2000 Review

For the first time since 1991, the Moravian College men’s soccer season finished with the squad in the postseason.  The Greyhounds finished third in the Commonwealth Conference and battled Elizabethtown College in the Commonwealth Semifinals.  Moravian had a 9-11 record for the year and a 4-3 slate in the Commonwealth Conference.

Senior forward Van Pham (Reading/Reading HS) paced the Greyhounds in scoring with 19 points on eight goals and three assists.  Pham was named to the Commonwealth Conference All-Star First Team and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Mid-Atlantic Region Third Team this season after being on the second team the last two years.  He completed his career with 63 points on 29 goals and five assists.  His 29 goals and 63 points both ranked in the top 15 in Moravian College history.

Senior defender Matt Kling (Chatham, NJ/Oratory Prep) was also named to the Commonwealth Conference All-Star First Team.  Kling, who scored one goal, returned to sweeper this season, the position he played as a freshman, after two seasons at forward.  Kling had nine goals and two assists for 20 points in his career.

Freshman forward Anthony Merz (Philadelphia/Archbishop Ryan HS) was second on the Greyhound squad in scoring with 16 points on five goals and a team high six assists.  Freshman midfielder Tim Shannon (Leesport/Schuylkill Valley HS) also tallied five goals and he added three assists for 13 points.

Junior midfielders Evan Weller (Sinking Spring/Wilson West Lawn HS) and Paul Melniczek (Philadelphia/Roman Catholic HS) each scored 11 points this fall with each player scoring five goals and adding one assist.  Junior midfielder Scott Heydt (Boyertown/Boyertown HS) tallied ten points on four goals and two assists.

Senior midfielder Andrew Grezlak (Doylestown/Central Bucks East HS) scored the first two games of his career this season and he added three assists for seven points.  Grezlak had two goals and seven assists for 11 career points.  Freshman midfielder Brian Donofrio (Havertown/Archbishop Carroll HS) and sophomore forward Wilson Gonzalez (Bethlehem/Liberty HS) each scored two goals and one assist for five points this season.

Senior midfielder Rich Tate (Warrington/LaSalle College HS) and freshman defender Dan Shane (Allentown/Parkland HS) each had one goal and one assist for three points while freshman midfielder Mike Grillo (Pennington, NJ/Pennington School) had three assists.  Tate completed his Moravian career with eight goals and eight assists for 24 points.  Senior defender Kevin Byrne (Spring Lake, NJ/Manasquan HS) had two assists this fall to finish his career with five goals and six assists for 16 points.  Junior midfielder Nick Jordal (Doylestown/LaSalle College HS) had one assist this season.

Also contributing on defense in this season were junior Doug Becker (Fleetwood/Fleetwood HS) and freshman Matt Sprague (Souderton/Souderton HS).

Sophomore goalie Ryan Sculley (Bethlehem/Northampton HS) and freshman keeper Greg Bechtel (Reading/Exeter HS) split time in goal this season with each player starting ten matches.  The duo also combined for a shutout of rival Muhlenberg College, 1-0, to end the regular season.  Sculley posted a 1.51 goals against average, 70 saves, six wins and two shutouts in 892 minutes while Bechtel had a 2.43 goals against average, 67 saves and one shutout.

The Greyhounds will return a strong nucleus for the 2001 season and challenge for the Commonwealth Conference Championship.