NJCAA Division III District 3 Championship Preview

MANCHESTER – After a practice on a hot August evening, Manchester Community College Soccer Coach Jim Insinga told a visitor that if his team could keep the goals against under 20 this season, they would be alright.

On a cold November night, with the 2009 NJCAA Region Division III 21 Champions preparing for the District 3 Championship, the coach could only smile when reminded of the cautious late summer aspiration.

The 2009 Cougars went on to allow just three goals over 18 games and successfully defended their Region 21 title on Sunday with a 3-0 victory over Bunker Hill CC. MCC turned in 15 shutouts this fall, including a current streak of six straight.

This Saturday (November 7), Insinga will take MCC (16-1-1) to the District Championship for sixth time in ten years. This time around, his team will face against Nassau Community College (16-2) at the Mitchel Athletic Center in Garden City, NY at 3 PM. Nassau beat Suffolk CC-Seldon3-0 on Sunday for the Region 15 Championship.

The winner of Saturday’s game moves on the NJCAA Division III National Championship Tournament in Herkimer, NY the following weekend. MCC is ranked sixth in the latest NJCAA Poll while Nassau holds the number two slot.

Insinga (115-60-9), who took the Cougars to the National Tournament in 2002 and again last year, has built this year’s team around goalkeeper Hami Kara, a former All-State selection a State Champion at Wethersfield High. Kara leads all Division III keepers with a 0.20 GAA.

“It’s all about the defense,” Insinga said. “Hami is the best keeper in country and has been the leader of this team all season.”

Kara has a strong supporting cast, including defenders Kenny Rossignol, who is from Manchester and played at Cheney Tech, Addison Duarte, Lamine Toupou and Rockville’s Michael Dombeu.

The Cougars have been practicing on the synthetic turf at Cheney Tech this week in preparation for the playing surface at Mitchel. “Preparation-wise, the kids committed themselves,” Insinga said. “They went to practice, and worked hard all season.”

The Cougars have a deep bench and have been able to wear down opponent with frequent substitutions. Leading scorer Mariusz Kurszakowski (13 goals) hit his stride over the weekend with four goals in the Region 21 tournament but doesn’t have the burden of carrying the entire offense. Giuseppe Panajia (10 goals) and Frank Busumbru (six goals) are dangerous offensive weapons while former East Hartford High standout Daniel Boateng has a knack for carrying the ball deep into the corner and creating scoring opportunities with well placed cross passes.

“We slowly transitioned from offense to defense (during games) and wore teams down with our subs all year and will continue to do so during the playoffs,” Insinga said. The Cougars are 7-0 on the road and are riding a ten game unbeaten streak (9-0-1).

Boateng’s East Hartford High teammate Bryant Bermudez, along with Aldo Morin has anchored the midfield while Enfield’s Kevin Batista, Tony Scotti, Cris Fernandez and Kyle Hovey have excelled coming off the bench.
Insinga understands the task ahead.

“We found out that Nassau is an extremely fast and talented team,” Insinga said. “Coming out of southern New York as champions is incredibly difficult, but we are ready for this.”

Men’s College Soccer:

NJCAA Division III District 3 Championship

Saturday, November 7th at 3 PM

Manchester CC (16-1-1) at Nassau CC (16-2)

at Mitchel Athletic Complex, Garden City, NY