SUFFOLK VS. MASS. MARITIME PROGRAM
Date Time Venue Video Stats Series Last Meeting   Last Suffolk Win Streak	Wednesday, Sept. 1 7:00 PM East Boston Memorial Park East Boston, Mass.  Suffolk Playsight GoSuffolkRams.com Suffolk Trails, 8-3-1 Aug. 31, 2019, T, 1-1 (2 OT) Sept. 2, 2017, W, 2-1 T1

BOSTON – Suffolk men's soccer will write a new page in its record book Wednesday, Sept. 1 when the Bill Maddock era begins in the Rams' 2021 season opener versus Mass. Maritime. Kick off at East Boston Memorial Park's James A. Sartori Stadium is slated for 7 p.m. 

SOCIAL SAYINGS
Ram Nation has a chance to keep up with all the latest news and notes on Suffolk Athletics, its student-athletes and teams by following the Rams on  Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #RamNation a behind-the-scene look at Suffolk Athletics.

SUFFOLK ATHLETICS 2021-22 FAN POLICY
Suffolk University Athletics, following guidance from the University's health and safety protocols, Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), Centers for Disease Control and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, plans to allow fans to attend home athletic contests during the 2021-22 academic and athletic year.

Fans, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, can attend games. They must be masked the entire time they are on campus, pursuant to institutional policy, and complete a health screening form at the security desk of each building upon arrival. This policy applies to home contests played on campus at the Ridgeway Building's Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court, as well as the Emmons Horrigan O'Neil Memorial Rink and the Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink.

For outdoor outings, specifically at East Boston Memorial Park, fans are asked to respect COVID safety protocols. At this time, masks will not be mandated for fans no matter vaccinated status at outdoor venues.

MORE READING: Suffolk Athletics Announces Fan Policy for 2021-22

RAMS REWIND
Suffolk men's soccer has gotten a complete face lift after Bill Maddock came in as the new head coach in January 2020 and revamped the program after it went 6-9-1 in 2019.  

The veteran leadership, Trevor Murdock, John Heeran, Alexander Heghinian, Declan Mee, Elias Parreira, Dai Podziewski and goaltenders Tom Bennett and Kyle Rosa, from that squad has returned to the Rams' roster to add experienced wealth. 

RAMS ROOKIES
More than half of Suffolk's 35-man roster will put on the blue-and-gold for the first time as head coach Bill Maddockrecruited 19 newcomers to join the Rams ranks for the 2021 campaign.

The group is a mixture of collegiate first-years with 17 true freshmen, a standout graduate transfer in Nigel Leo and senior transfer Fira Lam.

Position wise, the group is made up of nine midfielders, five defensemen, three forwards and a pair of goaltenders.

MORE READING: Men's Soccer Welcomes a Lot of Young Blood for 2021

TRANSITIONING TRANSFERS
Nigel Leo and Fira Lam brought their talents to Suffolk after beginning their collegiate careers elsewhere.

Leo, had a standout career at Belmont, where he competed for the Bruins over three years and a COVID-condensed senior season. He assembled a nine-point stat line in 57 games in his career with two goals and fie assists.

Lam, meanwhile, got his college playing days going at St. Lawrence in 2018. There, he helped the Saints to the 2018 Liberty League regular-season and post-season championships.

SUFFOLK'S SOPHOMORES
Similar to Suffolk's freshmen, the Ram's sophomores are also first-year student-athletes this year after last season's cancellation due to COVID-19.

Suffolk's seven sophomores -- David Bowes, Martin Chmielewski, Joaquin Heller Della Vecchia, Jack Phelps, Caleb Pongratz, Brady Sorensen and Pierre Willis -- will all be making their collegiate debuts this season as well.

GEOGRAPHY 101
Suffolk's 35-man roster is comprised of national and international student-athletes.

The bulk of the roster is stateside, mainly Massachusetts, with 19 Bay State natives. Overall, nine different states are represented with multiple student-athletes from Connecticut (3), Florida (2) and New Hampshire (2). California, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia are also represented.

Student-athletes have brought their talents to Beantown from the Northern Mariana Islands, a US Territory, as well as from overseas: China, Spain and Switzerland.

