Pioneers Add Five Players

All Played for Sweet 16 Participant Brown University

The Western Mass Pioneers have added five players from Brown University for the upcoming season, including local standout midfielder Evan Coleman.

Joining Coleman on the Pioneers will be midfielder Thomas McNamara, midfielder Taylor Gorman, midfielder Jay Hayward and forward T.J. Popolizio. All five players were influential in Brown’s 2010 run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA men’s soccer tournament. Brown finished the year ranked No. 10 in the nation and defeated Boston College and No. 9 UCONN in the NCAA tournament before falling to California in the Sweet 16.

Western Mass Pioneers Head Coach Joe Calabrese is familiar with the players and said he knows he can expect similarly great things from the Brown players this summer.

“These five players were instrumental to Brown’s success this past fall,” Calabrese said. “I have coached Popolizio and Coleman. I am fully aware of what they bring to the training grounds daily. The combination of their strong engines and great personalities make them easy to work with.”

Coleman started 17 games for Brown in 2010 and was named to the Honorable Mention All-Ivy League Team. He scored two goals and added two assists for Brown in 2010 and has started 48 matches in his three years there. Prior to Brown, Coleman was a four year starter for the Amherst Regional soccer team. In his senior year of high school (2007), he was named the Western Mass Most Valuable Player and earned All-New England honors.

Meanwhile, Popolizio played under Calabrese for the Albany Highlanders last summer. Calabrese was an assistant coach for the Albany Highlanders PDL team. With Calabrese now at the helm of Western Mass, the decision to play for the Pioneers was easy for Popolizio.

“He’s been great to me,” Popolizio said. “I think I got a lot better last year because of him and the other coaches. He’s a guy that you really just want to work hard for.”

Popolizio also said he is excited to have his Brown teammates join him at Western Mass. Followers of Brown men’s soccer will be particularly familiar with Hayward, who scored the game-winning penalty kick against UCONN in last season’s NCAA second round game.

“This is the best case scenario coming off a Sweet 16 season at Brown,” Popolizio said. “They are high level players. They want to win and they know how to play.”