Kean Men’s soccer continues to propel with young talent

By Steven Merrill | Published by October 29, 2019

After being ranked eighth in the NJAC preseason coaches’ poll and selected as the conference’s dark horse, the Kean Men’s soccer team is off to an encouraging 9-5-2 start.

“We are an overlooked team, and other teams in our conference do not look at us with the same respect as teams that were ranked higher last year,” said forward Felipe Lucas. “But overall the season is going great, we are now one of the teams to beat, and we are definitely shocking the NJAC this year.”

Head Coach Peter-John Falloon didn’t use the preseason ranking as motivation but gave his team a different message at the beginning of the season.

“I told the team ‘this is how people look at you, you can either go along with it or prove people wrong,’” Falloon said. “It has been a better season than last year, but you want to keep it moving in the right direction.”

Falloon recorded his 100th career victory on Oct. 5 when the team defeated seventeenth ranked Rowan 2-1. Focused on winning a big game for his program, he was unaware of the milestone until it was announced after the game.

Now in his third season at Kean, Falloon is working with a roster consisting of nine freshmen and 13 sophomores. He feels that a year of experience has benefited that group of sophomores by taking their games to the next level.

“Coach Falloon is a person that pushes you to your maximum,” sophomore Lucas said. “He wants everyone working hard at all times and makes sure that we do not lose focus and that is why I feel like we are having a better season than last year.”

Lucas is leading the team with six goals and 18 shots on goal. He also recorded the game-winning goal that gave the Cougars their first NJAC victory of the season over NJCU on Oct. 2.

Captain Alex Nicol has been a staple in the midfield, logging 1,000 minutes on the pitch. This year’s squad has more depth, making Nicol’s job easier with sophomore midfielders Fanor Arango and Calvin Carbajal playing along with him.

“A lot of people have stepped into the puzzle,” said Falloon. “This group is more committed to work hard. The players have improved from last year. The biggest difference is the maturity of the team.”

The team has battled several injuries all season, with key players missing multiple games. Phil Lopes missed the first eight games, leaving the backline shorthanded with younger players. The senior defenseman shares the captaincy with Nicol and made his season debut on Sept. 25.

“Going through the injury was frustrating because as a captain you want to earn the respect of your peers by showing what you can do on the field,” said Lopes. “I had to take a different approach and lead in other ways such as talking to players one-on-one during practices or games.”

Lopes is ready to use his three-plus years of experience on the field to take his team as far as they can go.

“This season the vibe is much different and players are working harder than I’ve seen in a while,” he said. “Hopefully this season will be the one where Kean finally gets back on top. It would be such a great way to cap off my career as a Cougar.”

The Cougars will look to finish their season strong with games against Rutgers-Newark and Montclair State before NJAC tournament play begins.

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