Six starters return in 2015 for the Hamilton College men's soccer team as the Continentals aim to return to the postseason after they played in the 2013 NESCAC Championship quarterfinals.
Hamilton owned a 5-3-1 overall record after the Continentals defeated Ithaca College in a non-conference game at Love Field last year on Oct. 7. The Ithaca victory turned out to be the last one that season as the team struggled offensively down the stretch. The defense -- led by three seniors -- was solid all year but Hamilton dropped four games by a 1-0 score.
Harris Pollack '17 started 14 of 15 games in goal and posted four shutouts. Pollack finished the season ranked third in the NESCAC with 4.07 saves per game. Nick Tselios '17 started the other game in goal and served as the backup for Pollack.
Zach Becker '16 is the lone returning starter on a defense that allowed just 16 goals in 15 games last year. Becker, along with Alec Talsania '17 and Erich Marcks '16, are this year's team captains. Talsania is just the second non-senior to serve as a captain in head coach Perry Nizzi's 18 years at Hamilton.
Talsania and Marcks are the leading returners on offense after both players registered two goals and three assists for seven points in 2014. Bayard Geeslin '16 tied for the team lead with three assists, and Andrew Martin '16 and Jack Temko '18 added one goal apiece last year.
The Continentals play seven games at home on Love Field, including the 2015 opener against SUNY Oswego on Sept. 9. The team begins NESCAC play with a home game against Bates College on Sept. 12. Other conference games at home include: Wesleyan University and Tufts University during Fallcoming on Oct. 3 and 4, Amherst College on Oct. 10 and Colby College for the season finale on Oct. 24 during Family Weekend.
Several key players from last year's squad graduated in the spring, including Dan Kraynak '15 and Jacob Frost '15. Kraynak led the Continentals with six goals last fall and Frost made the NESCAC all-conference team as a center midfielder.
