UMass Dartmouth men extends streak of post season tournament appearances to three straight with 12-6-2 mark

(Dartmouth, MA) - UMass Dartmouth's men's soccer team continued its record of regular season and post season success in 2002, qualifying for both the Little East Conference and ECAC New England Division III Tournaments for the third straight season. In only his second season with the Corsair men's Coach Ray Cabral has posted a 25-13-2 record, including a 12-6-2 record for the 2002 season.

With a 4-2-1 record in the LEC, the Corsairs finished fourth overall and advanced to the LEC semi-finals where they were eliminated following a 1-0 loss to Western Connecticut. Selected as the sixth seed in the ECAC New England Division III tournament, the Corsairs upset third-seeded Gordon College, 2-0, before falling, 3-2, to #2 WPI in the semi-finals.

The Corsairs put their mark on the 2002 campaign with a streak of six consecutive shutouts during the middle of the season. Beginning with a 4-0 win over Mass. Maritime on Oct. 10, UMass Dartmouth outscored its opponents 15-0 over a six-game stretch posting a 5-0-1 record.

At the end of the season, UMass Dartmouth sophomore Elton Livramento (New Bedford, MA) earned All Little East Conference first team honors for his play on defense throughout the season. A pair of Corsair captains, senior Adrian Gonsalves (Somerset, MA) and goalie Jorge Fonseca (Ludlow, MA), were named to the LEC Second Team.

Appearing in 19 games as a sophomore, Livramento was a key player for the Corsairs' defensive unit which limited opponents to17 goals in 20 games, an average of 0.85 per game. In his final season for the Corsairs, Fonseca had a 0.75 goals against average, second best in the LEC, and finished with an 11-5-2 overall record. Gonsalves came back from an injury last season to lead the Corsairs in scoring as a senior, netting a team-high nine goals plus an assist for 19 points, tied for fourth in the LEC.

Freshman Tiago Pinto (New Bedford, MA) finished his first season by placing second in team scoring with three goals and eight assists for 14 points, tied for sixth in the LEC. Junior Shawn Nunes (Taunton, MA) was third in scoring with six goals and an assist for 13 points (8th in LEC), while senior Vesselin Tzolov (Taunton, MA) concluded his career with five goals and an assist for 11 points.

Among the Corsairs' individual honors during 2002, Nunes was LEC Player of the Week on Sept. 8 after scoring three goals in UMass Dartmouth's first two games of the season. On Oct. 13, Tzolov was the LEC Player of the Week after registering a hat trick in a 4-0 win over Mass. Maritime. Fonseca earned LEC Defensive Player of the week on Sept. 29 after posting a pair of shutouts over Bridgewater State and Eastern Connecticut.

As a team, the Corsairs finished with 37 goals in 20 games, an average of 1.85 goals per game, while holding teams to 17 goals. The Corsairs were outshot by a 130-97 margin, but UMass Dartmouth's goalies and defense combined for a total of 10 shutouts.