Life-long friends join men’s soccer team

By Rachael Renz
August 30, 2010

Freshmen Eric Nowicki, Gabe Kuhn, Brady Kline and Ryan Cerrato enjoy some downtime together outside of practice during their first few days of school.

There’s no doubt that beginning your college career is stressful but for Eric Nowicki, Gabe Kuhn and Ryan Cerrato it doesn’t have to be. These three young men took the leap from high school to college together.

Nowicki, freshman goalkeeper; Kuhn, freshman midfielder; and Cerrato, freshman forward, made the highly anticipated transition from their hometowns to Radnor together on Thursday, Aug. 16.

Growing up in the suburbs of Baltimore, the three played in multiple soccer leagues together for over eight years.

“It’s been a lot easier living with each other than we thought it would be.  Each of us has our own personalities and I thought Ryan and I would butt heads a lot, but we haven’t. We’ve been getting along great,” Nowicki said.

The three share a common interest that any guest of their dorm room would notice – soccer. Hung on their walls are soccer jerseys and strewn across their floor are turf-worn cleats.

“We all agreed to live together; it made sense since we all play soccer. It made the transition to college a lot easier knowing people you’ve played with your whole life,” Cerrato said.

Nowecki and Kuhn have known each other since fifth grade and then both met Cerotto the following year. Ever since, they have been playing for the same team or have been competitors.

“Growing up we always played soccer against each other through different club teams and hated one another. Our clubs were really competitive and we were on rival teams,” Nowicki said.

Not only was the room filled with soccer items and paraphernalia but also with jokes about being single guys and quotes from their favorite movies.

The three young men had attended school together up until senior year of high school when Kuhn transferred from John Carroll High School to Fallston High School, the rival.

“It was rough transferring schools, especially since my new team played my old team and friends. Even though my new school was only 10 minutes down the road, I still missed my old team and coach,” Kuhn said.

After Kuhn transferred, he played his former high school team and scored the winning goal against Nowicki.

“It sucked that we lost the game and that it was Gabe that got the win, but I wasn’t mad,” Nowicki said.

The Cavs are playing the No.8 team in the nation, York College on Saturday, Sept. 4 but, that’s not the only obstacle ahead. The team’s schedule also includes playing four teams that are nationally ranked.

“We have a really tough schedule this season and I hope I reach my full potential. I know I have a lot of work to do but I think I’m going to have a good season as goalkeeper,” Nowicki said.

One of the group’s new friends is freshman defense Brady Kline who lives on the floor above in East Residence Hall.

“I met a lot of new people in orientation, but since I’m with the guys from the soccer team more often I feel that I made better friends there,” Kline said. “Playing with Eric, Gabe and Ryan I noticed that their transition on the soccer field has been very comfortable. I think Ryan Ceratto will make the most improvement this season. He’s a really good player and has a lot of potential. If he can get into tip-top shape and work really hard, he could be really dangerous and score some goals.”

Despite the transition to the soccer field, all four agree that their academics will be a challenge this year.

“I expect this school year to be pretty difficult with soccer and transitioning into college life. I hope classes will go smoothly, but I have to keep up on my work,” Nowicki said.

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Rachael Renz

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