Tag: Scott Jarosz ’21
New Faces Show Promise for Volleyball Team
by The Cowl Editor on August 29, 2019
Friar Sports
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
After finishing the 2018 season with an overall record of 8-21 and a 2-16 record in Big East Conference play, the Providence College Women’s Volleyball Team will be looking to make improvements leading up to the 2019 season.
The team’s 2018 campaign ended on a particularly sour note when the Friars lost their last seven matches of the season. In addition to the team ending the season on a cold stretch, it also graduated four seniors: Megan Onyundo ’19, Allison Impellizeri ‘19, Kara Mason ’19, and Catherine Harding ’19. Being without these four key players certainly brings about numerous challenges for the Friars; however, changes to the coaching staff as well as numerous additions to the roster give reason to believe that this year’s team has a real chance to improve upon last season’s shortcomings.
On Mar. 18, women’s volleyball head coach Margot Royer-Johnson announced that Richard Gomes Jr. would join the staff as an assistant coach. Royer-Johnson had kind words to say about Gomes Jr. as well as how she expected him to contribute to the team.
Royer-Johnson stated, “Richie is a great new addition to the staff. He is a highly skilled and knowledgeable coach. His enthusiasm and passion for the sport is what drew our staff and team to him. We are excited to move forward with him, as we know his passion will not only make us better but also enrich our experience both on and off the court.”
Gomes’ previous head coaching experience provides even more reason to believe that he will be a valuable asset to the staff and the team. Prior to PC, Gomes served as the head coach for the Bridgewater State University Women’s Volleyball Team.
In addition to Gomes being named assistant coach, the 2019 team will also feature a strong freshman class consisting of seven players.
Two players from this class signed their National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play at PC back in November. Emma Nelson ’23 is one such player. Listed at 6’1”, she is an outside hitter who Royer-Johnson described as a “strong all-around player.” The other player from this class who signed her NLI in 2018 is Sasha Rudich ’23, a middle blocker who captained her high school team.
Alongside Nelson and Rudich, the Friars are also welcoming Brielle Mullally ’23, a setter who was named to the 2018 Silver Medal Far Western Qualifier (17 Open) and won the CIFSS Division I Championship, Queen’s Court Championship, and Dave Mohs Championship with her high school.
On Mullally, Royer-Johnson said that she is a “super skilled setter” with defensive and hitting skills that will “make her an all-around threat.”
Mullally is joined by club teammate Jennifer Leitman ’23. According to Royer-Johnson, she has “great chemistry with Brielle” and “brings a great offensive threat…from both the front and back row out of the outside position.”
With a number of quality returning players, the addition of Richard Gomes Jr. as assistant coach, and a strong incoming freshman class, the Providence College Women’s Volleyball team looks ready to have a highly successful 2019 campaign.
Club Golf Competes at National Tournament
by The Cowl Editor on May 2, 2019
Friar Sports
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
To say that the Providence College club golf team has had a successful year would be an understatement. The team plays tournaments in both the fall and spring, and has consistently performed well as a group year-round.
The team asserted its presence right off the bat in the very first tournament. Towards the beginning of September 2018, the Friars participated in the NCAA Division III Bowdoin Invitational. In a field of 12 teams, the Friars placed at an impressive second place. In the first round of the tournament, the team shot a collective 309, with Rio Holzwarth ’22 leading the team with a low round of 76. The Friars had even more success in the second round, shooting 297 as a team, the lowest round for any team in the entire tournament. Captain Matt Carlson ’20 led the Friars with a 71, leading him to earn the #2 overall spot in the 62-player field.
The Bowdoin Invitational was far from the only highlight of the team’s fall season. Later in September, the team traveled to Agawam, Massachusetts to participate in the NCCGA New England Regional. The Friars brought both its “A” and “B” teams to the tournament and both performed exceptionally. The A team could not have performed much better, collectively shooting 748 over the course of two rounds, and beating second place University of Connecticut by 20 shots.