CLASS CATEGORIES
The Rams' roster is underclassmen heavy with 17 true freshman and seven sophomores, which accounts for 68.6 percent of the team. A trio of juniors are doubled by a six-man senior contingent with a pair of student-athletes continuing their education and athletic experience as graduate students.

POSITION PLAUDITS
Position wise, Bill Maddock has assembled a 35-player roster will depth at every spot on the field. There is a baker's dozen midfielders to go along with six forwards with 11 defenders backing up the five set of goalie gloves.

COACH'S CORNER
Bill Maddock will make his Suffolk coaching debut in 2021 after being named the head coach in January 2020.

Maddock brought his talents to Beacon Hill will an experienced-heavy resume, which included his last position as an assistant coach at Babson College. He helped guide the Beavers to the 2019 NEWMAC regular-season and conference tournament championship en route to the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to his stint at Babson, Maddock gained head coaching experience at his alma mater Newbury College and Fisher College.

The new head coach has a pair of helping hands on his staff in assistant coach John Del Valle and Juan Gonzalez.

OPENING ACT

• Suffolk looks to get back in the win column on day one of the season for the first time since 2017.
• In 2019, the blue-and-gold played a back-and-forth battle with the Buccaneers of Mass. Maritime in Buzzards Bay, which ended in a 1-1, double overtime draw.
• Suffolk needed extra time to determine an outcome in the first contest of the year for the first time since dropping a 2-1 double overtime decision at Regis Sept. 3, 2011.
• The tie with Mass. Maritime that lifted the lid on the 2019 campaign is the first draw for Suffolk on opening date dating back to 2002.
• Since 2002, the Rams are 10-7-1 in the first test of the year.
• Suffolk will play at home for its season debut for the first time since 2017. The Rams are 6-2-0 when opening the curtain on its campaign in front of its home crowd since 2002.
• The Rams have locked up a victory in game one of the season in shutout fashion four times since 2002. The last time the blue-and-gold blanked its opponent in the first contest of the year was a 5-0 triumph over Eastern Nazarene in 2007. Three of those four cleansheets have come on Suffolk's home pitch.
• On the flip side of things, Suffolk has been kept off the scoreboard twice in game one. Framingham State is the last opponent to hold the blue-and-gold scoreless in the season debut, doing so in 2014 by a 4-0 margin.
• Suffolk will face Mass. Maritime for the fourth time in the season opener and fourth straight year, dating back to 2002. The Rams are 1-1-1 when playing the Buccaneers in game one since the 2002 campaign.

WATCH AND SEE

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Ushering in a new era for the program, Suffolk made its first-ever appearance in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) preseason poll as the Rams were selected to finish eighth in the conference following a vote by the league's 10 head coaches.

MORE READING: Men's Soccer Projected Eighth in CCC Preseason Poll

BUCCANEERS BREAKDOWN
The Buccaneers roster is underclassmen heavy with 11 true freshmen and six sophomores to help improve upon its 3-12-3 record from two years ago.  

Mass. Maritime does bring back experience though, especially in net. John Murphy (1.94 GAA, .771 save %) and Mitch Hardy (3.20 GAA, .653 save %), who split time in 2019 as sophomores, may look to do the same this season as seniors. 

Offensively, a more than half of MMA's goal scorers from 2019 are back in Shane MacNeil (2g), Benjamin Cook (1g, 1a), Liam McDonough (1g) and McNeil Somers (1g). 

INSIDE THE SERIES

• The Suffolk, Mass. Maritime rivalry dates back to 1989 with the Buccaneers commanding the majority of the first 10 meetings to hold an 8-3-1 all-time series record over the Rams. 
• In 2017, the two foes renewed the meetings and since then have met in the season debut over the last three seasons that were competed. Suffolk won the first (2017) and Mass. Maritime (2018) captured the second and the team's tied after two overtimes in 2019. 

EYES ON THE GAME

SIGHTS & SOUNDS: 2021 FALL MEDIA DAY

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk rounds out its three-game in five-day stretch over the weekend when the Rams host both Westfield State and Lasell. The Owls stop by Saturday, Sept. 4 at 3 p.m., with the Lasers visiting the following day, Sunday, Sept. 5 at 12 p.m.