THROGGS NECK, NY - The Maritime College men's soccer team won the most games in program history last season, and they are looking to continue that momentum into the 2019 season. In 2018, the Privateers finished 14-6-1 and ended up falling short of the Skyline Conference Championship as they lost their home semifinal matchup.
"It was unfortunate to fall in the conference semifinals last year, but we return a really good core and added a great freshman group," said head coach
 Daniel Gwyther. "I think we're looking to compete for a conference championship this season. We have multiple goals throughout the year, the first is to get a playoff spot, second is to win the regular season, and third is to win the conference championship. We know Rome isn't built in a day so it's just one step at a time and right now we're focusing on our first game of the season."
Despite losing last year's leading point scorer in
Parker Gallt (Las Vegas, Nev./Plainfield South (Ill.)), the Privateers are confident they return the right pieces to compete at the top of the conference. Offensively, Maritime retained
Christopher Tavernese (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) and
Anthony Sblendorio (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore), who combined for 16 goals and six assists in the 2018 campaign. Both players earned All-Skyline recognition for their efforts.
On the defensive end, the Privateers will rely heavily on senior captain
Justin Forrest (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) to lead the way. Forrest earned First-Team All-Skyline honors last season as helped Maritime limit opponents to just 1.1 goals per game. Additionally, the Privateers return starting goalkeeper
Michael Rodriguez (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham), who won 13 games last year and helped Maritime record eight shutouts.
"The expectations for the team are to go all the way," said Forrest. "We have a younger midfield this year after losing a big chunk, but we're going to fill it in and we have a lot of returning pace up top.
The Privateers open up the season with nine non-conference games and seven of them will be played at Reinhart Field. They begin play with Webb Institute and the City College of New York on Friday, August 30 and Saturday, August 31, respectively. Maritime will then take on York College before traveling up to Maine Maritime for the Maritime Cup.
"We obviously want to win the Maritime Cup, but it's also going to be a good trip that will build team bonding and hopefully make our team stronger," said Forrest.
The Privateers conclude non-conference play with Berkely, John Jay, Saint Elizabeth, and NYU. Skyline play opens up with a re-match of last year's semifinal game against the United States Merchant Marine Academy. The two teams will face off on Wednesday, September 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Watch the full season preview video below, and for the full 2019 schedule,
CLICK HERE!
