The Cannons goalie depth is pretty solid and at one point this off-season that could have been the Cannons biggest concern, but then the Cannons made one of the biggest moves of the off-season. After former starting goalie and Cannons legend Jordan Burke announced his retirement the question became who will take over for him, and the Cannons did not wait long to make it clear who there starter of the future would be when they traded for Tyler Fiorito from the Chesapeake Bayhawks. Here is a look still at all the goalies on the Cannons roster currently.
The Rookie:
Cameron Bell the rookie was selected with the 67th pick in this years Collegiate draft, and it really doesn't surprise me since coach Quirk has seen Bell grow under his guidance since stepping on to campus at Endicott College where, Quirk was previously the head coach. Bell is a solid addition who has really been a big time player at Endicott really since his Freshmen year, seeing time early on in his career pretty much earning him the starting role since he stepped on campus. Bell is one the smaller side of all the Goalies the Cannons have standing at only 5’11. Bell really does let his numbers speak for himself as a talented Goalie being a three time All-American going into his Senior year at Endicott. Bell's career numbers are these, in his freshmen year he was given the chance to be the starter and he ran with the opportunity, playing in 18 games and making 17 starts. On the year he finished with a save percentage of 54.9 and made 186 saves and helped lead Endicott to a 12-5 record before the lost in the Conference championship game to Western New England who would get the AQ into the NCAA tournament. Bell's sophomore year he once again showed why Coach Quirk had so much faith in him as a freshmen Bell starting in 18 games and playing in all 20 games that year and helped lead the Gulls to a 15-4 record in between the pipe, Bell had a save percentage of 57.9, a 3% increase from the previous year and had 202 saves on the year as well. Bell helped lead the Gulls all the way to the second round of the tournament before they fell to a talented Tufts team 10-9 in dramatic fashion. Then finally in Coach Quirk's last year with the Gulls Bell played big once again starting in all 20 games and lead the Gulls to 16-4 record and had 209 saves on the year and a save percentage of 56%. The Gulls would fight there way into the NCAA tournament before they were knocked out by Cortland St. 13-6 in the second round. This has been a little different of a year for Bell with a new head coach in Eric Hagarty (also attended Endicott and is also a goalie on the roster we will get to that later) things have not gone as smoothly as expected. It's been a tough year in Coach Hags first season but they are playing a completive schedule so you can't blame them for that, the Gulls currently sit at 5-8 on the year and Bell has started in all 13 games and played great in those games. Bell currently has a save percentage of 51.9, and has made 155 saves on the year. I don’t expect Bell to really see anytime this year but people can be wrong, and if he gets a chance it could be exciting to see how things work out for him.
The Coach/Vet:
Eric Hagarty made a name for himself as a player at Endicott and has arguably edged his named as one of the best to ever play the position at Endicott. Hagarty who is now the head coach at Endicott after being assistant along side coach Quirk (now head coach of the Cannons) and is coaching Cam Bell who will be his teammate this summer. I am sure Bell and Hagarty might go back in forth at who the better goalie is but let's let the fans, decide. Hagarty is currently the all-time wins leader at Endicott with 48 wins. Hagarty also allowed in average of 6.73 goals in per game over the 70 games he played in his career, and posted a career save percentage of 60.9. As a sophomore he allowed in average of 5.43 goals per game which was the best goals allowed average of all goalies in Division 3 in 2008. Hagarty also was chosen as a USILA All-American three times as well. Hagarty was not in the MLL until 2012 when he was selected by the Cannons in the Supplemental draft in the 18th round 144th overall. Hagarty did not play a game until the 2013 season where he made one appearance and allowed 3 goals but made 7 saves. Since that game he has never seen the field in the MLL. Hagarty was once again selected by the Cannons in the 11th round in the Supplemental draft again this time 83rd overall, and was once again selected this year. In all honesty I don't know if Hagarty will play a game this year but is possibility I think, I am sure Coach Quirk has confidence in him, but I only think Hagarty gets the chance to see a lot of playing time is if Fiorito goes down, and I don't think that's happening. In all honesty it won't surprise me if one day in the not so distant future we might see Hagarty helping out on the sidelines for the Cannons as a coach.
