Hall of Fame
Perhaps the best way to describe goalkeeper Wayne Ramsey ’83 is through the words of his head coach during the 1982 season. “Ramsey has been sensational,” said former Lions’ soccer coach Rick Dell. “A goalie of his caliber is certainly going to help you out in a close game.”
Ramsey was a standout goalkeeper for men’s soccer team from 1979 to 1982. He was the starting keeper for three seasons and averaged less than a goal per game allowed in each of those three seasons.
In 1980, Ramsey minded the net in 18 games posting a scintillating .56 goals per game allowed. He was a part of one of the most successful teams in program history as they posted a 13-6-3 record and captured the co-championship of the ECAC Metropolitan Tournament. The Lions finished the season ranked 20th in the country and Ramsey’s individual play between the posts earned him a selection to the All New Jersey State Collegiate Team second team as a sophomore.
The Lions’ net-minder was not the only reason for the team’s stubbornness in allowing goals. The defensive backfield of John Castaldo, Mike Kassel, Fred Foranato, and Billy …. Was known in some soccer circles as the “No goal patrol.”
After losing eight starters from the 1980 squad, Ramsey helped the Lions to a co-championship in the New Jersey State Collegiate Athletic Conference (NJSCAC) before advancing to the NCAA tournament. The team finished with a record of 10-6-3 dropping a heartbreaker in the NCAA tournament to North Carolina-Greensboro 1-0. The Lions posted five shutouts during the season including a crucial 1-0 win over Montclair State in overtime.
Ramsey was an all-conference performer during that season allowing just 15 goals in 16 starts. He made 86 saves and posted a goals-against average of .93. Ramsey even got in the field of play and made the most of his opportunities. He took one shot and scored a goal and even chipped in with an assist.
Leading into Ramsey’s senior season, Rick Dell took over the program and following their pre-season workouts, Dell had this to say about his goalie. “He’s a big plus for us. He’s certainly our biggest strength.”
During that season, opponents took 230 shots and only 15 of them found the back of the net. Ramsey boasted a .83 goals-against average. The Lions finished 8-8-2 in 1982 and Ramsey was named to NJSCAC First Team along with being selected to the First Team All-New Jersey State squad.
Following the 1982 season, Ramsey was invited to play professionally with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 1983, but an injury put an end to his playing career.
Ramsey embarked on a second phase of his soccer career entering the coaching ranks. After five seasons as the head soccer coach at Pinelands Regional High School, he accepted the position as head coach of the Monmouth University soccer team. Ramsey coached at Monmouth for nine years winning two conference championships.
More recently, Ramsey became the Athletic Director at Raritan High School in Hazlet, NJ and is now their school principal.
“TSC has developed my core values as an educator and coach,” Ramsey said this past spring. “I have taken the professionalism, work ethic, and integrity that was bestowed on me as a student athlete at TSC and lived by those same characteristics with my teams and students.”
