On Jan. 27, Marvyn Dorchin signed with the Norwegian football club FK Mjølner and on Feb. 25 Yosuke Hanya signed with the MLS NEXT pro club, Colorado Rapids 2.
“It’s great for us to have two guys go off to the pros and hopefully now push on and have great careers,” head coach Fran O’Leary said. “For us to have two guys sign contracts in one season, it is great for them and great for our program.”
Dorchin’s collegiate career began at Springfield College, where he made just four appearances in goal and saved all six of the shots that he faced. O’Leary explained that Dorchin’s motive for transferring was his lack of playing time, which was available at UMass if Dorchin performed as well as he knew he could.
At UMass, Dorchin immediately earned the role as starting goalkeeper. His success continued throughout his junior year, and as a senior, helped lead the Minutemen to a run in the NCAA tournament where they ultimately lost to Penn State in the second round. After a season affected by COVID-19, Dorchin returned to UMass as a graduate student and played the 2021 season.
His calm nature, big frame and athletic ability stood out to the Minutemen coaching staff. Dorchin was willing to put in the work, and that dedication is what led him to earning the starting job so early on.
“He was a fantastic player at UMass,” O’Leary said. “A terrific captain and leader of the program. He, in our opinion, was if not the best, one of the top goalkeepers in the [Atlantic 10].”
In his final season, Dorchin logged 1,654 minutes, recorded 64 saves and finished the season with a 1.14 goal allowed average.
“[Dorchin] showed resiliency where you go to trials, to clubs and sometimes you get rejected,” O’Leary said. “But the feedback was very positive and encouraging, so he just kept going and we stayed in touch over WhatsApp and phone calls. It was a great day when he signed his contract.”
Hanya transferred to UMass before his junior season after playing at Tokyo Gakugei University in Koganei, Japan, and was a member of the Japan U-19 National team in 2018.
“He is definitely one of the most exciting players we’ve had [at UMass],” O’Leary said. “All credit to [Hanya]. He came over here, and it was a big move to come from Japan. He had to really improve on the English and he had to learn a new culture, learn a new style of play, make new friends, and he handled the adjustment admirably and is very well liked.”
In his first season as a Minuteman, he was named to the A-10 All-Rookie team, but redshirted the following season due to an injury.
“I think everyone was delighted for him,” O’Leary said when reflecting on all Hanya was able to accomplish following his injury. “He went a long time without playing because he lost the season and then we had [a season altered by COVID], so we wondered what we were going to see, and he put on a terrific consistent run of games and did a fantastic job.”
After the 2020 season was interrupted by the pandemic, the players took the field again in the spring where Hanya received recognition earning the United Soccer Coaches First-Team All-Region, First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection and United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region honoree. During this season, he orchestrated the only goal scored by UMass in its loss to the Nittany Lions.
O’Leary received a small heads-up regarding the contract from Hanya’s agent before the news was publicly released.
“Hopefully [the signing] validated part of his reason for coming to America and to UMass,” O’Leary said. “And to top it all off, his dream to play professionally is very truly well alive.”
“We’re absolutely delighted that he’s got a contract now with Colorado,” O’Leary said. “Hopefully now we can see him push on and get into the MLS.”
Following O’Leary’s statements, the news of Filippo Begliardi Ghidini’s signing with IFK Luleå of the Swedish Division 2 Norrland was announced.
Ghidini was named to the United Soccer Coaches Third-Team All-Region and A-10 Second-Team All-Conference. The graduate forward finished tied for third place in the A-10 for goals scored in the 2021 fall season.
Sophie Weller can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @SophieeWellerr.
