ESF : A Team of Their Own
Past the shadow of the Carrier Dome, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry men’s soccer team is making its way up the rankings.
For the first time in the team’s four-year history, the Men’s Collegiate Soccer Club will participate in the Collegiate Club Soccer League playoffs. Adam Lavelle, president of the team, said its success is due to the recent acquisition of coach Daniel Ramin.
‘(Ramin) has been able to organize our team better, as well as give us the opportunity to win games,’ Lavelle said.
Ramin said he created structure when he came in. ‘Prior to me coming on the team, the club only played a couple games a season,’ he said.
This year, the team has played regular season games against teams like SUNY Oswego, Syracuse University, Paul Smith’s College, Cornell University, SUNY Cortland and Elmira College. They will take on either Cornell or Cortland’s collegiate club soccer league in the playoffs Nov. 1.
The team consists mainly of ESF students. Some SU students practice with the team, but because of league regulations, they are not allowed to play in league games.
‘We are phasing out SU students in the sense that this club team aspires to be more than just a club team,’ Ramin said. ‘I think the school is looking at the possibility of joining something bigger like the NCAA. At the same time, ESF students are allowed to partake in SU sports, and I would hate to see that affected.’
Though they are not yet part of the NCAA, they play NCAA Division III teams, Ramin added.
Along with potentially joining the NCAA, Lavelle said, the ESF club has worked hard to be a competitive group of athletes. The team doesn’t cut players, but they have practice and game squads three times a week, as well as on the weekends.
The players practice in SU buildings because it is only a club for now, and ESF does not have facilities for practice, Ramin said. SU’s athletic director Daryl Gross and associate director Barb Henderson have been supportive and accommodating, he added.
Cosimo Pagano III, one of the team’s stoppers, said playing on the ESF team gives him a sense of identity.
‘We have become a very involved group and are extremely team-oriented,’ Pagano said. ‘I think it gives me more a sense of involvement in the ESF community than just being an ESF kid who plays on the SU team.’
Mettaya Potter, a freshman environmental studies major and player on the ESF women’s team, agreed and said ESF soccer builds a community.
‘I believe the team gives our college a sense of pride and hopefully will soon give us a name in sports, not just as a club,’ Potter said.
While the men’s club team has risen to new heights this year, the women’s team is also trying to make a name for itself.
‘Right now, we are trying to receive the same acknowledgement from our college as the guys’ team does,’ Potter said. ‘We hope to develop a strong soccer program that will be a force to be reckoned with.’
Lavelle said having its own team can excite the ESF student body. ‘School spirit comes into play when you have guys painting their chests for games and making signs,’ he said.
Though ESF is connected to both SU and the SUNY system, the school has been trying to find a way to be independent. Ramin said that an ESF-only soccer team is a sign of that independence.
Ramin expressed both hope and pride for his teams.
‘It is a great thing as a coach to witness the excellent mental and physical work of the team at practice pay off and translate into great wins,’ he said.
