Griffin Abbott '15 led Hamilton's offense in his rookie year. The speedy forward tied for 15th in the NESCAC in points per game and topped the Continentals with three goals and three assists for nine points. Bosman chipped in two goals from his midfield position. Balbo has scored 11 goals in his Hamilton career, and Leo Nizzi '14 set a team record with eight assists as a freshman two years ago.
Tempest is a three-year starter in the back and is a threat to score on occasion as he put two in the back of the net last year. Boole has started 42 of the 43 games he has played in goal at Hamilton. He ranked second in the NESCAC in saves per game, third with 65 total saves and fourth with a save percentage of .823 in 2011. Boole recorded two shutouts and a 1.05 goals against average in 1,200 minutes. Fred Porges '14 is a capable backup in net. The 6-foot, 3-inch Porges made nine saves on 10 shots on goal in 141 minutes last year.
Before departing the Liberty League at the end of 2010, Hamilton made the league championship for the eighth time in nine years. The Continentals claimed two tournament championships (2004, 2007) and a pair of regular season titles (2000, 2006). Both tournament championship crowns were clinched against St. Lawrence University on the regional powerhouse's home field. Hamilton was a league member from 1995 to 2010.
Hamilton finished 2010 with an overall record of 9-3-3, and was a Liberty League championship semifinalist. Frank Campagnano '12 made the 2010 National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA) of America East Region all-region first team at midfield. Nizzi was voted rookie of the year in the Liberty League and on the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Metro/Upstate team.
Just two men have coached the men's soccer team since 1959. Current head coach Perry Nizzi is in his 15th year with the Continentals. Nizzi has guided the team to NCAA championship appearances in 2000, 2004, 2006 and 2007. He picked up his 100th victory at Hamilton in 2008 and has a total of 129 going into 2012. Manfred von Schiller won 227 games from 1959 to 1997, and led Hamilton to four ECAC tournaments. The Continentals won the ECAC championship in 1979, when the team finished with a record of 12-1-1.
Hamilton's defense led the way in 2007, when the Continentals made their last trip to the NCAA championship. The team didn't allow a single goal in their first five games as they started the season with three wins and two ties. Hamilton enjoyed an amazing 8-3-0 record away from home, including three wins in four postseason contests. The Continentals edged Union College in one league championship semifinal and defeated host St. Lawrence in the title game. The Continentals' win in the final marked the second time in two weeks the Saints fell to Hamilton at home.
Hamilton drew 2006 national semifinalist New York University in the first round of NCAAs. Undaunted, the Continentals recorded their 10th shutout in a 2-0 win. The victory was Hamilton's first in NCAA play since 2000. New Jersey City University ended the Continentals' season the following night, but it was a memorable postseason run for a Hamilton team that won just half of its 14 regular season contests. The Continentals ended the year with a record of 10-5-3, as they recorded double-digits victories for the seventh time that decade.
Hamilton reached the quarterfinals in the program's first-ever NCAA appearance in 2000 after finishing first in the league with a 6-1-0 record. The Continentals advanced past SUNY Plattsburgh on penalty kicks, and defeated St. Lawrence in regional action. Hamilton hosted Messiah College in the quarters, but lost to the eventual national champions.
The Continentals have made a total of 13 postseason appearances. The 1979 team ended up 12-1-1, which is the best record in the program's history, and defeated Fredonia State in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Upstate Region championship game. The 12 wins in one season have since been duplicated twice (1994 and 2001), and still stand as the team record.
Hamilton has won more than 400 games since it first fielded a varsity men's soccer program in 1920, and there have been plenty of individual stars. Three players, including the incomparable Greg Rogan '07 in 2006, have received All-America honors. Donald McCouch '64 (in 1962) and Phillip Hills, Jr. '53 (in 1951) are the others. Rogan holds team records for most goals in a career with 30, and most career points with 72. Hills led the Continentals to a 5-1-0 season. At that time, the five wins were a program record. Twelve different athletes have earned a total of 15 all-region selections from the NSCAA in the last 11 years, including Campagnano and Jesse Arroyave '11 in 2010.
Exceptional academic performance is an important piece of the men's soccer program. Six players earned a spot on the 2011 NESCAC fall all-academic team. Each honoree has a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.35 and must have reached sophomore academic standing at his institution. Marcus Dormanen '10 was voted to the 2009 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) academic all-district men's soccer first team. Dormanen was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, which is the nation's oldest honor society, in 2010.
Perry Nizzi - Head Coach
pnizzi@hamilton.edu
315-859-4756
315-859-4117 (fax)
