Costa Rica Trip: August 7-15, 2006 / Stockton Photo Album
Sean McCallum Named NJAC Rookie of the Week
McCallum Earns Second NJAC Rookie of the Week Award
Jeff Haines Collects 150th Career Coaching Victory
Butch Huff Named NJAC Rookie of the Week
McCallum & Klein Top List of NJAC Postseason Honorees
Brian Klein and Eric Lewis Earn NSCAA All-Region Honors

The 2006 season was a campaign of near-misses for the Stockton men’s soccer team. The Ospreys posted a solid-but-not-spectacular 14-6-2 record that featured numerous highlights but ultimately fell short of the team’s usual lofty expectations. All six of the Stockton’s losses were by one goal, three 1-0 scores and three by a 2-1 count. The Ospreys registered more shots than their opponent in five of the six defeats. Overall, the team played better than its final record indicated and was left to ponder its missed opportunities.

Stockton’s defensive play has to be considered one of the biggest positives of the season. The Ospreys’ ball-possession style of play kept opponents at bay and the goalkeepers thwarted most of the shots that they faced. The result was a 0.76 goals against average and 10 shutouts. Individually, Matt Hart registered 76 saves, seven shutouts and a 0.87 GAA to earn an NJAC All-Conference Honorable Mention nod. NJAC All-Conference First Team player Brian Klein anchored a defense corps that also featured Jon Kopytko, Chris DePolis and Ray Nelson.

At the offensive end, freshman Sean McCallum burst onto the scene with goals in each of his first three games and later was named the NJAC Rookie of the Year and an NJAC Second Team selection. McCallum led the Ospreys in scoring with 19 points on a team-high seven goals and five assists. Brett Ferron tallied five goals and a team-high eight assists for 18 points, followed by Matt Lewis with five markers and five helpers for 15 points. Eric Lewis and Domenick Raimo each registered six goals and two assists for 14 points.

Stockton got a jump on the 2006 season with a trip to Costa Rica in mid-August and then got off to a great start by winning its first five games, four by shutout. The Ospreys went 0-1-1 in their first two NJAC games but they responded with a three-game win streak, capped by a 3-2 triumph over Rowan, to improve to 8-1-1 on the season. The second half of the campaign proved to be more difficult as Stockton went just 5-3-1 in its final nine regular season games, with all three losses coming in conference play.

The Ospreys earned the fifth seed for the NJAC tournament, but they were ousted in the first round by Kean, 2-1. The team then had an opportunity to defend the ECAC Metro championship that it had won in 2005. As the third seed, Stockton topped Ramapo 3-1 in the ECAC quarterfinals before suffering a season-ending 2-1 loss to second-seeded Rutgers-Camden that brought the year to a close at 14-6-2.

Sean McCallum was named the NJAC Rookie of the Year and selected to the NJAC All-Conference Second Team. Brian Klein was voted to the NJAC First Team while Eric Lewis and Domenick Raimo joined McCallum on the NJAC Second Team. Brad Wescott and Matt Hart earned NJAC All-Conference Honorable Mention kudos for the Ospreys. Stockton head coach Jeff Haines collected his 150th career victory on September 25 when his troops blanked Alvernia 3-0.