Following spring practice this year, men's soccer coach John Rennie decided to clean house, cutting five players from the Blue Devils' 1996 squad. Included in the five were rising seniors Tony Frangella and Adam Mastrelli, rising junior Steve Hauptman and rising sophomores Johnny Tyler and Rob Fitzgerald.
While a one- or two-player turnover from year to year is expected, the wholesale changes were far from routine. Three of the players had earned at least one varsity letter while at Duke-Frangella his freshman year and Hauptman this past season, while Mastrelli had received one each of his three years. The seemingly rash move left many of the players still on the team in shock.
"As a freshman, I heard that every spring [Rennie] is going to maybe let go of some of the players, but the older guys said he never actually did it," said sophomore goalkeeper Eric Bassingthwaighte. "This year he was like, 'We're going to make some cuts-you've got to play harder for your positions.' We all weren't so convinced, then he cut [the five guys] and we're like 'Woah!'. Everyone was just blown away."
Many team members were surprised, but they varied in their reactions to the decision.
"With the rising sophomores, I wondered how he could cut talented high school prospects-who knows how they're going to develop as players," Bassingthwaighte said. "With the seniors, it really seemed like they had poured their hearts into the program for three years, then to be let go.... I guess no one is safe."
Veteran Matt Shattuck had a more tempered response.
"Like anything, it came as kind of a surprise," said the senior forward. "Now, we just have to move on. I mean, we are going to be a strong team next year.
"It's a tough situation all around, but what it comes down to is that coach made his decision and we move on and forget about this past spring."
Rennie, who has a 248-87-23 record and an NCAA title under his belt while at Duke, was quite confident in his decision-even in cutting a pair of players before their senior seasons.
"Normally you would cut a player going into their junior or sophomore year, not going into his senior year," Rennie said. "But this was just something that we felt was the right thing to do this year with this team. The decisions were really based on whether or not we thought these guys were going to be major contributors next year versus incoming players we were very happy about.
"Of course, we also took into consideration squad size and team chemistry. In the end, we felt that all the guys that were not asked to return were given every opportunity to show what they could do."
With an eight-member recruiting class arriving in the fall and only six players graduating, Rennie would naturally have to trim at least two current players in order to retain the current roster size. The three additional cuts came as part of Rennie's attempt to reduce the size of the team for other purposes.
"We wanted to have a smaller team, so that everybody that was on it would get a legitimate opportunity to play," Rennie said.
Some of the players were quick to support that theory.
"Fewer people could be a benefit," said Gaston Haupert, a rising sophomore. "It might create more competition, because we didn't need that many people on the roster. Plus, with traveling, a lot of people got left at home."
After a 1996 season that ended up falling far short of the Blue Devils' early-season No. 1 ranking, the shake up may have some people asking whether the move was designed to send a message to a Duke team accused of underachieving at times.
"A side point might be the message that being on the team and playing time are things that have to be earned every time you step on the field, but that was not the purpose of my decision," Rennie said in response to the speculation.
The most surprising departure may be that of Mastrelli. The Wantagh, N.Y. native has started 36 games at defense for the Blue Devils during his three years, though only four this last year as he was limited by an injury.
Frangella, a forward, had a strong freshman campaign in which he notched two goal and three assists while taking the field in 21 games, 11 of which he started, for Duke. He played, however, in only three games in each his sophomore and junior year but maintained what teammates described as an impressive work ethic.
Hauptman, a defender, started five times and saw action in nine games this year, after getting in just twice his freshman season.
Fitzgerald and Tyler, both midfielders, came to Duke from the same high school-Spring Valley H.S. in Columbia, S.C. The pair started only one game all year with Tyler putting up three goals and an assist.
None of the five players themselves could be reached for comment at press time. While deferring to the players for their complete responses, Rennie expressed his view on how they took the news.
"I would hope they were all disappointed," Rennie said. "I would expect them to be. As far as I'm concerned, they all handled it very maturely."
Now that the issue is settled, the concern shifts to next year's squad. Will lingering dissension over the cuts cause any problems on the field.
"I'm positive that there's not going to be any bad blood," Shattuck said. "It might still be in the back of some people's minds, but its not going to have any negative effects on the field."
"When we are on the practice field and the game field, we're still going to be a bunch of machines," Bassingthwaighte said. "You play hard and the stuff off the field has nothing to do with it. As long as you get the job done, you'll be fine."
Haupert
"I think we all knew that he was going to make cuts, but I think everyone was pretty shocked that he cut as many as he did. Everybody played well during spring season and I don't know whether the deserved to be cut or not, but I guess that's just something you have to take in stride."
"There were some particular reasons why some people got cut, which I can understand."
Bass
"One of the older players had his soccer shoes hanging up on the wall in his dorm room and he told me he had 'hung up his cleats.' That was pretty rough."
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