GETTYSBURG, Pa. – With a mix of experienced veterans and a talented freshmen class, the Gettysburg College men's soccer team will take to the pitch with high hopes in 2016.
 
The Bullets graduated just one starter from last season's team that put together an impressive 10-5-1 record and earned a spot in the national rankings midway through the season. The Orange and Blue finished 4-5 in Centennial Conference play, just missing a conference tournament berth with their sixth-place finish.
 
Led by third-year head coach Mark Mettrick, the veteran-led squad brings back 21 players from last season's team, including 13 that started a game at some point. However, a strong group of 10 first-years will also push for playing time, with several likely breaking into the starting lineup right away.
 
Offensively, Gettysburg returns a whopping 90 percent of its offense, as nine players who accounted for 23 of the team's 29 goals are back. Leading the way is senior forward Henry Smith (Westfield, N.J./Westfield), who turned in a stellar campaign for the Bullets a year ago. Smith made his mark as incredible playmaker, handing out 12 assists – a mark that ranked second in the Centennial Conference and third in school history. In addition, he scored six goals – second among the Bullets – en route to capturing First Team All-Centennial Conference and Second-Team NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors.
 
Smith will joined up front by junior forward Patrick Santini (Old Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich), who is coming off a breakout season. Santini led the team with seven goals, which ranked seventh among the conference leaders, while distributing five assists as well.
 
Also seeking playing time at forward will be junior Michael Farese (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville), sophomore Kingsley Nzekwe (Greensboro, N.C./New Garden Friends School), and freshman Lawrence Ku (La Canada, Calif./La Canada). Farese scored one goal while playing in 15 matches and making four starts a year ago while Nzekwe notched one goal and one assist over 14 matches.
 
Providing the Bullets with an outstanding offensive presence out of the midfield is senior KJ DePontes (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel), who registered five goals and six assists while landing Second Team All-Centennial Conference recognition last season.
 
A host of additional Bullets return to give the team a deep and talented midfield. Junior Lucas Weissman (Short Hills, N.J./Millburn), a defensive specialist, started all 16 matches a year ago while senior Ryan Kennedy (Frederick, Md./McDonogh School), entering his second year as a team captain, played in 13 matches while making 10 starts, posting one goal and one assist.
 
Other experienced players returning to the midfield are senior Jordy Steelman (Newburyport, Mass./Newburyport) and sophomore Matt Stine (Short Hills, N.J./Millburn), each of whom registered one goal and three assists a year ago. Steelman played in 16 games and made two starts while Stine appeared in all 16 matches while making nine starts.
 
 Sophomore Tyler Robinson (Narberth, Pa./Lower Merion) and junior Justin Wigley (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) will also push for increased playing time in the midfield. Robinson played in 12 games last season while Wigley appeared in five matches. In addition, freshmen Jimmy Evangelos (New Providence, N.J./New Providence), Shane McWilliams (Perry Hall, Md./Loyola Blakefield), and Precious Ozoh (Plymouth, N.H./Holderness School) will look to make an impact as well.
 
Defensively, Gettysburg graduated just one starter in the backfield and returns a pair of goalies who have shared playing time over the past two seasons.
 
Senior Mark Yearick (Maplewood, Md./Columbia), sophomore Evan Jansen (Pembroke, Mass./Boston College), and sophomore Peter Kost (Millburn, N.J./Millburn) all return to man the back row. Yearick started all 16 matches, and he also contributed offensively with three goals. Jansen started all but two matches for the season while Kost played in 13 games and made 12 starts.
 
The Bullets will also receive a boost with the return of junior defender David Murphy (Yarmouth, Maine/Yarmouth), a starter for the Bullets as a freshman. He spent the 2015 season at Bates College, where he started all 15 matches for the Bobcats.
 
Juniors Sakyi Hylton-Dei (Geneva, Switzerland/Mercersburg Academy [Pa.]) and Steven Pashuck (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) will also seek increased playing time while freshmen Raffaele Mazzone (Nottingham, Md./Loyola Blakefield), Ezekiel Omosanya (Lagos, Nigeria/Northfield Mount Hermon [Mass.]), Andrew Panzo (Media, Pa./Malvern Prep), Jeff Schaefer (Timonium, Md./Calvert Hall), and Bobby Weikert (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg) will help provide exceptional depth in the back.  
 
Also returning are junior defenders David Baer (Merion, Pa./Lower Merion) and Baki Bawa (Tamale, Ghana/Millbrook School [N.Y.]); however, they will miss the season with injuries.
 
Between the pipes, senior Peter Como (Wilton, Conn./Wilton) returns after a 9-4-1 season that included six shutouts. A two-year starter, he also posted a 1.25 goals-against average and a .719 save percentage. For his career, Como has accumulated a solid 16-5-1 record with nine shutouts and a 1.14 GAA.
 
Junior Max Karen (Huntington, N.Y../Elwood-John Glenn) is also back after starting a pair of matches last season, including an overtime victory at Susquehanna. Karen was also the starting keeper for the Bullets over the team's final eight matches of the year during his freshman season.
 
Junior Alex Nestor (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Hills) and freshman Thomas Keane (Potomac, Md./Gonzaga College) will provide the Orange and Blue with additional options in net.
 
The Bullets open their season with a challenging non-conference schedule, starting with the Royal/Monarch Challenge, hosted by the University of Scranton and King's College this weekend. They visit Scranton, last year's Landmark Conference champion, on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. before taking on King's, which put together a 16-4-1 record a year ago, on Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
Gettysburg's home opener is set for Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. versus York (Pa.) College, a team that earned the second seed in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament last season. Also in their out-of-league schedule, the Bullets will resume play with perennial powerhouse Messiah College as well as Marymount University and Susquehanna University. In addition, the team will now face The College of New Jersey, which finished 10-5-2 a year ago.
 
The Bullets visit Ursinus College in their Centennial Conference opener Sept. 17 at noon.