UMass Dartmouth men's soccer team
posts 6-12-1 overall record for '99 season

(Dartmouth, MA) - For the UMass Dartmouth men's soccer, the 1999 season can be summed up by looking at the number of goals his Corsairs scored each game.

In games where coach Niall O'Donnell's Corsairs scored at least two goals or more, UMass Dartmouth finished with six wins in seven games. However, it was the Corsairs' inability to score goals, which caused them the most problems, especially during the second half of the 1999 season. In games UMass Dartmouth scored 1 goal or were shutout, the Corsairs were 0-11-1. Add it all up and it resulted in a 6-12-1 overall record and a 1-5-1 record in the Little East Conference.

UMass Dartmouth opened the season with a great scoring touch, winning five it its first eight games for a 5-2-1 record. After opening with a 3-2 overtime victory over Wentworth Institute, UMass Dartmouth notched non-conference wins over Mount Ida College (6-2), Salve Regina (2-1), Curry College (5-0) and Endicott College (3-1).

The remainder of the season, however, was a very different story for the Corsairs. In the last 11 games of the 1999 season, UMass Dartmouth averaged one goal per game, including four shutouts in its final six games. After running off a 5-2-1 record to open the season, the Corsairs closed with a win and a tie in their final 12 games.

Senior forward Tony Moreira (Pawtucket, RI) was UMass Dartmouth's leading scorer for the 1999 season, netting a team-leading 10 goals plus a pair of assists for 22 points, sixth best in the Little East Conference. In 14 games for the Corsairs, Moreira took a team-high 38 shots on goal. Moreira�s top performance came in a Sept. 13 2-1 victory over Salve Regina. Moreira scored both Corsairs goals and was named to the LEC Honor Roll for his performance. Moreira also had a three-goal performance in the first half of a 5-0 win over Curry College on Sept. 21.

Finishing second in team scoring was junior midfielder Chris Gridelli (Woburn, MA). As one of only three players to appear in all 19 UMass Dartmouth contests during the season, Gridelli had two goals and nine assists to finish with 13 points to finish among the top 20 scorers in the LEC. With 5 goals and 2 assists for 12 points, sophomore forward Joao Mendes (Brockton, MA) was the Corsairs' third leading scorer. Mendes was credited with 31 shots on goal during the 16 games in which he played. Among the other top scorers for the Corsairs were midfielder/forwards freshman Adrin Gonsalves (Somerset, MA) (3-3-9) and senior tri-captain Adilson DaSilva (Dorchester, MA) (4-0-8).

Senior Eric Plant (New Bedford, MA) handled the bulk of the goaltending duties for UMass Dartmouth, appearing in 15 games and posting a 4-10-1 record. Plant faced 207 shots during the season and came up with 116 saves, while allowing 36 goals for a 2.42 goals against average. Also making appearances in goal for the Corsairs were senior Rob Costa (Taunton, MA) (2-0, 1.44 GAA) and freshman Steve Carvalho (New Bedford, MA) (0-2, 2.00 GAA).

The Corsairs lost eight seniors to graduation at the conclusion of the 1999 season including tri-captains Pat Gavin (Thornton, CO), a senior back, Brian Sexton (Canton, MA), a senior defender and DaSilva, who played both midfield and forward for the Corsairs.