The Friars’ A team was led by Holzwarth who shot a 73 and 72 for a combined 145, good enough to earn the honor of being named medalist. The Friars’ B team also played well as a whole, scoring 782 over the course of two days, earning them the third-place spot. The low scorer for the B team was Alex Whitmore ’20, who shot a 75 and an 81 for a combined score of 156. The team’s performance at the New England Regional earned them the #5 spot in the NCCGA nationwide rankings.
The team’s quality golf carried over into the 2019 spring season as well. On April 7, the Friars shot a combined 755 over two rounds to win the spring New England Regional tournament and qualify for the National Championship. Leading the team was Ian Axford ’20, who shot two impressive rounds of 76 and 75 for an overall score of 151, earning him the title of medalist for the regional.
The National Championship took place at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex at Purdue University in Indiana. The tournament took place on April 27 and April 28, and the Friars placed third as a team in the entire nation. This top three finish in the tournament was a perfect finish for the team’s very successful season. When asked about how the team maintained its success throughout the year, Carlson said, “By having fun and constantly competing against each other and by holding everyone accountable.”
This mentality clearly paid off for the team as it had lots of success over the course of the year, winning multiple tournaments and consistently shooting well.
Who Will Win The NHL Stanley Cup?
by The Cowl Editor on April 11, 2019
PCI
Boston Bruins
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
With March Madness now over, it is the National Hockey League’s turn to take center stage with the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Featuring eight teams each from the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference for a total of 16 teams, this year’s playoffs are sure to provide excitement once again. Last year’s champion, the Washington Capitals, are yet again in the playoff field and looking to take home the Stanley Cup for the second year in a row. However, this season, the Capitals have some serious contenders to prevent them from winning a repeat title. One such team looking to take home the hardware is the Boston Bruins, the second-seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins are the team that will win the Stanley Cup this year.
At second place in the Atlantic Division behind the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Bruins boast a regular season record of 49-24-9 and a total of 107 points. The Bruins’ record shows that they have been a powerhouse of a hockey team throughout the season, and head coach Bruce Cassidy feels confident that his team will maintain its success through the playoffs. According to 98.5 the Sports Hub, Cassidy said, “I like our team. We play hard. We were one of the better teams from start to finish I think in the National Hockey League, specifically the second half of the year. We’ve played well at the right times. We’ve earned our way…Guys should be excited to play.” Cassidy’s confidence in his team is not unfounded.
With one of the best lines in the NHL and two top-notch goaltenders, the Boston Bruins have all of the keys they need for a successful playoff run. The Bergeron-Marchand-Pastrnak line is a force that not many teams are able to reckon with. Marchand put up his first 100-point season; he is one of the six players across the league to reach at least 100 points and he tied in points with NHL-great Sidney Crosby. Pastrnak notched 38 goals and finished out the season with 81 points. Patrice Bergeron, a four-time Frank J. Selke Award winner and arguably the best defensive-forward the league has seen, claimed an impressive 32 goals and 79 points. Aside from the Bruins top line, center David Krejci is also going to be a key factor in the Bruins having a successful playoff run. Krejci is having one of his best seasons in a while this year and matched his career-high 73 points.
However, despite the individual player success on the team, one other reason why the Bruins will dominate the playoffs this year is because they can offer depth throughout their whole team. Every line that Cassidy puts out on the ice has a purpose, and all four lines have each seen success and contributed to the team, whether that be goal-scoring, keeping the pressure on the other team, or just playing physical.
And, while the Bruins have had their share of hardships this season (injuries—particularly those sustained by their defensemen), they have proved time and time again that they can come out on top, and a lot of that has to do with their coaching.
In addition to the tremendous success that the Bruins have had throughout the regular season, they have also proven to match up very well with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the past. For example in the 2012-13 NHL season, the Bruins beat the Maple Leafs 4 games to 3 in the first round of playoffs, which featured a game 7 where the Bruins came back from a 4-1 deficit to win not only the game, but the series as well. The Bruins and Maple Leafs met in the first round of the 2017-18 playoffs, and the Bruins took that series 4 games to 3 yet again.
If the Bruins can stay healthy and get by the Maple Leafs, they are very capable of making a run and taking home this year’s Stanley Cup trophy.
