One of area’s top hockey players lighting it up in Jersey

By Justin Rodriguez | Published: February 19, 2010 | 0 Comments

He scores a lot, a hat trick waiting to happen almost every game.
He sets up his teammates with dazzling assists.
He could be the best high school hockey player in the area.
Meet Chester’s Connor Leen – a senior center at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J.
Leen, who hopes to take his game to a Division I college, has 32 goals and 20 assists for Don Bosco this season. He’s put up another 15 goals and 38 assists from his junior team – the Jersey Hitmen of the Eastern Junior Hockey League.
Best part about putting the puck in the back of the net: “I’d just say getting the team in the lead, or putting the team ahead, or turning the game with little time to go. Just scoring, it’s the best feeling.”
If he could beat one defender: “Eddie Burch from Monroe-Woodbury. He is my good friend, but I would burn him.”
Favorite move: “The backhand toe drag. I’m a lefty and I push the puck to my left side. I pull it across my body with my backhand and beat the defender wide right. The defender usually goes one way and, before he knows it, I go the other way.”
Who he patterns his game after: “I like St. Louis center T.J. Oshie. I just like his offensive skills and he has good hands.”
Favorite athlete in another sport: “I like Reggie Bush, I like his running speed and how he carries the ball. He’s real swift.”
Worst habit: “I would say snapping my gum. It drives my mom crazy, she has an ear for it.”
Favorite video game: NHL 10 on Xbox 360. I play it with my friends when I have nothing else to do.
Dream date: The girl from the movie “Transformers” (Megan Fox). No, actually, it’s my girlfiend, Elsa Javenes.
In five years, he will be: “Playing hockey in the Hockey East.” Leen plans on playing another year of junior hockey before college.
Justin Rodriguez

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Alex Bramall named Gatorade boys’ soccer state player of the year

By Justin Rodriguez | Published: February 18, 2010 | 0 Comments

He’s the only two-time Varsity845 boys’ soccer Player of the Year and Alex Bramall was named a first-team all-American this fall by ESPN Rise and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
However, even Bramall, who led Newburgh Free Academy to the Class AA state title in November, knows what it feels like to be snubbed.
Shortly after the season, Brentwood’s Andrew Jean-Baptiste was named the New York State Sportswriters Association player of the year. Bramall, a midfielder, scored the game-winning goal in Newburgh’s 2-1 win over Brentwood of Long Island in the state championship.
And while Jean-Baptiste, a talented midfielder, has the NYSSWA award, Bramall was named the Gatorade boys’ soccer player of the year (2009-10) on Thursday. He is now a finalist for the Gatorade national player of the year to be announced in May.
“I feel a lot better now,” said Bramall, who will play at St. John’s this fall. “After the season, I thought about it, and I felt I deserved the (NYSSWA) award. We won and I scored the game-winning goal. But different people see the game different and Andrew is a great player.”
Added Newburgh coach Matt Iorlano: “This award carries more clout as far as recognition. The sportswriters’ poll, Long Island has a lot of pull, there is a lot of politics. The fact that Alex didn’t get that award, I thought it was an injustice. He definitely deserves this.”
The Gatorade award recognized, not only Bramall’s play, but his academics and character off the field. He has maintained a B average in the classroom and volunteers working with autistic children in Newburgh with the club team Soccer Plus Academy.
The player of the year selection process is run by ESPN RISE and Gatorade’s high school sports leadership team. Past state award-winners in 12 different sports include Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo High, Mich.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo High, Calif.) and Kevin Garnett (1992-93, Maudlin High, S.C.)
“Soccer means the most to me,” Bramall said. “But it’s nice to win an award that recognizes you on and off the field. I’ve never done that before, but maybe this is the start of something.”

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Check out Coleman Edmond’s moves

By Justin Rodriguez | Published: February 8, 2010 | 0 Comments

You read Coleman Edmond’s inspiring story last week in the Times Herald-Record: From Kingston to the University of California-Berkeley. Well, now take a look at some of Edmond’s move at Pierce (Calif.) Community College. Watch out PAC-10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_1lAaR0-YM

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Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt visits to Delaware Valley (Pa.) to talk with stud recruit

