Brown Bears
2012 Overall Rank: #29
Conference Rank: #1 Ivy League
Brown Team Page
Head coach Patrick Laughlin has a heavy weight on his shoulders going into his third season as the Bears leader. Laughlin is just the sixth head coach in the 85 years of men’s soccer history at Brown but he has already proven that he can bear the weight. The Bears took the Ivy League title last year giving Brown a total of 18 Ivy titles in program history and eight of the last 12. Brown has consistently finished in the top 25 and has made numerous NCAA appearances making it to the third round last season. Brown announced their team captains in February and will be looking to the leadership skills of returning defenders Eric Robertson and Ryan McDuff.
2011 Record: 12-5-3, 4-1-2
2011 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Patrick Laughlin
Strengths:
The captains, McDuff and Robertson play a key role in Brown’s number one strength, their defense. The Bears defense has recorded two back-to-back seasons of 11 shut outs in 20 games. McDuff and Robertson are joined by returning defender Dylan Remick who contributed a pair of goals last season. Returning to the pitch for the defense as well will be Aidan Leonard, Alex Markes, and Jordan Mandelbaum, while Sam Kernan-Schloss will be the last point of defense in the net. Kernan-Schloss finished the 2011 season with 49 saves allowing only 12 goals in 15 matches. With a conditioned defense that only allowed 19 goals last season, plus four freshman defenders, the Bears look forward to the new season and hopefully another year of shut outs.
Weaknesses:
A team needs more than just a defense to win games and take home titles. That is where Brown is lacking. TJ Popolizio, Sean Rosa, and Austin Mandel, the top three scorers for the Bears last season, played as seniors and all three played the forward position. Along with a few more losses in the midfield, the offense took the biggest hit. The offense will need to be rebuilt using the talents of returning forwards Voltaire Escalona, Ben Maurey, Jose Salama, or freshman Will Cross who joins the Bears from Nashville,TN. Even with the previous forwards and 12 wins out of the 20 games in the 2011 season, Brown’s offense was a little weak. In eight of the 20 matches the Bears only scored once and were shut out four times. Working on making goals is one job the offense has but they will need to work on passing the ball as well after only recording 28 assists last year.
Final Projection:
After returning from Spain in the spring with a record of one win, one loss, and one draw, Coach Laughlin has his work cut out sharpening the Bears almost new offensive front. With the help of the well calibrated defense, the Bears and their young offense should be able to pull off a few wins this season. Brown faces a tough schedule in 2012 taking on Washington, Boston College, and Providence which Brown sees in the Ocean State Classic where they will compete for the state’s bragging rights. The Ivy League title could be taken by Brown this year for the second consecutive season as long as the defense holds strong and Coach Laughlin can get his offense up to par before their first conference match against Columbia. An NCAA appearance is not out of the question either, but how far they will go is up to them.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Tournament
Returning Leaders:
Goals: Dylan Remick, Senior, D, 2
Assists: Dylan Remick, Senior, D, 2
Shots: Dylan Remick, Senior, D, 18
Saves: Sam Kernan-Schloss, Senior, GK, 49
