SUNY New Paltz’s Men’s Soccer team had two players selected to the SUNYAC All-Tournament team for the 2012 season.
Fourth-year forward Harrison Lane and midfielder Shanshe Khosroshvili were chosen as a result of their play in the tournament. Lane recorded a goal and Khosroshvili tallied an assist during the tournament.
Khosroshvili transferred to SUNY New Paltz as a junior after spending two years at CUNY John Jay. He played with the team in both his junior and senior seasons as one of the team’s starting midfielders.
Lane, on the other hand, has been a key member of the squad during each of his four seasons for the Hawks. During his time at New Paltz, he has played as both a defender and a forward.
Khosroshvili said while he was honored to be selected for this team, he found it difficult to be too excited after the team suffered a devastating loss to SUNY Oneonta in the semifinals of the conference tournament. He said he would rather have won the SUNYAC championship than a spot on the All-Tournament team roster.
“We really hoped to win the championship,” Khosroshvili said. “This may be my last time playing soccer and I would have loved to end the season with a championship.”
He also said while the season did not end the way he would have wanted it to, the team put in the effort worthy of winning a title.
“I had hoped to have a better season, but our determination as a team helped me get this accomplishment,” Khosroshvili said.
Like Khosroshvili, Lane said he would rather have a tournament title than a spot on a tournament team.
“Being selected for the All-Tournament team was one of my goals and expectations going into the playoffs and it means a lot to be honored, but a title would mean a lot more,” Lane said. “In the end, I always want what’s better for the team.”
In their teammates’ eyes, the effort both Lane and Khosroshvili put in this season were noticed and admired by their teammates.
“They both stepped up to the plate big time this year,” second-year midfielder Matt Rubinstein said. “Shanshe had a very strong postseason which helped us beat Brockport. Harrison was our talisman; he had that bit of magic that we seemed to lack at times. Harrison was truly a leader for the team as he commanded a great deal of respect.”
Khosroshvili said he owes much of his play to Head Coach Gene Ventriglia, who he said made the team contenders in the last stretch of the regular season.
“He changed our style of play and really helped us improve and win games in the last month of the season,” Khosroshvili said. “I think the team is headed in the right direction and will continue to improve next year.”
With the success of the team this season, Lane believes that success will continue for years to come.
“It was nice to see the younger players really step up,” Lane said. “I was proud of them both on and off the field as student athletes, and I am excited for them to succeed in the future.”