The Johnson State men's soccer team announced its leadership team for the 2015-16 year which consists of Cole Hennessy, who was named as captain at of the 14-15 season and co-captains Pedro Perez and Dom Caforia.
Cole Hennessy, a defender from Colton, NY has served the Badgers well in his previous seasons and also forged his claim to be a captain in his defensive partnership with Noi Jones in the 2014-15 campaign. Always attentive to detail and setting high standards on and off the field, the senior will be a very important part of the group for the season by consistently leading by example. Hennessy majors in Physical Education and has been a consistent, hard working part of the squad with 29 prior to the 2015-16 season. Hennessy also represented the Badgers on the men's tennis team during 2014-15.
Perez, a junior from Belmont, N.H. and Caforia a sophomore from Waterbury, Vt. have both shown tremendous maturity and a strong desire to help improve the Badgers. Perez is studying Business Management with a concentration in Sports Management. He is comfortable in midfield and defense and is the Student-Athlete Academic Advisory Committee (SAAC) treasurer. Through his involement in the SAAC, Perez has represented the College at North Atlantic Conference workshops regionall and nationally and took part in helping to coordinate the campus' first Special Olympics basketball tournament last winter.
Caforia, a sophomore who is studying Education, is a dynamic attack minded player scoring 6 goals in the 2014-15 season. Together, the three have amassed 71 starts with Hennessy entering his final season; Perez his third and Caforia his second season with the Badgers respectively.
Coach Manson stated "… a big part of naming Dom and Pedro co-captains was to reward them for the application and efforts of the previous season, what I had seen of them this pre-season but also to help with our succession for the future season. Both are technically very strong players, who have a good tactical grasp of the game. They are trustworthy and put the team first. We are working on the mentality piece with individuals and the collective group, and I have no doubt they will shoulder the responsibility in a very positive manner, embracing the honor and challenges associated with being captains".
Adding on the wealth of experience already in the program "We are very fortunate to have so many returning players, especially seniors who have personality, knowledge of the game and understand the culture that we are working towards. Returners like Josh King, Richie Perez, Alex Pakatar and Dylan Dalmata offer great communication and direction to the incoming class" said JSC Head coach, Iain Manson "Add that to the work ethic, sportsmanship, responsibility, passion and belief shown by the three captains and we are in a very good place. Naming all three as captains is something we believe in".
As a group the JSC Men's Soccer team are again looking to better the improved performances from the 2014-15 season and have an eye on the NAC playoffs. The group know that consistency in performance and concentration are key, messages drummed home by coach Manson to elevate their game, and with the leadership of Cole, Dom and Pedro are well placed to continue to kick on.