By Justin Rodriguez | Published: February 1, 2010 | 0 Comments

He never expected to be a Division I recruit, let alone a big-time recruit.
The kind that college coaches come to visit in the hallways of their school.
But there was University of Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt at Delaware Valley (Pa.) High School two weeks ago, asking Brandon Clemons questions about him.
Wannstedt offered Clemons, a junior right tackle/defensive lineman, a full scholarship at a one-day prospect camp at Pitt last June.
Now, Wannstedt, who helped Pitt finish 10-3 last season and ranked 15th, was trying to seal the deal.
“It was pretty awesome to have (Wannstedt) at our school,” Clemons said. “Everyone was psyched, the teachers, the administrators, it was just a great opportunity. It’s really unbelievable.”
Rutgers, West Virginia, Temple and the University of Connecticut have also made Clemons, who is 6-foot-4 1/2, 260 pounds, full scholarship offers. Penn State, Maryland, Duke and Oklahoma are also interested. And while Clemons won’t pick a school on national signing day on Wednesday, expect him to be signed, sealed and delivered when the big day rolls around next year.
Clemons, a Varsity845 first-team defensive lineman last season, hopes to make his decision by the start of Delaware Valley’s season. He likely will end up being the most sought after mid-Hudson recruit since former Rondout Valley star tight end/defensive lineman Brandon Sebald signed with the University of Miami (Fla.) in February of 2001. Sebald narrowed his choices down to the Hurricanes, Michigan State and Virginia Tech.
“I had a chance to go up against some pretty good tight ends (at Penn State),” said Delaware Valley coach Keith Olsommer, who started at tight end for the Nittany Lions in 1995-96. “Just his body and the length of his arms, he’s built like Courtney Brown (who played at Penn State and in the NFL 2000-07). Brandon can really use his arms to lock someone down and has good speed.”
Added Olsommer: “I really think Brandon will have a great opportunity at one of these schools. He’s not even 17 yet, he’s a pup. Brandon is a heck of a player and will only get better.”
Olsommer has sent out Clemons’ highlight tape to just about every top 25 school. According to Olsommer, West Virginia offered Clemons a full ride after watching it. Many other top 25 schools have told Olsommer they are interested in Clemons and will monitor him.
“Right now, Pitt is tops on my list because they have talked to me the most,” Clemons said. “But I still have to make some official visits. I just have to get all this stuff together. I have a stack of letters from colleges, it’s a bit overwhelming, so I definitely want to take care of it by next season.”

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Highland’s Martinez signs pro soccer contract

By Justin Rodriguez | Published: January 30, 2010 | 0 Comments

Rich Martinez signed the contract and faxed it to his agent in Miami.
Everything was a go: Martinez would be a member of A.C. St. Louis in the North American Soccer League. At least, until the Puerto Rico Islanders called Martinez minutes later on Saturday with a counter offer.
The St. Louis contract was shredded and Martinez, of Highland, is off to play professionally in the Caribbean in the United Soccer Leagues-1.
“I really was ready to play in St. Louis,” said Martinez, the Colonial Athletic Association defender of the year at Hofstra last fall. “But I had been talking to Puerto Rico for a while. They really showed an interest in me and that’s a good feeling.”
According to Martinez, St. Louis offered him an eight-month contract. Islanders’ coach Colin Clarke, who Martinez played for in World Cup qualifiers for the Puerto Rican national team last year, countered with a 12-month offer and a stipend for housing.
USL-1 rookies typically make between $1,500-$2,500 per month. Martinez wouldn’t disclose his salary, but said he is on the higher end of that. USL-1 and NASL, which had been defunct since 1984, are both one level below MLS.
Martinez, 21, hopes to play one season for the Islanders, who begin preseason camp in March, before making a run at the MLS next year. Puerto Rico, which plays in Bayamon, located on the northern coast, finished third in last year’s USL standings.
“Colin Clarke (who coached Dallas in the MLS from 2003-06) told me I could make the MLS,” said Martinez, who has family in Puerto Rico. “I just have to develop a little more. I’m excited to go down there with the beaches and everything else. But my main focus will be soccer.”

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Alex Bramall named ESPN RISE all-American

