First Year Fridays: Men’s Soccer
Chicopee, MA - With COVID-19 stalling our fall season, the Elms College Athletic Department will be showcasing our first year Blazers every Friday. Next up is our Men's Soccer program. Follow along and get to know more about your fellow Blazers!
The Men's Soccer program brought in eight new players in 2020, here is a little something about each STUDENT-athlete.
Coach Wysocki reflected on his first year class: "We're very excited to have this class of young men join the EC Family this year. It's a big group, but more important than their quantity, is their quality. This class brings a wealth of talent, and history of winning at high levels to the program. What's even better than that is the diversity within this group. We have players literally from all over the world who bring experiences and styles to an already talented team. Getting them working together within the squad and bringing all their cultures under one roof has been a real joy and something that's going to elevate this program to the next level for years to come."
Name: Dante Polletta
Position: Midfield
High School: Woodland Regional High School
Hometown: Prospect, Connecticut
High School Stats: 4 year varsity starter, All-State (Senior Year), All-League (Junior & Senior year)
Captain (Senior Year), Career: 20 goals; 32 assists
Other Sports: Tennis, All-League (Junior Year), 3 year varsity tennis player
Favorite High School sports memory: Playing in our league championship game junior and senior year.
What brought you to Elms? Elms has a fantastic Computer Science program that can help lead me to future job opportunities. In addition, I have been given the opportunity to play college soccer for a great program.
What made Elms stick out to you more than other colleges? Elms has a beautiful campus in relative distance to my house. Also, the class sizes give me the opportunity to make great connections with my professors.
Pre-Game rituals? My pregame rituals consist of listening to music and praying right before the game starts.
Quote: "Good is not good when better is expected." - Vin Scully - I live by this quote because I am always trying to better myself in all aspects of life, whether it is on the field or in the classroom. Having the will to want to be better, gives me the energy and confidence I need to succeed.
Inspiration: My twin brother, Devon, is my inspiration because he helps me be the best version of myself every day. We feed off each other's energy and use that to push each other. Everything we do is a competition, so we are always trying to improve ourselves.
Name: Matthew Reismann
Position: Striker/Forward
High School/Hometown: Ramstein High School
High School Career Stats: 16 goals
Other Sports: Football
Favorite High School Sports Memory: Freshman Year High School Championship Game Win
What brought you to Elms College: The soccer program was a reason why I came to elms. Another reason what brought me to Elms was the size of the school and also that it had my major.
What made Elms stick out to you more than other college interests? It had my major and the campus size was and the amount of students on campus as well makes it big enough for me to be comfortable at the college. The soccer coach was another reason that stuck out to me wanting to come here as well.
What are your pre-game rituals? My pregame rituals for me is listening to music before every game to get me in the mood. Another one is to get focused on the game and also the opponent who my team is up against.
What's a quote you live by and why? "You have to believe in your process. You have to believe in the things that you are doing to help the team win. I think you have to take the good with the bad." Tom Brady. The reason why I chose this quote is because it is something that I will try and do every game and every season.
Who inspires you to be the driven Student-Athlete you are today? The person who inspires me is my former Football kicking coach. He helped me to get through things in high school and made me a better athlete than what I was before getting into High School.
Name: Brandon Mclea
Position: CB
High School: Windsor High
Hometown: Windsor
Stats: 34 clean sheets
What brought me to Elms College? What really brought me to elms is the fact that the atmosphere really amazes me. The campus is not too big nor too small it's just the right size for me to get around and about. It also makes it easier for me to connect with people and my teammates.
What Made Elms stick out to you more than other college interests? Elms really offers a lot of support which I usually wouldn't get at any other schools. Elms is always willing to work with you no matter what it is and it really makes me feel comfortable here.
What are your pre-game rituals? I usually say a prayer before every game to wish my teammates good luck and to make sure that God is with us throughout the 90 minutes. I also like to listen to music because it calms my brain and helps me maintain focus towards the task. I also like to hype up my teammates and give motivation so we can go into the game with positive energy.
Whats a quote you live by and why?"Don't be afraid of failure. This is the way to succeed." - Lebron James - I live by this quote because when I fail I always pick myself back up and learn from my mistakes.
Who inspires you to be the driven STUDENT-athlete you are today? My whole family plays soccer so they are the reason I keep pushing because this is our family tradition
Name: Santino Giordano
Position: Defense
Career goals: 2
Other sports in high school: Football Basketball Volleyball
Favorite High school sports moment: One of the most memorable high school sports moments was playing the semifinals for soccer in a blizzard.
