MILTON, Mass. - By John Johnson, Boston Globe - Curry College soccer coach Peter Mendel has a hard time taking Ryan Madden off the field. It's easy to see why. The senior tri-captain from Milton is a key cog on a young defensive unit that allowed just six goals through the first 10 games. The Colonels (9-1) won their first nine games, the best start in program history, before a 1-0 setback against Nichols.

Aside from stellar defensive play, the 6-foot, 170-pound Madden is not afraid to jump into the attack. The 2012 Milton High graduate has a goal and two assists, and narrowly missed tying the game against Nichols with a rocket from 20 feet. Last year, he headed in the winner in a 2-1 victory over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Madden has four goals and five assists in his career.

"Ryan excels in the classroom and has a great attitude and always comes ready to practice," said Mendel of Madden, who is a business management major with a concentration in sports management. "He is a great competitor and somebody you don't want to take off the field. We have two sophomores and a junior in our back line, and he adds that senior leadership and keeps us organized."

Q. Curry is off to its best start in program history. Are you surprised?

A. I knew we had a very deep team returning and we did start off a lot better than last year. I am not surprised, but definitely happy and encouraged.

Q. Team goal?

A. As a team we are hoping for a home playoff game and as a longterm goal any team would love to win the [Commonwealth Coast Conference] championship, and move on to the NCAA tourney. In previous years we haven't finished as high as we'd have liked, so we're taking it one game at a time and not looking forward too far.

Q. What is your primary role on the squad?

A. Being a senior captain it's more for me to keep the younger guys heads in the game and make sure they stay focused. We have some very talented players and we've only allowed six goals, which is a huge credit to our goalkeeper (junior Dan Johnson). It was nice to have a couple of clean sheets in our first nine games.

Q. What kind of captain are you?

A. I'd say I'm very vocal. I'm sure a lot of guys on the team are sick of hearing my voice. The other two captains [Rolando Montero and Milton's Richkaard Verrier] are much better players than I am, so they tend to lead by example, and I'm more the guy who communicates on the field.

Q. Do you know what you'd like to do after you graduate?

A. I would love to be an athletic director at a high school or college. Last summer, I was an intern in the Milton athletics department, and I'd like to do the same this summer. I would also like to go to graduate school and get my master's in higher education or event planning.

Q. Does anything in particular drive you to play soccer?

A. Two years ago we lost a friend of ours, Evan Jones, who passed away right before one of our games. His nickname was Blue. He had epilepsy and had a seizure. It was unanticipated. We think of him before every game. He was a friend from high school, and we had to start the season with that news. It drives me and Richkaard each game.

Q. What is so special about playing at Curry?

A. We are a very tight-knit team and it's very family-oriented. The culture here is that we are very close as a team.

Q. What would it mean to make a long post-season run during your senior season?

A. It would mean the world. I haven't won too much in soccer in my career. Going out on a high note would be great. Only one team in the conference gets to end their season with a victory, so it would be nice to leave the younger guys with something to talk about and leave here with some kind of legacy.