BANGOR – When senior Ross Salovitch takes the field at linebacker for the Husson College football team, he serves as sort of a field general for the Eagles defense.

In about six weeks, when his playing days are over, Salovitch will begin working in earnest on an internship as the general manager for the Maine Sting, a fledgling men’s developmental soccer team based in Bangor.

The 6-foot, 215-pound Salovitch will lead coach Gabby Price’s 3-1 Eagles into Saturday’s 1 p.m. homecoming game against Mount Ida at the John Winkin Complex.

Salovitch is the leading tackler in Husson football history. This season, he is second on the team with 26 tackles, including 7.5 for negative yardage (three quarterback sacks).

“He’s quick and he reads well,” Price said. “He’s very tough and determined and strong.”

Salovitch enjoys playing as part of Husson’s aggressive defensive scheme. The Eagles love to bring pressure and he has a knack for getting to the ballcarrier or the quarterback.

“When you know you’re blitzing, you only have one thing on your mind,” said Salovitch, a high school standout at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, N.H. “You’re ready to go, you know where you’re going and it kind of makes things a little easier.”

Price said Salovitch, a team co-captain, has achieved a high level of success through his dedication and determination. He has demonstrated a commitment to weight training, film study and being a good teammate.

“He’s a very cerebral player, just a fun kid to be around,” Price said. “He loves to play. He has a great passion for football.”

Salovitch originally had hoped to play at Division I Sacred Heart, but admitted he didn’t have the grades. He also considered Springfield and Plymouth State, but chose Husson and has thrived there.

As highly regarded as Salovitch is by Price, he is equally respected for his efforts and demeanor off the field.

The young man from Hampstead, N.H., is expected to put many of the valuable lessons learned on the football field and in the classroom into practice while serving an unpaid internship as the Sting’s GM.

“I really haven’t studied the philosophies of the game [soccer] or anything, but it’ll be interesting,” Salovitch said. “I’m working on a player handbook right now.”

The internship program was developed by Husson men’s soccer coach and sports management instructor Seth Brown. He is the vice president of soccer operations for Atlantic Sports Group, which will run both the Sting and the Maine Tide, a women’s pro development team.

The teams are in the planning stages and are scheduled to begin play next summer.

“Ross just really fit the bill of what we were looking for for the men’s side,” Brown said. “He seems very excited about it.”

Both Price and Brown said Salovitch is highly respected for his knack of dealing with people on the football team despite their diverse backgrounds. He is someone who is a good listener and is adept at evaluating situations and then acting to help rectifying any problems that might crop up.

“Ross has a unique ability to talk with people of any age,” Brown said. “We thought he had a demeanor that would fit the GM. The main thing we wanted for the GM is to have somebody that would be confident making decisions that would affect a number of people.”

Brown said Salovitch should be able to draw on his extensive playing and leadership experiences from football while making the transition to his internship.

“He’s a captain on the football team and he’s experienced failure in the football program and a lot of success in the football program,” Brown said. “I’m sure in four months he’ll be looking back at being a player and saying that was a lot easier than this.”

Saturday morning, Salovitch will talk about the Tide at an alumni breakfast. Then he’ll set his sights on playing against Mount Ida and enjoying the rise of Husson football, of which he has been an important part.

?We?ve been through the hard parts and we?ve seen that we can win and once you want to get that feeling, you want to keep that feeling every week,” he said.