By Justin Rodriguez | Published: January 14, 2010 | 0 Comments

Newburgh Free Academy midfielder Alex Bramall had never heard of it.
The ESPN RISE Fall Boys’ Soccer all-America team. A classmate informed Bramall that he made the squad in between classes on Thursday.
Interested, Bramall went online and did his research. According to ESPN RISE, Bramall, who helped Newburgh to the Class AA state title this fall, is one of the 12 best players in the country.
“That’s sick,” said Bramall, the only player to win the Varsity845 Player of the Year award twice (2008-09). “It just shows that all of my hard work paid off. It’s a big honor, something you have to be proud of to reach.”
Bramall was named a National Soccer Coaches Association of America all-American, along with teammate Wes Finch, a midfielder, in December. The Goldbacks finished 19-1-2 and ranked 12th in the NSCAA High School poll and seventh in ESPN Rise’s Fab 50 national rankings. Before this season, no Section 9 team had ever won a state Class AA tournament game. Newburgh won four matches.
Bramall, a senior, scored 17 goals with 11 assists this fall and put up the game-winner with five minutes in a 2-1 win over Brentwood in the Class AA state championship. That helped him make the ESPN RISE team – selected by editor Sheldon Shealer after consultation with coaches and journalists from around the country.
All 12 players on the team will play Division I next fall and Bramall, set to play at St. John’s next year, will face many of them in the Big East.
“I know a lot of these kids,” Bramall said. “So the competition starts now and we will continue into college. That’s good, that’s how it should be. I’m looking forward to going against a lot of these players in college.”

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Middletown gets boys’ state soccer semifinals and championship for 2010-11

By Justin Rodriguez | Published: January 7, 2010 | 0 Comments

His dream began way back in 1978.
Tony Martelli, in his first year as Section 9’s boys’ soccer chairman, hoped to bring the boys’ state soccer semifinals and championship games to Orange, Sullivan or Ulster counties.
Thirty years passed and the best boys’ futbol in the state never made it here.
However, this fall, Martelli’s dream – the dream of many other coaches, players and administrators – will be fulfilled.
Middletown High School’s Faller Field is expected to host the 2010 and 2011 boys’ soccer state semifinals and championships after the state soccer committee on Thursday voted and unanimously approved Section 9’s bid at a meeting in Albany.
The 22-member executive committee, comprised of two members from every section in the state, must approve Middletown as the host. That move could come as early as Jan. 21, but it could be a mere formality, since no other section put in a bid.
“Middletown was a great venue for our boys’ lacrosse semifinals this past spring,” said Nina Van Erk, executive director of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. “The professionalism and support the association received for the event was outstanding. I’m certain the efforts to host the soccer this fall will be the same if not better.”
“This is a proud moment for all of us in Section 9,” said Martelli, who went 249-54-25 as Washingtonville’s boys’ varsity coach from 1968-84. “This is tremendous, a dream come true. We did a lot of work and it all just came together.”
Middletown’s final four will be held on Nov. 20-21 at FIFA-approved Faller Field on turf, a new grass field next to Faller and at Twin Towers Middle School. Middletown will continue to host the Section 9 boys’ and girls’ soccer championships and some opening-round state tournament contests.
The boys’ soccer state semifinals and finals have been held at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta for the last nine seasons. However, with the museum closing in September due to financial problems, the biggest games of the year will be moved.
Martelli is part of a group that has been planning a run at the semifinals and a championship for a year. The group includes former Washingtonville coach Pete Ferguson, now the Section 9 boys’ soccer co-chairman with Martelli, Middletown athletic director David Coates, Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association coordinator Jim Osborne and Section 9 girls’ soccer chairperson Diane Wanser.
Ferguson and Martelli put in Middletown’s bid to state officials on Nov. 20 in Oneonta on the weekend of the state final four. Osborne estimated that at least 2,500 fans will visit Middletown for the two-day tournament.
“This all happened so fast, but we’re ecstatic,” Coates said. “We’re going to start working on this tomorrow. We have a lot of people extremely proud to show off our facilities, to make people feel welcome. We will do a great job.”

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Middletown expected to learn on Thursday if it hosts boys’ soccer final four

By Justin Rodriguez | Published: January 6, 2010 | 0 Comments

The verdict is expected to come on Thursday: Section 9 and Middletown High School learns if it will host the 2010 and 2011 state boys’ soccer final four.
Pete Ferguson, Section 9’s boys’ soccer co-chairman with Tony Martelli, remains confident Middletown will win the big-time bid. They made their play for Section 9 to host the event on Nov. 20 in Oneonta on the weekend of the state semifinals.
Ferguson said that if another section doesn’t make a bid at a state meeting in Albany on Thursday, the final four will likely be coming to Middletown. Section 2 (Albany area) and Section 5 (Rochester) could also make bids for the final four.
But Ferguson thinks at least Albany might be out. The boys’ soccer state semifinals and finals have been held at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta for the last nine seasons. However, with the museum closing in September due to financial problems, the biggest games of the year will be moved.
Games would be played at Middletown’s FIFA-approved Faller Field on turf, a new grass field next to Faller and at Twin Towers Middle School. Ferguson, Martelli and enterprising Middletown athletic director David Coates have already began planning the potential of hosting the event, talking to local hotels about housing players, coaches and fans, while rounding up volunteers.
Good luck, Middletown.
We will report back with the winning bid on Thursday.

