UMass Dartmouth Men's Soccer
2004 Season Review

UMass Dartmouth's men's soccer advance to ECAC Tournament
semi-finals to close out 2004 season with 12-7-1 overall record

(Dartmouth, MA) - The UMass Dartmouth men's soccer season produced a 12-7-1 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the Little East Conference.  Despite the Corsairs' sixth place LEC finish, Coach Ray Cabral's team capped the season on a positive note, earning an invitation to the ECAC Division III New England Soccer Tournament and advancing to the tournament semi-finals.  The ECAC Tournament bid was the Corsairs fourth in the last five seasons.

One of the highlights of the Corsairs season was a 1-0 victory over second-seeded Salve Regina University in the first round of the ECAC Tournament.  Seeded seventh in the eight-team tournament, the Corsairs got the game-winner from freshman Lee Soares (Dartmouth, MA) at 31 minutes of the first half and freshman goalie Kyle Fossey (Townsend, MA) made three saves for the shutout victory.  The Corsairs were eliminated from the ECAC Tournament following a 5-0 loss to #6 Johnson and Wales.

The Corsairs' top individual performance came from senior Elton Livramento (New Bedford, MA), who capped his four-year soccer career by earning Third Team All-New England honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and Adidas. A three-time LEC All-Star, Livramento was described by Cabral as the team's best defender.  A four-year starter, Livramento was an LEC First Team selection in 2004 as a senior and also as a sophomore in 2002.  He was an LEC Second Team selection as a junior is 2003.

In his four years as a starter, Livramento played on teams, which compiled an overall record of 42-28-6. In three out of his four seasons starting on the Corsairs' back line, UMass Dartmouth qualified for three LEC Tournaments and the Corsairs were invited to make three post season appearances in the ECAC Tournament.

For the 2004 season, the Corsairs' offensive unit had three players within the top ten in LEC scoring.  UMass Dartmouth's leading scorer was sophomore Jayr Fernandes (Dorchester, MA), who in 19 games scored 11 goals and added four assists for 26 points. Fernandes tied for fifth in the LEC scoring race.  One point behind Fernandes was junior Tiago Pinto (New Bedford, MA), an LEC Second Team All-Star who in 15 games netted a team-high 12 goals with an assist for 25 points, seventh in the LEC. First-year player Lee Soares had a very solid rookie season, finishing third in the team scoring race and ninth in the LEC with nine goals and three assists for 21 points.  Soares' three game- winning goals also put him in a tie for 4th in the LEC.

In goal the Corsairs began the 2004 season with three quality net-minders. But as the season wore on it became clear that freshman Kyle Fossey (Townsend, MA) was the goalie on whom UMass Dartmouth was depending. In 16 games, Rolfe finished with a goals against average of 1.54 and a saves percentage of .733 to rank seventh in both categories within the LEC.  In four games as Fossey's  back up, Adam Rolfe (Southwick, MA)  had a 0.33 goals against average and a .967 saves percentage, including the shutout win over Salve Regina in the ECAC Tournament's first round game.

The Corsairs also had a successful season in the classroom with nine players on a 25-man roster finishing the Fall 04 semester on the Dean's List and one on the Chancellor's list, the most of any Corsair team under Coach Cabral's guidance.