COLLEGE SIGNING: OJR’s Dempsey to play soccer at Iona

Owen J. Roberts senior Taylor Dempsey, center, recently signed a letter of intent to play soccer at Division I Iona College. Dempsey is pictured with his parents Mike Dempsey, left, and Susan Marks, right, and OJR head coach Eric Wentzel. (Photo submitted)

By Steven Moore
smoore@pottsmerc.com

Taylor Dempsey had his mind made up last fall. He was ready to enjoy the rest of his senior year at Owen J. Roberts without the pressure of a college decision hanging over his head.
Then Mount St. Mary’s University (Md.) decided to cut three varsity sports programs – including men’s soccer.
Dempsey was back to square one.
Then he got a call from Iona College – a school he admits he “had never heard of” before.
“Around Thanksgiving, I had two tournaments and they saw me play and I had numerous calls,” said Dempsey, who signed a letter of intent to play at Iona, a school just north of Manhattan in New Rochelle, N.Y. “They seemed to be one of the more interested schools.
“The past four years, they’ve been ranked in the top 25 many times, and the school doesn’t have a football team, so soccer is one of the bigger sports there,” Dempsey said.” The coaches are really nice and they made me feel like they wanted me a lot.”

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