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Brittany Taylor primed for WPS draft

By Justin Rodriguez | Published: December 28, 2009 | 0 Comments

Brittany Taylor dominated at Washingtonville High, the University of Connecticut and is now ready to step up to the next level.
Taylor, a lights out defender, is expected to go as high as the first round of the WPS (Women’s Professional Soccer) draft on January 15 in Philadelphia. Taylor, who will train with the full U.S. national team next month in hopes of traveling with Portugal for the Algarve Cup, is rated as one of the top defenders in the draft.
Here is how a panel of experts rate Taylor and the rest of the field of defenders:

Top Prospects for the 2010 WPS Draft – Defenders

Charles Cuttone, Soccer News Net
1. Brittany Taylor, D, Connecticut
2. Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
3. Andrea Willis, D, Brigham Young
4. Kelly Henderson, D, Boston College
5. Danielle Mutters, D, Illinois State
Others to Watch: Ali Riley, D, Stanford

Scott French, The Soccer Magazine
1. Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
2. Lauren Wilmoth, D, UCLA
3. Brittany Taylor, D, Connecticut
4. Meagan Holmes, D, USC
5. Jordan Angeli, D, Santa Clara
Others to Watch: Vaila Barsley, D, St. John’s; Kristi Eveland, D, North Carolina; Kaley Fountain, D, Wake Forest; Lauren Hyde, D, Florida; Blakely Mattern, D, South Carolina; Ali Riley, D, Stanford

Graham Hays, ESPN.com
1. Whitney Engen, North Carolina
2. Brittany Taylor, Connecticut
3. Blakely Mattern, South Carolina
4. Jordan Angeli, Santa Clara
5. Kaley Fountain, Wake Forest

Paul Kennedy, Soccer America
1. Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
2. Brittany Taylor, D, Connecticut
3. Ali Riley, D, Stanford
4. Kaley Fountain, D, Wake Forest
5. Lauren Wilmoth, D, UCLA

Dan Lauletta, Womensprosoccer.com
1. Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
2. Kelly Henderson, D, Boston College
3. Nikki Marshall, D, Colorado
4. Kristi Eveland, D, North Carolina
5. Ali Riley, D, Stanford
Others to Watch: Blakely Mattern, D, South Carolina; Brittany Taylor, D, Connecticut

Mark Rogondino, Fox Soccer Channel
1. Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
2. Ali Riley, D, Stanford
3. Jordan Angeli, Santa Clara
4. Andrea Willis, D, Brigham Young
5. Dea Cook, D, UCLA

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Alex Bramall and Wes Finch named All-Americans

By Justin Rodriguez | Published: December 9, 2009 | 0 Comments

Newburgh Free Academy midfielder Wes Finch still can’t believe he’s earned the honor.
An all-American?
Even with all of Newburgh’s success this fall, Finch, a senior, is still surprised.
Finch and teammate Alex Bramall, the only two-time Varsity845 Player of the Year (2008-09), have been named all-Americans by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Finch and Bramall, who helped Newburgh to the Class AA state title last month, were also named to the NSCAA’s all-region (Northeast) and large school (Class AA and A) all-state teams.
“I’m kind of surprised I’m not being humble, but I just didn’t expect it,” said Finch, who finished with nine goals and 11 assists this season. He assisted on Bramall’s game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over Brentwood in the Class AA state championship.
“It’s a crazy honor,” Finch said. “I just went out there and played as hard as I could. It’s a big accomplishment and I’m just happy all my hard work paid off.”
Despite Finch modesty, Bramall and Newburgh coach Matt Iorlano think he’s a definitely worthy of being named an all-American.
“With his speed, Wes is just such a dangerous, he always had defenders on their heels,” Bramall said. “He’s a good team player, a good captain, he kept everyone in line. All of that definitely makes him an all-American.”
“Wes played a huge part in our success and stepped up whenever we needed him to,” said Iorlano. “He’s a great leader and one of the main reasons why we won a state championship.”
Newburgh is still pumped about its run to glory. Before the Goldbacks, no Section 9 team had even ever won a Class AA state tournament game. Newburgh won four matches.
The Goldbacks finished 19-1-2 and ranked 12th in the NSCAA High School poll and seventh in ESPN Rise’s Fab 50 national rankings.
Now Newburgh has two All-Americans to celebrate.
“It’s amazing,” said Bramall, who will play at Division I player St. John’s next fall. “This is something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid. This is something that will make people take even more notice about Newburgh soccer.”

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