What brought you to elms: Both my brothers attended Elms College and loved it, so I wanted to continue the legacy and have another great four years.
What made elms stick out from the other colleges: Elms has a sense of community that not many bigger schools can replicate. And really that's what I look for in a college atmosphere
What are your pre game rituals: People day I have a weird ritual, but it's a bowl of tortellini's hours before a game. Then right before the game starts, just five high jumps.
A quote I live by: Believe you can, and your half way there... Theodore Roosevelt, I live by this because if you're not believing in yourself, then who is?
Someone who inspires me to be a true student athlete: He played soccer while at elms too. He always loves hearing what's going on with the team, but more importantly i followed in his footsteps as a CIT major. A lot of the time he understands how to balance school, sports, and other events. He's taught me a lot in that regard and I'm very Grateful for it
Name: Nikita Akimov
Position: Left Wing
Hometown: Rockville High School/ Aleksin, Russia
Soccer: 15 goals, 7 assists. 1st team all-conference, 4 time year varsity starter, 2-time captain.
Wrestling and volleyball
High school memory: scoring a winning goal in a first state game since 2009.
What brought you to elms: Opportunity to play soccer
What made elms stick out from the other colleges: Beautiful campus, Small school and classes
What are your pre game rituals: Listening to Russian rap
A quote I live by: "you have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it" -Lionel Messi - I live by this because nothing in this life will be handed to you on a silver platter. You have to work hard to be successful.
Someone who inspires me: My high school coach inspired me to be the student athlete I am today. During high school I've had a lot of injures which discouraged me from playing soccer. He never gave up on me and motivated me to work hard. Not only in sports but in school and life as a whole.
Name: Prince Chambass
Hometown: Leominster High School/ Leominster,MA
Favorite high school memory: Chipping the goalie from outside the box in a game
What brought you to elms: I came to Elms because the school has a good biology program.
What made elms stick out from the other colleges: Elms is a tiny school and everyone knows you and it has a family atmosphere
What are your pre game rituals: Pre-game ritual: Listen to music, stay calm
A quote I live by: Live life to the fullest. I live by this because life can be taken away at any moment so you should enjoy it and have fun.
Someone who inspires me: My dad inspires me to be a hard working student athlete. He is a hardworking man and he is always telling me that I can do better.
Name: Musa jiana
Position: Attacker mid / striker
Highschool: Chicopee high / Hometown, Westfield Ma
Highschool career stats, First team all-western mass, super 7 top scorer 2018/19 in my region.
Favorite high school sport related memory: scoring the last minute winner against city rival and making it to the playoffs semifinals two years in a row
What brought me to Elms College: what make me come to elms maily is how friendly the environment is and me able join the soccer team and get to meet new people, also been able to have a quality education.
What made elms stick out: To me was the size of the campus and how everything is easy to locate within the campus, it's easy to get around campus and get things done.
What are your pre game rituals: My pre game ritual is to make sure I get a good 8 hour sleep, get hydrated and watch videos of players that played my position before every game that always boost my confidence.
A quote I live by: The quote i lived is that, "No matter how long a wood stayed in the water it can never turn into a crocodile" i lived by to quote because it always reminds me to be yourself no matter the environment you found yourself in.
Someone who inspires me: My brother inspired me to be the student athlete I am today, watching him play inspired me to continue playing up to this level.
Name: Devon Polletta
Position: Central Midfield
School: Woodland Regional High School, Beacon Falls, CT
Hometown: Prospect, CT
Soccer Stats:1x All-State, 2x All-League, 4 Division titles, 2 League Final Appearances,15 Goals, 30 Assists, 4-year varsity starter, Captain
Tennis Stats: 1x All-League, Rookie of the year, Captain
Fav. High School Memory: 2 consecutive, soccer, league final appearances
What brought me to Elms College: I chose Elms College because it had a great Computer Science program, and it was not too far from home. Also, the small campus size was nice and felt welcoming.
What made elms stick out: Elms stuck out to me more than other schools because they have a strong soccer program, and the team felt like a family.
What are your pre game rituals: My pre-game rituals include stretching and listening to music.
A quote I live by: Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise." -unknown.
Someone who inspires me: My twin brother, Dante, inspires me every day to become a better student-athlete on and off the field. There has been a built-in competitiveness ever since we were young and it helps to push each other.
