TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

Last season, the UB men’s soccer team shocked the nation, finishing the 2005 season as the ninth highest scoring offense in the nation thus earning its first national ranking in team history, as well as making its first-ever appearance in the Mid-American Conference Championship game. Describe what it was like to be a part of that kind of success.

I’m pretty proud to be on the team, we’re all real dedicated, it was great. It’s an honor playing for UB.

While attending high school in Liverpool, NY, you set the school record for assists in a game with seven. In the process, you earned All-League All-State and All-American honors. What was it like to make the transition from high school soccer to Division-I soccer?

It was actually a bigger transition than I thought it was going to be. I grew up playing at a really high level, in premiere league, our team won regionals and came in third in the nation. I played at a really good high school level too, but the speed of play and the physicality (in college) is way more than I expected it to be. Starting more my sophomore year, I got more used to it and by last year and this year I’m real comfortable with it.

In 2003, you were on a team that went 1-12-2. Two seasons later, the Bulls are making a run at a MAC title. Over the past three years, UB is attributed to being the only team in Division I to make the list of “Most Improved Teams” for the past two years running. What do you think has led to such continued success and consistent improvement?

We had a really good core group of guys who came in in 2003. Then we picked up a couple of guys each year that just combined with the core guys, most of the seniors this year, we just really gelled together and once we started scoring goals, we got pretty strong.

Your former teammate of three years, Matt Stuczynski, was recently named as an assistant coach to Coach John Astudillo. How has his role changed from being a senior captain last season to being a coach this year?

It’s not as hard as I thought it was going to be, with him being a coach this year. He deals a lot more with some of the younger guys rather than trying to get into the older guys’ head’s. He does a good job balancing that and it seems like he’s really getting a lot of experience out of it.

In a recent article posted on CollegeSoccerNews.com, you are described as a “…technically gifted midfielder who will look to provide the leadership necessary to help take Buffalo over the top in 2006.” Do you agree with that statement, in terms of the role you feel you play on the team this season?

I’m looking to combine with all of the older guys this year like they talked about in the article and really provide the leadership through experience and leading by example with all of the other seniors. We have all been through the lows and we have been through the highs and I think our experience will really help the team.

To kick off the 2006 season, the Bulls defeated one BIG EAST team and tied another en route to winning the WVU Shootout. The win over Pitt was the first time the Bulls had beaten a BIG EAST team since 1997 and the first time UB had won a season-opening game on the road since 2000. What was that like?

It was a big confidence booster, we were looking forward to having a good season this year but we hadn’t proved it yet. We had a couple tough preseason match-ups and we knew we had stuff to work on. To come out and get a win in the first game was huge, especially over a BIG EAST team. It was a big deal.

Last season, you recorded career-highs in every offensive category, appearing in all 19 games. How did you prepare physically to endure so many games and to achieve career statistics?

Last year I think it was just sort of a team thing, the team did really well so it showed more. I lucked out and got to help add to the offensive categories. This year I have actually come in in better shape and hopefully I can bounce back and finish with even better stats.

This season, you are scheduled to face many difficult opponents, including games against three NCAA College Cup qualifying teams from the 2005 season. Having just tied with one of them (West Virginia) two weeks ago, does it give you confidence to know that you can compete at such a high level and how does it help you in terms of the rest of the season?

It was good to know that we tied them, (West Virginia) is a really tough school, they actually came out ranked No. 10 in the nation this week. They just knocked off a team from California (Cal-Northridge) that was top 25 too. It is really good to know we hung with them and to know we could have played even better than we did. We didn’t play up to our full potential, so it’s a really big confidence booster and it helps us look forward to a higher level that we should be competing at.

In the 2006 men’s soccer media guide, you list Empire Strikes Back and The Life Aquatic as two of your favorite movies. When the team is not playing or practicing, how do you spend your free time?

I watch a lot of movies, listen to a lot of music, and go to a bunch of different shows with a lot of my friends.

What has been your favorite moment as a UB student-athlete?

Definitely the MAC Championship last year. Unfortunately, we didn’t come out on top, but I think this year it will be a different story.

“The 10 Questions With…” feature is compiled by Jackie O’Brien.