The Back-Ups:
Jack Murphy is a local Massachusetts guy from Cohasset, so he's got that going for him. Murphy originally attended Mass Maritime for one year before he decided to transfer to Fairfield University where he had an outstanding career. Murphy took over the starting job as a Junior and started every game from that point on for Fairfield. When Murphy graduated he left Fairfield as their He fifth all-time leaders for saves 321. Murphy was drafted by the Cannons in the 8th round with the 59th overall pick, since then Murphy has seen no time between the pipes for the Cannons. Murphy does not have the imposing size at just 180 lbs. but he does have a big frame standing at 6'1. From what I’ve seen from Murphy he is very good at seeing the ball well and making some big time saves as well. Murphy has great talent but he's most likely going to be a back up this year unless Fiorito gets injured.
Jack Runkel is the type of goalie that teams are slowly starting to look for because of his massive size at 6’4 225 lbs. who can really take up a good portion of the net, and sometimes for goalies being big can help them, and it seems like Runkel uses his size to help him big time in his play. Runkel has always been a winner since his time in college at Loyola including winning a National Championship in 2012 his first year as a starter when he took over the starting position after being the backup for the first three games for Loyola. Not only did he win a National Championship but he also set a record for the least goals allowed in a National Championship game allowing only three goals to Maryland. Runkel finished his career with Loyola with a 42-7 record, and allowed only 7.71 goals per game, and had a save percentage of 56.9. Runkel’s resume is pretty impressive in 2014 (his Senior Year) he was an USILA All-America, he was also 2014 Patriot League Goalie of the Year. You look at those numbers, and you think Runkel had to be picked early in the MLL Draft, no he wasn't in fact he wasn't even drafted at all! Runkel’s rookie season he saw playing time in two games for Chesapeake Bayhawks playing a grand total of 35 minutes. But in those 35 minutes that season Runkel managed to get a win for the Bayhawks, and had a save percentage of 50% allowing 9 goals, and having 9 saves that season. Following that season Runkel was picked up in the third round of the Supplemental draft by the Charlotte Hounds. Runkel saw time in 97 minutes last year but struggled with the Hounds at times finishing with a record of 0-2. He also had a tough time making saves allowing 26 goals to making only 22 saves. It was possible that Runkel could have been the starter of the future, for the Cannons until they made the move to trade for Fiorito.
The Starter:
Tyler Fiorito Princeton '12
Tyler Fiorito has been a big time goalie since he stepped on the Princeton campus, and has shown when he got his chance to play in the MLL, but before we get there we have to look at how he came up from Princeton. Fiorito made his name a household name for himself at Princeton, when he became the starter as a freshmen and was a 4 year starter in his time at Princeton. In his time in between the pipes for the Tigers he was a four time All-American and All-Ivy League selection. In his career Fiorito had a goals allowed average of 7.47, and made 624 saves and finished his career with a save percentage of 59.2. After Fiorito's great success in college it was no surprise he was drafted early in the 2012 MLL draft, when he was selected in the 2nd round 10th overall by the Chesapeake Bayhawks. Fiorito saw no time in his rookie season and had to wait till his second season to see his first career playing time. In the 2013 season he only played in 1 game and made 3 saves and allowed 3 goals in his lone appearance. 2014 was a little bit of a different year for Fiorito, he saw time in 8 games and played all right but was not his best year. Fiorito finished with a 2-5 recorded as a starter and made 93 saves and let in 82 goals, and had a save percentage of 53.1. But then last year things changed, Kip Turner missed all last season, due to injury and Fiorito became the go to guy for the Bayhawks, and boy did he step up. Fiorito finished the year with a record of 6-8, he allowed 166 goals on the year, and made 205 saves which lead the MLL in saves as well as had a save percentage of 60.6. The great year also saw Firotio be selected to his first career all-star game. After Jordan Burke announced his retirement the Cannons made a big move and traded for Fiorito, and I expect Fiorito to continue to play big once again this year in his first with the Cannons.
Here is my goalie depth chart projections for the Cannons this upcoming season:
Starter Tyler Fiorito Princeton '12
Back-up Jack Runkel Loyola '14
3rd Jack Murphy Fairfield '14
4th Eric Hagarty Endicott '10
5th Cameron Bell Endicott '16
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