Massapequa Park, native starting as a first-year player

The Bowdoin College men's soccer team has started the 1999 season with a 5-2-1 record and earned a No. 5 ranking in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) New England poll, helped by the play of first-year back Kevin Folan, of Massapequa Park. Folan has started every game this season and is the first rookie in three years to start for the Polar Bears.

Bowdoin, which has earned a berth in the NCAA Division III National Tournament the past two seasons, started the season with a 2-1-1 record, but has rattled off three straight wins. All three of the wins have been shutouts, and one was a 4-0 drubbing of Tufts University on the road. Tufts entered that game with a 5-0-1 record and a No. 4 ranking in the NSCAA regional poll.

The left marking back position was a big question mark for Bowdoin Head Coach Tim Gilbride this season, but Folan stepped in and beat out four upperclassmen for the spot. His play on defense has helped senior goalie Tom Casarella (Ashford, Conn./E.O. Smith) record the lowest goals against average in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) at 0.53.

"Usually it takes a player a year or two to adapt to the college game, but Kevin has shown a poise and confidence that first-year players rarely have," said Gilbride, who earned his 100th career victory earlier this season. "Kevin is starting to show he is a threat on the offensive end, as well, and I expect he will continue to develop his game."