LEWISTON —  

In the nine years he’s coached the Niagara men’s soccer team, Dermot McGrane has never been more excited heading into the season.

The Purple Eagles graduated reliable goalkeeper John Fiutowski and all-conference Anthony DiBiase from a squad that lost the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game in double overtime. Their presence will be missed but more than made up for, McGrane said, by the most talent-rich recruiting class in program history joining dynamic offensive players Levi Tesch, Carl Haworth and Bryan Da Cruz.

“The new players coming in have allowed us to play a different system of play because of the speed and attacking flair that we have with our midfield and forwards, so we can play a little bit differently,” McGrane said.

Tesch, a first-team all-conference pick the past two seasons, is regarded by McGrane as the best player in the MAAC. Fellow attacking midfielder Carl Haworth, the 2008 MAAC Rookie of the Year, is nearly Tesch’s equal offensively. And Da Cruz netted more goals (nine) than either player as a freshman last season.

With several of the newcomers battling injuries in the preseason, McGrane used mostly returning players in both of their scrimmages and liked what he saw. Justin Wainwright, a Medaille transfer from Tonawanda, along with fellow midfielders Desmond Betteto and Michael Cunningham have been the most improved players, McGrane said.

Among the freshman, McGrane is highest in center defender Nick Garcia, who rated as a better all-around athlete than Reggie Bush and Tim Tebow, according to the Nike SPARQ test.

“He’s very impressive,” Tesch said. “Big, strong, fast and he has a leadership quality.”

Forward Gino Corasaniti was ranked among the top 100 freshman in the country by CollegeSoccerNews.com.

The question of how the Purple Eagles will replace Fiutowski in goal is something they “won’t be able to solve until a couple games into the season,” McGrane said.

The top prospect is transfer addition Michael Moran, an all-American at Yavapai (Ariz.) College, the top junior college soccer program of the last decade.

“The keeper before Mike won a national championship with Santa Barbera, and a couple before him the kid played for the Trinidad and Tabago national team, I believe, and participated in the World Cup qualifiers,” McGrane said.

“They’ve had a tradition of great goalkeepers, and the coach (Mike Pantalione) said (Moran) is the first goalkeeper in 21 years that he’s ever made captain. He’s so mature, he talks so well, his shot stoppage is really good, there’s some areas we really need to work on for sure, but I think he’s going to be good for us.”

But a hip injury has limited Moran’s availability early on.

“When he’s been playing, he’s looked pretty sharp,” McGrane said. “But we haven’t had enough time to work with him yet.”

The other keepers are senior Christopher Skelton, who has been dealing with a neck injury, sophomore Jacob Vertel, who has impressed McGrane so far after redshirting last season, and freshman Marc Davies, who the coach said “has shown promise.”

Niagara plays its first three games on the road starting today at Cleveland State. The first home game is Sept. 15 against Hartwick. MAAC play begins Oct. 8 with a home game against Iona. The Oct. 24 home finale is a MAAC title game rematch with Loyola.

Contact reporter Jonah Bronstein at 282-2311, ext. 2258.

SEASON PRIMER

Niagara men’s soccer

n COACH: Dermot McGrane, ninth year

n KEY PLAYERS: MF Levi Tesch, MF Carl Haworth, F Bryan Da Cruz,  D Nick Garcia

n LAST YEAR: 7-9-2, lost in MAAC championship game

Home Schedule

n SEPT. 15: Hartwick, 7 p.m.

n SEPT. 18: La Salle, 1 p.m.

n SEPT. 24: Binghamton, 7 p.m.

n OCT. 1: UB, 7 p.m.

n OCT. 8: Iona, 7 p.m.

n OCT. 10: Fairfield, 1 p.m.

n OCT. 22: Rider, 7 p.m.

n OCT. 24: Loyola, 1 p.m.