Mondi takes it to the next level for Greyhound soccer

By Matt Williams
SALEM EVENING NEWS
(September 15, 2010)
    Peabody native Dom Mondi is doing a lot more running for the Assumption soccer team this fall. So far, he's been running up his goal total, too.
    A sophomore forward, Mondi scored two goals in a win over Queens last week. The 5-foot-11 former Tanner star leads the Geryhounds in scoring and has found a very comfortable place in new coach Ryan Levesque's system.
    Assumption has shifted from a base 4-4-2 formation, which features four midfielders and two forwards, to a 4-4-3, which features an extra man in the middle up top. That man has been Mondi, and he's delivered.
    "I'm more of the target player now. I'm the middle guy that's making the deep runs from the back of the midfield," Mondi explained. "It's a little more work for me but I like making the runs. I like how we're playing this year."
    Mondi, 19, has experience playing in the middle from his days in the FC Roma club program. Last year, he enjoyed a solid freshman season at Assumption, appearing in 18 games with seven goals including four game winners.
    For his efforts, the economics major was named to the Northeast-10 All-Freshman team. Finding the back of the net early has erased any thoughts of a sophomore slump — not that there were any to begin with.
    "I'm not all about the stats, I don't try to fill up the stat sheet," Mondi said. "But scoring early in the year does help the nerves a little bit. I know last year when I got the ball with a good chance to score I'd be be nervous, thinking 'I better get that goal.'
    "This year, with the experience I have, it helps the confidence. You feel like you know what to do out there." The Greyhounds are 2-1 so far this fall and are hoping to improve on last year's season, which ended in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 tournament.
    "We only lost two starters and we actually filled both those positions pretty well. It's almost the same team from last year so we're definitely shooting to finish better," said Mondi, who helped Peabody High win Greater Boston League (2006) and Northeastern Conference (2007, 2008) titles and would love to add the Northeast-10 to that resume.
    Less than 24 months after he was an Eastern Mass. all-star as a high school senior, things are looking great for Mondi at Assumption, where he's more than hit the ground running.