The CCRI Knights men’s soccer team had a great season that unfortunately ended early as they just missed the playoffs. Even with the disappointing end, the Knights have some great postseason news. Their two captains were named to the Region XXI All-Region Division I team for 2016. The co-captains, Joshua Sandin (Warwick, R.I.) and Piotr Szewczyk (Warsaw, Poland) were both named to the team.

Sandin was an extremely important player to the men’s soccer team. He was a fixture in the starting lineup, and made game-changing plays every game. Many of the players and fans considered Sandin to be the general of the team, pulling the strings and passing the ball throughout the field to put his teammates in great positions to succeed. In the 11 games that Josh played, he scored four goals and tallied one assist. He also was able to take 38 shots with 18 of them going on goal throughout these games, which goes to show his eye for the goal and creativity on the field. Two of the goals he scored were from the penalty spot, and two of the goals were counted as game-winners. The team took a big hit after Sandin was hurt and unable to finish out the season. Sandin’s leadership was still felt off the field, as he was an important fixture on the bench for the games he missed, supporting his teammates until the end. 

Szewczyk also had an important role in the team. Szewczyk worked alongside Josh as a captain, and his leadership was crucial to the success of the team, as well. Szewczyk did not light up the stat sheet, but his presence was felt in every game he played in. He suited up for 13 games, and started 12 of them.  He was able to score one goal throughout the season on 20 shots. Eleven of his shots were put on net, giving him an over 50-percent on-target ratio.

Szewczyk, many times, was the person making the key pass. He made the important pass which would connect the play leading to the goal. While these passes do not show up on a stat sheet, they are vital to the success of a team, and Szewczyk was able to execute his role remarkably.