Soccer Star Joe Touloumis Prepares for Senior Season at Marist College

Joe Touloumis is one of the best soccer players to ever come out of Cranford High School and he continues to make a name for himself – on the pitch and off as a starting forward for Division-1 Marist University, and as an Academic All-American.

Touloumis, who played four years at the varsity level for the Cougars from 2003-2006, has been a mainstay in the Red Foxes lineup since he stepped onto the Poughkeepsie campus in 2004.  And he's loving every minute of it.

The 5'9, 165 pound striker has tallied 13 goals in his three seasons, scoring six goals this past fall as a junior, with half of those being winning-goals. He also had two assists which gave him 14 points on the season to lead the upperclassmen in scoring.

"My biggest transformation was from freshman to sophomore year," said Touloumis. "They say everybody gets better after their first year. It's been a lot of hard work, but so far it's been very successful. I'm very excited for my senior year."

During the 2009 campaign, Touloumis was honored as the MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) Player of the Week thanks to his game-winning goals over Army and Drexel.

"At the level I'm playing at, every goal counts," said Touloumis. "Basically, most games are one-goal or two goal games, so each one is important. Especially towards the end of the game, the clock's ticking down and everything matters, so it's important to step up. If you score one, it tends to be the winner."

The men's soccer team finished fifth in conference play in 2009, sporting a mark of 8-8-2 and 4-4-1 in the MAAC. It was the first time since the 2005 season the Red Foxes finished with a winning percentage of .500. Marist also wrapped up the 2009 campaign ranked eighth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) North Atlantic Region poll.

But what's even more impressive is what Touloumis has done in the classroom as a business and marketing major, with a minor in accounting. This past fall, he was named a Third Team Academic All-American by ESPN the Magazine as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and was one of only nine forwards to receive the award, while being the only one from District I --- which covers the northeast --- to be named at the University Division. Touloumis was the ninth Academic All-American in the history of the Marist College Department of Athletics.

"It's a great achievement because I've been working hard at school and on the field, and it's very encouraging, because you get recognized for something like that and it makes you want to work harder," Touloumis noted. "It comes down to time management. If you want to get good grades, you can get good grades."

 His hard work has paid off. For the second straight summer, Touloumis heads into New York City from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to work as an intern for a major corporation.

"I've had two internships and I find finance very exciting. I feel there's a lot of opportunities in that field."

When the focus is on soccer, Touloumis loves the fact that every game on the schedule is a challenge.

"There are no weak spots," he said. "Any team around that we play, every kid is a star player coming from all over the country. So you have to step up your game. It's very tough to keep your position on the field. You work hard at it and hopefully do it."

The hard work also comes all year round. In the summer, Touloumis runs miles around town to keep fit before tuning up his skills at the field. There is really no choice when playing at the D-1 level.

"We have a fall season and a spring season. After the fall season is over, we have about two months to ourselves where we can maintain shape, and when the spring comes around, you hit the weight room. We have physical fitness tests for the spring and you play exhibition games. So there's really no off-season. The fitness tests are very demanding, so everybody has to work hard before we get back. You're basically on your own watch and make sure you pass those physical fitness tests or you get sent home."

The hard-shooting forward -- who wears # 7 for the red-and-white -- is looking forward to his senior season, and is hoping for a successful run with the return of a number of key players. 

"Our team when I came in started off as very young. When I was a sophomore, the whole team was sophomores and freshmen and now we're going to be seniors and juniors, so this is really going to be our year to win."

One game he'll have circled on his calendar will be Virginia, the defending D-1 national champions. The Red Foxes will travel to Charlottesville for a 7 pm kickoff.

"Everybody's very excited, nobody's scared at all," said Touloumis. "It's going to be a great opportunity to prove ourselves because you want to have these big guns on your schedule and you also want to have the smaller guys to see where you're at. Everybody's going to be prepared for the game. It should be a close game."

As for his favorite memory from Cranford High School, the one game that comes to mind was when he led the Cougars back from two-goal deficit in the state tournament.

"One of the biggest memories I have is the Star-Ledger Game of the Year. Down 2-0 with four minutes left, we scored twice. I scored with a minute left and then in double-overtime I scored again and we ended up winning and that became the game of the year. It was very exciting."

That 35-yard rocket was a goal to remember in his high school senior season. No doubt there will be more excitement as he takes to the field for his senior season at Marist College.