A college fraternity (Kappa Delta Phi) and college soccer. Two different activities at Husson University but a common theme that brought the 1973 men’s soccer team together.
“We lived together in the fraternity and because we had more time together, we knew each other very well,” defender Rick Sylvain said. “We practiced in the hallways of the dorms as well as outside to maintain our skills.”
As the team gets ready to celebrate their 50th anniversary; they have a new thing to celebrate as the newest team inducted into the Husson Sports Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2022.
The 1973 team was one of the most historic teams in program history as they posted the program's second ever double-digit win season with a program-record at the time 14-2 mark, including an unblemished record at home. The squad also became the first team in program history to advance to a NAIA Regional Championship final.
The team was made up of players from Portugal to America to Columbia to an island outside of France and everywhere in between.
“It was an education for me,” forward Steve Noyes stated. “Just to know those guys and be side by side with them day in and day out. They were great guys and they liked to play soccer. The USA has always been playing catch up in soccer and for me it was just like night and day going from high school to that kind of scenario. It was just very, very rewarding, intriguing, interesting and fortunate to have been a part of such a diverse group of players.”
Led by first-year head coach Milan Kesar the Eagles rattled off 11-straight victories to open the season recording the longest winning streak in program history at the time.
“He had a simple philosophy,” sideline coach Ed Oliver added. “Kick ball. Win game. That's what he would say all the time. Kick ball. Win game.”
“Coach Kesar was a very experienced coach who was fair and taught us about teamwork, which allowed us to improve with time,” Sylvain noted.
During that 11-game winning streak, the Braves scored ten or more goals in seven games, including the highest scoring victory in program history with a 29-0 triumph over Unity College. The game also featured a goal from goalkeeper and Husson Sports Hall of Fame member John Silveria who was known for not having to do much during most matches.
“You know, it's a good, really good team, with a good defense,” Silveria stated. “You had to be ready to make a save when needed, sometimes you almost fall asleep, but the team was so good.”
Silveria credits a backline that featured Husson Sports Hall of Fame brothers Ben and Frank Brandao, as well as defensive midfielder, J.J. Lagesse. Lageese is remembered mostly for scoring the only goal in the Braves’ 1-0 victory over Keene State in the NAIA District 32 North Division Championship Game.
“J.J. got a goal, (Keene State) had it,” Husson Sports Hall of Fame member Stacey DeCastro said. “They had a better team, believe it or not, with better players than us overall. They had been together forever, most of them were seniors and juniors. I now know a bunch of them as they work in my area. We know each other from coaching later on and they are always picking on me. ‘You guys didn't deserve to beat us that day.’ (Keene State’s) John Banning was a defender that marked me the whole game closely. We're friends here nowadays and we talk about a lot of things about the game later. I didn't see the goal being scored, by the way, because John beat the crap out of me. I was on the ground as John was a big boy. When I looked up, J.J. was jumping all over me, celebrating.”
There was a reason why Keene State had somebody marking Stacey DeCastro so closely and that was because he was the all-time leading goal scorer in program history. The Rhode Island native notched 62 goals that season in 16 games, enroute to 166 career goals during his time as a Brave.
“Having my playmaker brother, Harry DeCastro, was a big part of the success that season,” Stacey DeCastro added. “Everything just went the right way.”
Harry DeCastro recorded the second-most assists in a season with 27 assists that year, while scoring 19 goals and was also selected to the Husson Sports Hall of Fame.
“My role as a forward was to get the ball to the Castros and let them do their work,” Noyes joked.
Once the season had finished the 1973 team had set 47 school records. To this day the team still holds the records for most goals scored in a game (29); shutouts (10), fastest consecutive goals scored in game (ten seconds vs. Unity); goals scored by an individual in a game (13 by Stacey DeCastro vs. Unity); fastest goal scored at the start of a game (16 seconds by Mike Bell at New Hampshire College now known as Southern New Hampshire University); and so many more.
Two players collected postseason accolades - Stacey DeCastro earned NAIA All-American Honorable Mention, NAIA All-District and National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-New England honors. Frank Brandao earned NAIA All-District honors.
The team featured seven Husson Sports Hall of Fame members in: Stacey DeCastro, Harry DeCastro, Ben and Frank Brandao, Lagesse, Joseph Mello, and Silveria and they will now be joined by Mike Bell, Noyes, Gil Nevers, Rick Sylvain, Nick Civitillo, Jack Poyer, Leslie Farr, Bill Finney, Gary Powers, Art Bartholomew, Rudi Cabral and Jim Kinney, and Oliver.
Most of the team majored in business during their time at Husson and that set up the group to work all over the world. Some worked in retail while others enjoyed careers in the pharmaceutical industry while some enjoyed careers in semi-professional soccer, but the bond of the team has been and always will be there.
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