The Stockton University men's soccer team fought through some adversity during the 2021 season, dealing with injuries and illnesses that often left the Ospreys with a short roster. Head coach
Greg Ruttler's squad qualified for the NJAC Tournament as the No. 5 seed with a 5-3-1 mark in the league and finished with a 9-9-2 overall record.
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Stockton played seven matches, nearly a third of its schedule, against teams that made the NCAA Tournament. Six of those games came against opponents that either were ranked or received votes in the final United Soccer Coaches Division III national poll.
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Defense was a strength and an area of stability for Stockton.
James McCombs returned from injury to earn NJAC Defensive Player of the Year and NJAC First Team accolades. McCombs became just the fourth Osprey ever to be chosen the conference's top defensive player. He also was selected All-Region IV Second Team by the United Soccer Coaches.
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NJAC Second Team selection
Max Bond solidified the lineup as his non-stop hustle and defensive play created problems for the opposition.
Paul Bechtelheimer,
Jon Schwab and
Sean O'Leary all started at least 18 games while
Ethan Leacott played in 15 matches. The backs helped Stockton post a 1.01 goals against average.
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Senior goalkeeper
Dino Gromitsaris collected his third straight NJAC Honorable Mention nod. Gromitsaris notched seven shutouts, running his career total to 17 to move into fifth in Stockton history. An NJAC Defensive Player of the Week once this year, he tied for third in the league in shutouts and finished third in goals against average (1.07) to go with 64 saves.
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Six Ospreys played all 20 games including freshman
Joseph Carbone, who led the team with nine goals in his first season. Carbone's 20 points tied for the team lead with senior
Ervin Gjeli (8 G, 4 A) who was named to the NJAC First Team for his third career all-conference honor. Gjeli potted four game winners (T-3rd NJAC) and was a perfect 5-5 on penalty kicks this season.
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Junior
Brendan Deal hit the net five times and senior
Dante Montesinos scored four goals, with the pair each totaling 11 points on the season. Deal and Gjeli were voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 Team for their combined work in the classroom and on the field.
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In his first season at Stockton, midfielder
Peter Kozlej started all 20 games and was rewarded with an NJAC Honorable Mention nod for his steady play alongside Gjeli in the center of the field. Sebi Morello played just 14 games but scored three times and dished one assist for seven points.
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Ian Byrne saw action in all 20 games and contributed two goals and two assists for six points. Antoinio Matos (1 G, 2 A) and
Michael Echeverria (1 G, 1 A) appeared in 18 games apiece for the Ospreys.
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