The NCAA Division 1 men’s and women’s soccer coaches polls were released this week and it turns out a pair of Cape Ann athletes will be starting the season on nationally ranked teams.
Rockport’s Keady Segel and Gloucester’s Clare Pleuler will be playing for the No. 14 Boston College men and the No. 23 Boston University women this fall.
Segel, a standout at Rockport High School leading the team to its first ever sectional title in 2010, will be a red shirt freshman goalie for the Eagles this season. Boston College is no stranger to being ranked nationally in soccer at it finished the 2011 season ranked No. 15 in the country with a 14-6-1 record playing out of the deep and strong Atlantic Coast Conference.
In 2011 Segel saw action in one game against Harvard playing 12 minutes without allowing a goal. He was redshirted last year therefore he still has four more years of eligibility left with the team. The Rockport native, who is known for his aggressive style and athleticism in goal, looks to get more playing time this season. The Eagles open up the regular season on August 24 at Quinnipiac
Pleuler will be entering her first collegiate season and hope to provide a spark to the Terriers midfield. Boston University finished the 2011 season with a 19-3-1 record. The former Gloucester High standout joins a Terriers team that has won five straight America East titles and has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of the last four seasons.
In 2011 Pleuler led the Gloucester girls soccer team to the most successful season by any Gloucester soccer team qualifying for the Division 2 North semi finals, she was an All State selection in the process.
Former Gloucester football captain Andrew Mizzoni has reported to camp to start his Sophomore season at Holy Cross.
Mizzoni, a 6’4” 220 pound outside linebacker, is looking to build off of a Freshman season where he showed plenty of upside for the Crusaders. The Gloucester native, who was apart of four Super Bowl teams and three Super Bowl championship teams at Gloucester High, appeared in four games for the Crusaders in 2011 recording a pair of tackles and a sack.
Mizzoni burst on to the Division 1 Football Championship Subdivision scene in a big way recording a sack for a 10 yard loss on his first collegiate play from scrimmage against Georgetown last fall.
Holy Cross, who opens up the season on August 30, is looking to improve on a 6-5 2011 record.
Former Manchester Essex High School standout Brian Ciccone is back playing tight end for his red shirt Sophomore season at the University of New Hampshire.
Ciccone moved around a lot in 2011 as a red shirt Freshman starting as a tight end before moving to defensive end at the start of the regular season where he recorded a sack and a tackle. After week three, however, the 6’5” 252 pound Ciccone, a 2011 Colonial Athletic Conference Academic All Conference selection in 2011, was back at tight end where he hauled in one pass on the season.
UNH finished 8-4 in 2011 falling to Montana in the first round of the NCAA Division 1 Championship Subdivision Playoffs.
Ciccone will potentially be locking horns with fellow Cape Anner Mizzoni on August 30, when UNH and Holy Cross open the season at Holy Cross.
Twins AJ and CJ Burnham of Rockport will be playing soccer on separate teams for the first time in their lives this fall. Both Burnham twins have moved on to the Division 1 College level as CJ has just started training camp at UMass Amherst while AJ will be playing his college soccer at the University of Hartford.
The Burnham twins helped power Rockport High School to its most successful four year run in school history. Both spent the summer playing on the New England Revolution’s developmental team.
The twins could wind up playing as foes on September 15 when UMass travels to Hartford.
Kyle Marsh, former Manchester Essex field hockey star, is entering her Sophomore year at Columbia University fresh off of a promising Freshman year in 2011.
Last season Marsh played in eight games for Columbia playing key minutes off the bench in each contest.
