Former Doherty star Aidan Abolfazli keeps Worcester State men's soccer on a roll

When former Doherty High all-star goalkeeper Aidan Abolfazli became the Worcester State men’s soccer coach in November 2020, his objective was to not only continue the success of the program, but to make it dominant.

After a challenging first season in 2021, Abolfazli is guiding an impressive turnaround this fall. At 6-2-2 (3-0-0 MASCAC), the Lancers already have doubled their win total from a year ago. Worcester State rides a five-match unbeaten streak into Wednesday’s game at Clark.

“It’s definitely been a fun season so far,” Abolfazli said after Monday’s practice. “In the preseason, our guys battled and competed. Now, we are emphasizing the importance of continuing to compete and push each other. We’ve started very well; it’s important we continue the momentum in the back part of October and the playoffs.”

Abolfazli was previously an assistant at Rhode Island College, the junior varsity coach at Doherty and a volunteer goalkeepers coach at Franklin Pierce, his college alma mater. A 2017 Franklin Pierce graduate, Abolfazli helped the Ravens to the NCAA Division 2 Tournament as a senior.

At Worcester State, Abolfazli replaced Jason Willis, who won a program-record 77 games in his 11 seasons with the Lancers, and guided WSU to a pair of MASCAC regular-season titles and the 2016 conference tournament championship.

Worcester State’s 2022 roster includes 15 returning players, many who played at the college level for the first time last year following the canceled COVID season, and 14 newcomers, a mix of freshmen and transfers.

“It’s a nice balance of talent, experience and fresh blood,” Abolfazli said. “It has helped lift the standard.”

Worcester State has 16 Central Mass. players, including freshman Brady Iovanni of Lunenburg and junior Matt Alzamora of Holden/Wachusett Regional, who rank among the Lancers’ leading scorers. Junior goalkeeper Dylan Ruberti of Westborough has posted two shutouts, and he leads the MASCAC with a 0.67 goals against average.

“I take a lot of pride in being from Worcester and being here,” said Abolfazli, who grew up not far from the Worcester State campus, “and trying to put our program on the map, (a program) where kids want to come. Maybe you start to attract players from out of state as well. It’s super competitive in Massachusetts with all the colleges.

"We’re trying to differentiate ourselves at Worcester State," he added. "Our coaching staff truly cares about the players. Results are important and winning matters, but helping these guys mature and become young leaders, that’s why we do what we do here.”

Abolfazli’s top assistant is Ryan Elster, the former Sutton High star who helped lead the Sammies to three straight state championships (2011-13).

Also helping out on the Worcester State staff is Abolfazli’s dad, Massood Abolfazli, a Clark Hall of Famer and former Cougars All-American and coach.

The 1986 New England Division 3 Coach of the Year, Massood Abolfazli guided Clark to two NCAA regional appearances in his 10 seasons.

“It’s great,” Aidan Abolfazli said of having his father and mentor on the sideline. “We’re talking all the time, and he’s always a big help. He’s a quiet coach these days. He has a lot of one-on-one conversations, and he helps Ryan and me with ideas and suggestions at practice, and he has a background of super competitive soccer.”

Abolfazli expects that returning to Clark for Wednesday’s game will be special for his dad.

“It’s full circle for him,” Abolfazli said. “I’m grateful he’s on our staff. It’s great to have him around.”

Crusaders begin regular season Friday in North Dakota

The Holy Cross men’s ice hockey team opens the 2022-23 season Friday with the first of two games at No. 3 North Dakota.

“It’s a bit of a trip for us and a really, really good opponent,” second-year HC coach Bill Riga said, “but it’s a good way for us to start the year.”

A 3-2 exhibition win over Boston College Saturday at a packed Hart Center bolstered the Crusaders’ confidence for their first challenge of the season.

“They’re feeding off the BC game,” Riga said. “We’re confident we can go out there and win a game or two. We’re not just going out for the experience. We’re going out there for a reason and with a purpose, and that’s the message.”

HC went 12-23-2 (10-14-2 Atlantic Hockey) last season. Riga, a Westborough native, had a successful 13-year run as an assistant at Quinnipiac before succeeding David Berard as Holy Cross coach.

In 2021-22, the Crusaders dropped its three games against ranked regional opponents Northeastern, BC and Quinnipiac by a combined 13-3 margin.

“We didn’t do a great job last year competing with the ‘super powers’ of New England,” Riga said. “One of the focuses is when we play games like that, we need to show up and show that we belong, and take a step toward being competitive if we want to be one of those programs. I challenged them a little bit (before the BC exhibition), and there was improvement there. (The win) lets them know they’re taking a step.”

In the victory over the Eagles, junior center Matt Guerra scored two goals, and junior wing Jack Ricketts had a goal and an assist.

“For the coaches,” Riga said, “you have to keep it in perspective and realize both teams played all their goalies, all their players, and it is what it is. It doesn’t count in the standings, but we were looking for development and improvement and taking a step, and certainly from where we were against BC last year (5-1 loss), to where we are now against them, it’s a world apart.”

The Crusaders started 1-8-1 last year. They won four of five in early February and won back-to-back games to finish the regular season.

“I feel like where we started from, with everything new, to a year later is a big difference,” Riga said. “An understanding of how we’re trying to play, what our identity is, what we want to get accomplished, our upperclassmen can help our freshmen implement that seamlessly, where as before, we were starting new.

“Now,” Riga said, “we’re starting from a different place. We’re ahead of schedule in terms of being ready to compete the first weekend of the season, compared to where we were last year. In general, we have more depth at every position.”

The Crusaders depart for North Dakota early Thursday, and return Sunday morning.

HC plays its home opener Oct. 13 against Sacred Heart.

Unbeaten HC takes on Bucknell at Polar Park

Tickets are available for the undefeated and ninth-ranked Holy Cross football team’s game against Patriot League foe Bucknell Saturday at Polar Park. The second EBW (Edward Bennett Williams) Classic kicks off at 4 p.m.

To order tickets, visit woosox.com, or call the WooSox ticket office at (508) 500-8888.

Head of the Class

• Worcester State freshman forward Brady Iovanni of Lunenburg scored a goal and added an assist in the Lancers’ 2-0 men's soccer win over MASCAC foe Westfield State. Worcester State improved to 3-0 in the conference.

• Assumption sophomore Jack Moy of Sutton shot final round 5-under 67 to lead the Greyhounds to their second straight Northeast-10 Conference championship at En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott, N.Y.

• Worcester State sophomore Jack Ryan made a hole-in-one on the 12th hole during the final round of the MASCAC Championship at Shennecossett GC in Groton, Connecticut.

• Endicott senior Rachael Lemay of Westminster and Oakmont Regional anchored the field hockey team’s outstanding defensive effort in two wins last week. The Gulls posted two shutouts and held their two opponents to a combined five shots on goal.

• Anna Maria junior Eden Forget, of Worcester and Doherty High, led the field hockey team with a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win over Dean.

—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTandG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Former Doherty star Aidan Abolfazli has Worcester State soccer on roll