ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. - Salisbury University
men's soccer coach Gerry DiBartolo was named
Capital Athletic Conference Coach of the Year as he led the Sea
Gulls to their sixth conference title and seventh NCAA tournament
appearance. DiBartolo had five student-athletes named to the
all-conference team for the first-time as the CAC released its 2007
all-conference teams.
SU had three first team honorees and two second team selections
this season. All five Salisbury players are underclassmen.
Sophomores Kyle Sterling (midfielder) and
Justin McGrath (defender) and freshman
Mike Napolitano (forward) earned first team
honors.
Sterling leads SU in all offensive categories and ranks atop the
conference with a 0.75 goals per game average and is tied for first
with 15 goals. The Salisbury, Md., native ranks second in the CAC
in points (45), points per game (2.05), assists (11), game-winning
goals (five), shots (76) and is third in assists and shots per game
with 0.55 and 3.80, respectively.
McGrath stared all 20 games for the Sea Gulls and led the team
in minutes with 1,231 minutes played. The tenacious defender from
Perry Hall, Md., added one assist on the year as well. The Sea Gull
defense posted 14 shutouts and is unbeaten at home with an 11-0-1
record. SU led the conference these three defensive categories;
shutouts, goals against average (0.54) and goals allowed (11).
Rounding out the first team for Salisbury is true freshman
Napolitano, who was the only freshman to make the All-CAC team. The
Ellicott City, Md., native is second on the team in points (23) and
goals (11) and is first among all freshmen in the CAC in those
categories. Napolitano emerged in the CAC tournament where he
scored six goals in SU's first two games. He scored a career-high
four goals in Salisbury's quarterfinal game against Hood College.
Napolitano has started 14-of-20 matches for the Sea Gulls.
The maroon and gold had two juniors make the second team in
forward Romaine Bruney and defender Ryan
Chacon.
Bruney is a transfer from Herkimer (N.Y.) Community College and
started nine-of-20 games for SU. The Ossining, N.Y., native netted
five goals and dished out three assists on the year.
Chacon started all 20 matches and logged over 1,100 minutes in
the defensive backfield for SU. The Laytonsville, Md., native is
tied for second on the team with five assists and is one of the
leaders of the top rated conference defense.
DiBartolo led the team to its 15th straight winning season with
a 15-4-1 record as he reached a personal milestone on October 20
when he earned his 300th career win at Salisbury. The five-time CAC
Coach of the Year sports a 304-149-35 career record in 26 seasons
at SU.