Men’s Hockey Still Dancing
by The Cowl Editor on April 4, 2019
Friar Sports
Team Heads to the Frozen Four for the Fifth Time in Program History
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
The Providence College Men’s Hockey Team entered the NCAA Hockey Tournament as the fourth and lowest seed in the East Regional. The Friars were quite fortunate to be selected into the East Regional, which was hosted by Brown University within the friendly confines of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The region also consisted of Minnesota State, Northeastern University, and Cornell University. For its first matchup of the tournament, PC was paired up with #1-seed Minnesota State, who entered the regional semifinal having never won an NCAA tournament game in school history. Despite lacking a win at any point in its team’s history, Minnesota State entered its semifinal game against PC looking like a team that could make a deep run in this year’s NCAA hockey tournament.
On Saturday, March 30, PC men’s hockey took the ice at the Dunk to play Minnesota State in the first round of the East Regional. Although PC was technically the underdog, the team had the privilege of playing at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, just a few minutes away from its regular home at Schneider Arena. Despite practically playing a home game, the Friars had a poor start to the game. In just under 12 minutes of game play in the first period, PC conceded three consecutive goals to Minnesota State. Down 3-0 to the Mavericks, it looked as though PC had dug itself a hole which could not be escaped. However, after Josh Wilkins ’20 scored a power play goal towards the end of the first period to cut Minnesota State’s lead to 3-1, the Dunkin Donuts’ Center came back to life and the game felt brand new.
Entering the second period down 3-1 instead of 3-0, PC showed absolutely no signs of distress or panic. At 4:37 in the second period, Vimal Sukumaran ’20 scored on an assist from Ryan Tait ’19 to cut Minnesota State’s lead to 3-2 and excite the crowd at the Dunk even more. After this, the Friars scored another power play goal, this time by Kasper Björkqvist ’20. From that point on, the Friars continued its scoring run, adding three more goals by Tyce Thompson ’22, Wilkins, and an empty-net goal by Jason O’Neill ’21. PC beat Minnesota State by a final score of 6-3, and would go on to play Cornell University on Sunday in the East Regional final.
After what was a sluggish start to Saturday’s semifinal matchup against Minnesota State, the Friars made sure not to do the same against Cornell, who had beaten Northeastern 5-1 the previous day. In Sunday’s East Regional final, PC scored early and often, and combined an outstanding offensive effort with excellent defense and a great performance by goaltender Hayden Hawkey ’19. PC beat Cornell 4-0 with goals by Greg Printz ’21, Wilkins, Scott Conway ’19, and Brandon Duhaime ’20. With the win, PC advanced to the Frozen Four in Buffalo, New York. This year’s Frozen Four consists of PC, Hockey East foe University of Massachusetts Amherst, the University of Minnesota Duluth, and the University of Denver. The first-round matchups are set to take place on Thursday, April 11 with PC playing Minnesota Duluth at 5 p.m. and UMass playing Denver at 8:30 p.m.
PC has a tough matchup ahead, as Minnesota Duluth is ranked the #2 overall team in the NCAA. However, PC has won in similar situations before. In 2015, PC advanced to the Frozen Four as a 4-seed and beat Boston University in the title game to win the National Championship. The other matchup features UMass and #4 Denver. PC and UMass are quite familiar with each other, as the two teams have met three times this season, and PC has a 1-2 record against the Minutemen. If both UMass and PC advance to the National Championship, there is no telling who would prevail in the Hockey East battle for the national title.
PCI: Who Will Win the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player?
by The Cowl Editor on March 21, 2019
PCI
Kyle Guy of Virginia Will Take the Award
by Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
One obvious frontrunner to win this year’s Final Four Most Outstanding Player, is certainly Duke University’s Zion Williamson. The 6’7”, 285-pound player attracted the eyes of basketball fans nationwide when videos of his athletic dunks in high school games went viral. In his first season at Duke, Williamson has averaged 22.1 points per game along with 8.9 rebounds per game.
While Williamson has excelled in his first season of collegiate basketball, he has shown some signs of immaturity as well as inconsistency. The same goes for the rather young Duke basketball team as a whole.
