The local boys soccer teams continued their strong play in 2018, with four squads earning postseason births. More teams are looking to join those postseason festivities this fall.
Frontier had the most success in the tournament a year ago, reaching the Western Mass Div. 3 finals, where it fell to Belchertown in overtime. Franklin Tech finished the season with a mere three losses, but fell in the opening-round of the tournament to Monument Mountain.
Mahar earned a tournament bid, but also dropped its first game against Easthampton, while Pioneer made it to the Western Mass Div. 4 semifinals, where it fell to Westfield Tech in penalty kicks.
The big news of this season is the revitalization of the Mohawk Trail program. After not fielding a team in 2018, Mohawk alum Nick Brown (a 2015 graduate) returns to bring a soccer program back to his alma mater.
Brown graduated from Castleton University in the spring, and received word in late June he had landed the Mohawk job.
He minored in coaching at Castleton, where he worked with the football team, women’s soccer team and men’s soccer team, giving him the experience needed to lead a program that nearly went extinct just a year ago.
“It’s a great experience,” Brown said. “Super pumped to be back and with the program. It’s going to be a great year. I’m honestly at a loss of words for it all. I want to give to the guys what they gave to the program to get it started again.”
Brown is bringing in a young roster, but has seen them grow as a team in the little time he’s had to work with them. He has high hopes in his first season.
“We’re shooting for a postseason run,” he said.
Elsewhere, Frontier returns a loaded roster that should once again be in contention for a Western Mass title.
While it will be tough to replace the offensive production of its two top scorers — Connor Bagdon (11 goals, three assists) and Doug Hanieski (four goals, six assists) — a plethora of players return to a squad that allowed a mere four goals in four postseason games a year ago.
“We’re a different team than last year,” Red Hawks coach Evan Horton said. “We had some strong seniors, but we’ve got 16 guys who had some experience. I’ve been impressed with the freshmen and sophomores who came up, and we’re returning a solid core of guys.”
Horton, entering his second year as head coach, feels much more comfortable in the role than he did a year ago.
After feeling like he had to establish himself as the leader of a veteran-laden team a year ago, he feels firmly in control this year, creating the team-first mentality he’s strived for.
“The team mentality is a lot better than last year,” Horton said. “The idea that it’s my team is a little more solidified with a little more experience under my belt.”
Playing in the tough Moriarty League that puts Frontier against Division 1 foes in Central, Chicopee Comp, Holyoke and Chicopee, the Red Hawks typically don’t finish with an eye-popping regular-season record.
Last year, they finished 11-8-2, but showed their talent when the Division 3 tournament rolled around.
The grueling regular season gives Horton confidence his team won’t be scared of anyone come postseason time.
“We’re playing at least half our games against Division 1 teams and elite D3 teams,” he said. “Having consistently played against big schools with fast and aggressive guys, it better prepares us for those tough games.”
The issue for Frontier is assuring they get into the tournament. With the daunting schedule, getting over the .500 mark is not a given, but if they do get in, they’ll be a team nobody wants to come across.
“We know we have a tough road this season,” Horton said. “Eighteen tough games that we’re going to have to get through. I’d love to win the league, but the biggest goal is to make sure we can get in the tournament. Once we’re in, we know our regular season helps us be successful. We’re not worried who we go up against. We’re a tournament team. If we can get in, getting to the Western Mass. finals is our expectation. Every team knows who we are and that we’re dangerous. We proved that last year. Our guys played well under pressure.”
In North County, Pioneer returns 13 players from a squad that looks to make a similar run in the Western Mass. Div. 4 tournament as it did a year ago.
Noah Keith returns to man the Panthers attack offensively, having scored six goals to go with six assists in 2018. He’ll be joined by junior midfielder Felix Pruitt-Dahl, who had a team-high 12 assists a season ago, and Jacob Quinn who finished last season with five goals.
In the Powertown, Franklin Tech knows Jovanni Ruggiano and his 24 goals from a year ago aren’t walking through the door this season. That will force the team to truly play as a unit to get back to the tournament as it did a year ago.
Knowing they can’t mimic their style from a year ago, they’ll need multiple players to step up, as Ruggiano, Reuben Galvez and Ryan Campbell combined to score 45 goals for the Eagles.
“Losing a 50-goal (career) scorer like (Jovanni) Ruggiano, that’s tough to make up,” Tech coach Kurt Richardson said. “Even though we lost some key players, we have people ready to step into those roles. What we’re kind of short on is middle grades, sophomore and juniors – we have a lot of freshmen and our seniors are ready to go, a lot of four-year starters there.”
Aside from losing its top goal scorers, Tech also graduated its goalie, Grayson Funk. Matt Regnier, who had been Funk’s backup the last three years, will fill the void, while Nicholas Martin looks ready to step in if needed.
The team from Orange looks like one to watch out for this fall.
Mahar returns a strong nucleus that includes 10 of its 11 starters from a team that won 10 games a year ago. With the solid core returning, a deep tournament run may be in the team’s future.
“Things are running pretty smoothly,” Mahar coach Dan Guertin said. “We were pretty good last year and we’re returning all those players so we’re in a good spot. I have eight seniors expecting to contribute.”
Last season, Guertin was unsure what kind of team he would have. With it being such a young group, he expected a rebuilding year in which he would look to develop the players. Instead, they made it to the tournament, surprising the 14th year coach and giving the Senators high expectations heading into 2019.
James Temple is a player to watch for Mahar. The senior scored 15 goals and assisted on 11 last year, both the second-most on the team, but Guertin has seen him take over the leadership role heading into his final high school season. In the midfield, junior Henry Ndayisaba is a strong athlete who is growing more comfortable in his role on the team.
