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After countless hours scouting college games this Fall, FC Buffalo’s front office has streamlined a list of hundreds of prospects into an unprecedented roster of talent.
Though there will be some additions along the way to our home opener against the Cincinnati Stars this May, we’re proud to announce a powerful list of commitments for this summer’s run toward the NPSL Championship.
“This list of players is representative of hours of work that started back in August,” said FCB head coach Brendan Murphy. “I can say with confidence that this is the most excited I have been about a roster at this point in the year since I became the head coach here at FC Buffalo.”
“I want to welcome all of these players to the team and at the same time put them all on notice that there will be competition at every position. The great thing is, they all know that already and understand that it will make us all better. Not one of these guys will shy away from a battle and that is the attitude we want. That is why we brought them here. We are ready to embracethe challenges that lie ahead in the summer of 2015.”
The initial list of players for 2015 include several returning players, a bevy of talented newcomers at midfield and defense, and the NCAA national leader in goals scored per game.
“When we watched games this past fall, we looked for players who could make an immediate impact in the NPSL,” said assistant coach Bob Roach. “Those types of players are all over this list, who some of our fans will know from local Division 1 soccer.
“All ‘Big 4′ schools are represented in this initial list and credit goes to the coaches who work with and help develop these players. We plan on doing the same with the lads this summer.”
You’ll learn a lot about these gentlemen over the coming weeks via feature profiles, but here are a few bites and stats on our players. There’s a trio from coach Matt Viggiano’s Marist Red Foxes and coach Stu Riddle’s University at Buffalo Bulls, plus a set of four from Eric Barnes’ Niagara University program to go with an honor roll’s worth of players.
It’s a roster that is geared with incredible depth for the congested and challenging NPSL schedule, as well as a group of to-be-announced matches.
An alphabetical Wolves’ welcome to…
Barrett, Isaiah (Binghamton University / Wilson, N.Y.)
– Freshman started 19 games for Bearcats
Beshaw, Josh (St. Bonaventure University / Lockport, N.Y.)
– Played 14 games as freshman for Bonnies.
Bischoff, Matt (University of Pittsburgh / Fairport, N.Y.)
– Started in defense at Pitt before suffering season-ending injury
Brandell, Rob (St. Lawrence University / Glen Ridge, N.J.)
– NSCAA All-Region midfielder scored 8 goals, 4 assists
Casey, Steven (Niagara University / Williamsville, N.Y.)
– Returning FCB goalkeeper started 12 games as freshman at NU.
Coughlin, Andrew (Canisius College / Baldwinsville, N.Y.)
– Allowed stingy .85 goals against average after transfer from Syracuse.
Dahl, Erik (Marist College / Helsingborgs, Sweden)
– MAAC All-Rookie Team member scored 3 goals, 2 assists for coach Matt Viggiano.
Derleth, Ben (Bucknell University / Rochester, N.Y.)
– Empire Revolution Academy product scored once as freshman for coach Brendan Nash.
DiLorenzo, Peter (College at Brockport / Hicksville, N.Y.)
– Big man scored 27 goals in past 2 seasons for Coach Gary LaPietra
Doney, Scott (University at Buffalo / Tauranga, New Zealand)
– Transfer from Marshall also featured in summer for New Zealand U-20s
Ekeze, Julian (Niagara University / Brockport, N.Y.)
– Speedy playmaker registered 1 goal with 4 assists as junior
Ferguson, Andrew (Niagara University / Stoney Creek, Ontario)
– Scored 2 goals and 3 assists after transferring from Marshall
Ferguson, Matthew (Niagara University / Stoney Creek, Ontario)
– Solid back played 18 games for NU; younger brother of Andrew (above)
Gerber, Austin — (Keuka College / Churchville, N.Y.)
– Scored an NCAA best 1.53 goals per game, netting 26 as a senior.
Hill, Trevor (Daemen College / Courtice, Ontario)
– Wildcats graduate brings presence and versatility to roster.
Hogg, Cameron (University at Buffalo / Auckland, New Zealand)
– New Zealand youth international plays for Stu Riddle at UB.
Kappock, Kevin (Marist College / Howell, N.J.)
– All-MAAC Rookie Team defender starred for PDA & New York Red Bulls youth set-up.
Knapp, Brian (University at Buffalo / Liverpool, N.Y.)
– Fan favorite midfielder returns for his third year in blue and gold.
Larocque, Brett (Bryant University / Ottawa, Ontario)
– First Team All-NEAC forward has 20 goals in three seasons at Bryant.
MacVane, Dylan (Marist College / Middlegrove, N.Y.)
– Hard-nosed star midfielder spent time in Real Salt Lake Residency Academy
Maier, Derek (Canisius College / Clarence, N.Y.)
– Returnee from 2012 scored 4 goals on 25 shots for Griffs.
McFayden, Kendell (Medaille College / Buffalo, N.Y.)
– Former Rochester Rhinos forward returns as FCB dual threat.
Pavone, Luke (Buffalo State College / Rochester, N.Y.)
– Transfered to Mark Howlett’s Bengals after two years at UMass.
Ross, Bobby (College at Brockport / Grand Island, N.Y.)
– Aerial threat and stalwart defender returns for third FCB season.
Rozzano, Anthony (University of Albany / Webster, N.Y.)
– Returning midfielder has 14 points in 57 collegiate games.
Slotemaker, Fox (University at Buffalo / Nelson, New Zealand)
– NZ youth national team center back played 16 as freshman at UB.
Suitor, Ross (St. Lawrence University / Youngstown, N.Y.)
– Played in 19 games as a sophomore under SLU head coach Bob Durocher.
Thomas, Jeff (Alfred University / Canandaigua, N.Y.)
– NSCAA All-East Region player returns for third FCB season.
Walter, Chris (Hartwick College / Buffalo, N.Y.)
– FCB’s all-time appearance leader (35) returns for fifth year.
Willings, Connor (Bucknell University / Orlando, Florida)
– Versatile D/M has played 56 games through junior year.
“This is a gifted, industrious group that respects the opportunities given to them and won’t take for granted what it means to play for the great fans of Buffalo,” said FCB general manager Nick Mendola. “The work done by our staff to scout, recruit and commit these players was our best offseason yet. We’ve been talking about players from the first day of college season in August, and will continue to until training camp. Kudos to Coaches Murphy and Roach, as well as my co-owner Scott Frauenhofer.”
Murphy and Roach agreed with those sentiments.
“It has been a true team effort with key contributions across the board and lots of cooperation from local and regional coaches,” Murphy said. “Without a doubt, Bob Roach has been a major driving force behind the scenes since the beginning of this process. It has been his dedication and attention to detail that has helped us zero in on the specific players that we wanted and that we believe will help take us to the next level as a club (Many thanks to Bob’s wife, Christina Castellana Roach, for understanding his passion and allowing him to travel across the state watching games throughout the fall). We’ve addressed some needs and added some exciting new talent that the fans will most definitely appreciate.”
“We are excited about the group we’ve brought in so far,” Roach said. “A tremendous amount of time was spent attending games, talking to coaches, and reviewing match summaries. The reason we spent this much time preparing is because we intend to be better than we’ve ever been before.”