However, one experienced player who has been a consistent leader for his team is University of Virginia’s Kyle Guy, a veteran guard who has been truly playing up to his full potential this year. With his experience and excellent ability to score points, Guy will ultimately be named the 2019 Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
In the 2018-19 season, Guy has averaged 15.6 points per game, which is the highest on his team. While this figure may not be as impressive as Williamson’s 22.1 points per game, Guy’s presence has arguably had a larger impact on his team’s overall success. Virginia sits atop the leaderboard of the Atlantic Coast Conference with a record of 29-3 overall and 16-2 in conference. Behind Virginia on the leaderboard is the University of North Carolina and Duke. Virginia is currently ranked as the #2 team in the country, and despite a 59-69 loss to Florida State University in the ACC Tournament, they have shown no signs of slowing down heading into the NCAA Tournament. Virginia has been selected as the #1 seed in the South Region for the NCAA Tournament, and they are scheduled to play 16-seed Gardner-Webb on March 22 in Columbia, South Carolina. The question remains, what is guard Kyle Guy capable of doing that could not only lead his team to an NCAA Tournament victory, but will earn him the title of the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player?
Who Will Win the Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament?
by The Cowl Editor on March 7, 2019
PCI
Xavier University
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
The Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden is consistently one of the most exciting and unpredictable conference tournaments in all of college basketball. Any given Big East team is capable of making a run and getting to the championship game. Providence College’s performance at the 2018 Big East Tournament was a prime example of this. PC entered the tournament as the #5 seed and was matched up against #4 Creighton University in the quarterfinals. The Friars went on to beat Creighton in overtime, then faced the #1 seed Xavier University in a semifinal matchup.
PC was behind the entire game but went on to overcome a 17 point deficit and beat Xavier in overtime. PC would go on to play Villanova University in the championship game, where PC ultimately lost in yet another overtime thriller. PC’s run in last year’s Big East Tournament demonstrated that lower seeds are capable of making surprise runs in the tournament, given the conference’s lack of disparity between the best and worst teams. That is why there is good reason to believe that Xavier will be the team that wins the 2019 Big East Tournament.
Xavier currently has a record of 16-14 overall and 8-9 in conference play. While these numbers do not reflect a team that has had much success, Xavier has shown sparks late this season that show the team is ready for postseason play. With the departure of previous head coach Chris Mack, it took some time for the Musketeers to adjust to the new play style brought forth by new coach Travis Steele. Through the first 11 Big East games, Xavier had a conference record of 3-8 and looked like a team that had given up. But since then, Xavier has gone on to win five straight Big East games, including a 66-54 win over Villanova and an 84-73 win at St. John’s University.
Xavier’s final regular season game, following a road loss to Butler University and home wins against Seton Hall University and St. John’s University, will be a home game against St. John’s. What is the leading force behind Xavier’s sudden winning streak? A big part of it can be attributed to the steady stream of quality performances by forward Naji Marshall. During the team’s winning streak, Marshall scored 28 points against Seton Hall University and most recently 31 points against St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. If Marshall can continue his stellar play through the final regular season game and into the Big East Tournament, Xavier will be the team holding the Big East Championship trophy on March 16.
Who Will Win the Men’s Hockey East Tournament
by The Cowl Editor on February 28, 2019
PCI
Providence College
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
As the regular season comes to a close, the race for the top spot in Hockey East is beginning to heat up. As it currently stands, University of Massachusetts-Amherst leads the league with a conference record of 16-5, followed by Providence College with a record of 13-7-2 in conference play. Following those two are University Massachusetts-Lowell and Northeastern University who are tied for third, only one point behind the Friars.
While the Minutemen lead both UMass-Lowell and Northeastern by five points and PC by four points, they are far from being locked in to win the 2019 Hockey East title. In order to win Hockey East, a team must be in one of the top eight spots in the standings, then win three consecutive games in the Hockey East tournament.
With the Hockey East being one of the most competitive leagues in the nation, it is no simple feat for even the best team to complete a clean sweep in the tournament. Despite currently being in second place, Providence College hockey will come out on top of the tournament as the 2019 Hockey East champions.
PC has been a consistently dominant presence in Hockey East throughout the 2018-2019 campaign. Currently ranked #8 in the United States College Hockey Online.com polls, the Friars have proved themselves a force to be reckoned with.
