will continue his career at OCC.
Published by the Ocean County Observer on 08/25/07