The team has been consistent overall, currently posting a record of 19-9-5 and 13-7-2 in Hockey East play. The Friars have also been able to get the job done at home, posting a record of 7-3-3 at Schneider Arena this season. Also, the team boasts a number of wins over highly-ranked opponents. Some of the Friars’ impressive victories include a win over #16 Miami (OH), back-to-back wins over #8 Northeastern, back-to-back wins over #10/11 UMass-Lowell, and most recently, a thrilling 3-2 victory over #2 UMass-Amherst on home ice. PC is currently on a three-game winning streak, which it is certainly capable of extending through the remainder of the regular season and into the Hockey East tournament.
Hayden Hawkey ’19 has been an outstanding presence in net for PC and just recently became the all-time wins leader at PC with 65. His consistency, along with the return of forward Vimal Sukumaran ’20 to the lineup, and widely distributed goal-scoring throughout the season make PC a team that nobody in the Hockey East will want to play come tournament time. For these reasons, PC will be the team that claims the title of 2019 Hockey East champion.
If the Big East Could Add One Team, Who Should It Be?
by The Cowl Editor on February 14, 2019
PCI
The University of Connecticut
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
As of late, there have been talks regarding the Big East conference adding a new team. The league was founded with basketball as its main asset, but eventually became a league with football powerhouses such as the University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University.
In 2012, the non-football members of the Big East branched away from the football schools to form the new Big East.
The Big East conference currently features 10 members, seven of which were part of the original Big East. Butler University, Xavier University, and Creighton University were added to the conference as it shifted from focusing on football to basketball.
One team that was part of the original basketball-focused Big East was the University of Connecticut who, since its departure from the Big East, has joined the American Athletic Conference (AAC). While in the AAC, UConn has struggled and has been unable to prove that it belongs in the conference. UConn’s football team failed to win a conference game in the 2018 season and finished with a record of 1-11, its sole win against Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponent University of Rhode Island.
The team failed to attract fans and according to the Hartford Courant, UConn’s athletic department earned around $40 million in revenue to go along with over $80 million in expenses. Many signs are pointing to the UConn football program dropping down from the more-competitive Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) to the FCS, where it would likely find more success.
In addition to struggling in the AAC, UConn sticks out among the other members of its conference. It is the only member of the conference in New England, with its closest counterpart being Temple University, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Most other members of the conference are located in Florida, Texas, and other southern states. With this in mind, as well as UConn being an original member of the Big East, if the Big East decides to add an expansion team, it should be UConn.
UConn was at its best when it was a member of the Big East. Arguably, one of UConn’s most iconic moments from this time was the men’s basketball team’s incredible 2011 run in the Big East Tournament when it won five games in a row, including the championship. The team went on to win the NCAA National Championship against Butler University. UConn returning to the Big East would also allow the renewal of the rivalry between Providence College and UConn.
If the Big East decides to add an additional member to the conference, it should be UConn.
Former Friars: Where Are They Now?
by The Cowl Editor on January 31, 2019
Professional Sports
Kris Dunn is Rising Up as Leader on the Bulls
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
Now in his third year in the National Basketball Association, Kris Dunn ’16 has established himself as one of the youngest elite point guards in the NBA. Drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2016 as the fifth overall pick in the first round, Dunn’s talent was immediately recognized leaguewide. A point guard at 6’4”, 205 pounds, Dunn’s physical build attracted the attention of many NBA teams when combined with his more-than impressive skillset.
Dunn began his career in the NBA back in 2016 with the Timberwolves. It took him some time to fully transition from college basketball to the more fast-paced, skilled NBA. In his rookie season, Dunn averaged just over 17 minutes per game, 3.8 points per game, and 2.4 assists per game. Following the 2016-17 season, Dunn was traded to the Chicago Bulls alongside Zach LaVine in exchange for Jimmy Butler and the rights to two other players. Dunn adjusted well to his new team and his presence had an immediate positive impact.
In his first year with the Chicago Bulls, in the 2017-18 season, Dunn began to look as dominant as he was throughout his career at Providence College. In his first season with the Bulls, Dunn averaged almost 30 minutes per game along with 13.4 points per game, six assists per game, and 4.3 rebounds per game. Perhaps his most notable performance of the season came on December 26, 2017 against the Milwaukee Bucks. In this game, Dunn netted 20 points alongside 12 assists, four steals, and two blocks. This outstanding performance placed Dunn in legendary company as he became the second Bulls player to ever record at least 20 points. The only other Bulls player that had ever done so was Michael Jordan.
Now in the 2018-19 season, Dunn is finally starting to establish himself as a rising star in the NBA. Despite the struggles that the Bulls have been experiencing as a team, Dunn has shown resilience to continue battling throughout the season. After being sidelined for a significant length of time early in the season with an MCL injury, Dunn has returned to being a consistent presence at point guard for the Bulls. He is now averaging 12.1 points per game, 6.3 assists per game, and over 30 minutes played per game.
While his numbers as the team’s point guard are respectable, Dunn’s presence as a young leader is part of what makes him a special player.
Kris Dunn stated, “I’m trying to be a good leader for this team, I am trying to do what coach wants me to do. We are starting to push the pace, starting to figure that out and be aggressive on both ends of the floor.”
Despite only being in his third NBA season, Dunn has accepted his responsibility to be a leader as a point guard and run the team as effectively as possible. The Bulls are currently in 13th place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 11-39, but Dunn’s positive presence as a young star on this team provides hope for its future.
Julian Gressel ’16 Finds Home with Atlanta United
by The Cowl Editor on January 24, 2019
Friar Sports
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
After what was an outstanding career as a midfielder on the Providence College Men’s Soccer Team, Julian Gressel ’16 has quickly become one of the top rising stars in Major League Soccer. Born in Neustadt an der Aisch, Germany, Gressel came to the United States in 2013 to join the Friars’ soccer team. Gressel’s impact on the team was felt immediately as he started all 22 games for the Friars in his freshman season. Over that span of time, Gressel led the team in goals, assists, points, and shots on goal. In his rookie season, Gressel achieved a Big East Rookie of the Week honor and was named to the Big East All-Rookie Team and All-Big East Second Team.
Gressel continued to produce for the Friars in his sophomore season on the team in 2014. During the 2013-14 season, Gressel scored five goals and added five assists. He continued his steady play into the Big East Tournament, receiving Big East All-Tournament Team recognition. In 2015, Gressel scored five goals in his third season at PC. He again received numerous accolades including being named to the Big East All-Tournament Team and the All-Big East Second Team. However, during his senior season in 2016, Gressel truly played to his full potential. Gressel netted an outstanding 15 goals in just 22 games played, 6 assists, and 36 total points. His incredible performance throughout the season ultimately led to an NCAA tournament berth for the Friars, which included an incredible 5-4 comeback win over No. 1 seed University of Maryland. Gressel added two goals in this second-round game of the tournament, and finished second all-time in goals, assists, and points among all PC players.
Upon the conclusion of his career at PC, Gressel entered the 2017 MLS Super Draft where he was the highest Friar ever selected. He was picked up by Atlanta United FC as the 8th overall draft pick in the draft.
In his rookie season with Atlanta, Gressel showed no signs of being overwhelmed with the conversion from college to professional soccer. In his first season with Atlanta United, Gressel appeared in 32 games, scoring five goals and adding nine assists. This stellar first season led to him being named the 2017 MLS Rookie of the Year. Atlanta, however, fell short in the MLS Playoffs to Columbus Crew SC in the 2017 season. Gressel and Atlanta United made sure that they would not fall short the following season, and showcased their dominance throughout the 2018 season.
In his second season in the MLS, Gressel scored four goals and recorded 14 assists to help lead his squad to its first MLS Cup victory. Atlanta beat the Portland Timbers in the MLS Cup Final by a score of 2-0. This was a fitting way for Atlanta United to cap off its second season in the league as no other MLS team showcased nearly the same level of quality and consistency throughout the season. Gressel was an integral part of this quality and consistency as a rock-solid midfielder.
Through just two seasons in MLS, Gressel boasts a Rookie of the Year award and an MLS Cup victory. The PC graduate has shown no signs of slowing down as he is one of the top young midfielders in the league.