“Jamie Temple was a really good player last year,” Guertin said. “His maturity, the way he handles himself and works with the young kids, he critiques them in a positive way. He’s a vocal leader. [Ndayisaba] was good year last year, he did it more in spurts. This year, he’s put it together. His speed has grown, his strength has grown, he’s been a strong player so far this year.”
Riley Drew returns to lead the attack, looking to build off a year he scored a team-high 18 goals and 13 assists. Guertin is looking forward to seeing the growth of some of the younger players as the season gets underway, knowing he may sport one of the tougher scoring lineups in the McGrath.
“I’m bringing back all my offense, there’s a lot of moving pieces,” Guertin said. “A lot of the younger guys last year played a lot over the summer and may push out some of the older guys, but I have a general idea where people are going to be. As long as everybody’s healthy, we’re good.”
Ruddy Paulino takes over for Dave King as the head coach at Athol, inheriting a team that was a win from making the tournament a year ago.
The Red Raiders have a team comprised of upperclassmen who share the goal of making it to the postseason.
Bryce King will lead the attack, having scored nine goals a season ago. He’ll be joined by Maysin Tarbell up front.
In the back end, Casey Mason returns in net, with Colby Soltysik making an impression on Paulino early in practice on defense.
“We have a pretty good team,” Paulino said. “We have a lot of upperclassmen. We’re going to be pretty tough. The thing now is finding out how the kids are going to approach the game, and I have to build them to be mentally stronger. Soccer-wise, they’re very smart. They want to get over that hump, that’s our biggest goal to get to the next level [in the tournament].”
Greenfield has struggled in years’ past, not making the tournament since 2013, but second-year coach Andy Rup has optimism about where the team is heading in the future.
The Green Wave have a good mix of seniors and younger players, who should see valuable minutes to gain experience this season.
“The goal is both to improve individually and as a team,” Rup said, “to work cohesively together and learn how to play together and win together and the rest will take its course.”
Athol
COACH: Ruddy Paulino, 1st season
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Schmid/3
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 8-10
LAST TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2017, lost in D3 quarterfinal
RETURNING PLAYERS: Seniors — Mark Ferrari, D, Maysin Tarbell, M/F, Bryce King, M, Parker Deleo, D/M, Logan Kirwan, M, Nicholas Bousquet, M. Juniors — Casey Mason, G. Sophomores — Connor Mahony, F, Dylan Fountain, F.
NEWCOMERS: Seniors — Colby Soltysik, D, Zackery Aldrich, D. Juniors — Ryan Young, D/M, Isaac Dodge, M/F.
FC Tech
COACH: Kurt Richardson, 5th season
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Tri-County League/3
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 16-3
LAST TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2018, lost to Monument Mt., 7-1, in Western Mass Div. 3 first round
RETURNING PLAYERS: Kyle Brunelle, D, Jake Burnett, M, Garrett Cole, D. Juniors — Matt Regnier, G/D, Jake Shearer, F, Alex Carroll, M/F, Derrick Call, F/M, Tony Barilone, F, Austin Ellison, D. Sophomores — Eugene Buford, F, Grayson Rollins, D.
NEWCOMERS: Seniors — Dylan Mallett. Freshmen — Josh Lynde, Util., Cody Houghton-Miles, M, Jayden Hamlett, Util., Camden Bashaw, M, Colin Adams, M, Nikolas Martin, G/D, Jacob Lavine, Util., Robbie Murphy, M/F, Brayden McCord, Util., Sam Lashtur, F.
Frontier
COACH: Evan Horton, 2nd season
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Moriarty/3
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 11-8-2
LAST TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2018, lost to Belchertown, 2-1, in overtime in the Western Mass Div. 3 final
RETURNING STARTERS:
RETURNING PLAYERS: Seniors — Nick Jarvis, GK, Ben Morse, CB, Sam Felton-Emrick, CB, Tenzin Tsundue, CDM, Ethan DeMaio, CM, Tom Kurkulonis, LW, Vick McNutt, RW, Eliot Johnson, ST, James Morgan, ST, Sam Battisti, ST/CDM, Connor Waitkus, ST, Emmett McGranaghan, LW/CB. Junior — Tanner Finch, CM.
NEWCOMERS: Juniors — Avery Tuttle, CM, Matt Jacques, ST/wing, Carson Kocot, ST/wing. Sophomores — Cameron Wrisley, wing/CB, Cairn Bright, CB, Payton Sladeski, ST. Freshman — Matt Sicard, CM/wing, Brady Burch, RW.
Greenfield
COACH: Andy Rup, 2nd season
LEAGUE/DIVISION: McGrath/3
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 1-14
LAST TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2013
ROSTER: Seniors — Kevin Chen, Peter Balan, Crescens Iavorschi, Tyler Duncan, Joe Monkiewicz. Juniors — Alex Bacigalupo. Sophomores — Keegan Doty-Smith, Theo Popusio, Alex Carballo, Ricardo Romero, Nore Cruz. Freshmen — Dante Ruggiano, Caleb Duncan, Miles Ferreira, Matt Lavoine. Eighth Graders — Jacob Blanchard.
Mahar
COACH: Dan Guertin, 14th season
LEAGUE/DIVISION: McGrath/3
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 10-6-3
LAST TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2018, lost to Easthampton, 4-0, in Western Mass Div. 3 first round
RETURNING STARTERS: Seniors — Logan Dodge, M, Riley Drew, F/M, Andrew Herk, D, Simon Powell, D, James Temple, F. Juniors — Charlie Anderson, M, Henry Ndayisaba, M/F, Jon Mahony, M.
RETURNING PLAYERS: Seniors — Robert Harris, D, Aidan Lupien, GK. Juniors — Alex Currier, D, Cam Johnson, M.
NEWCOMERS: Sophomores — Gracin Bisceglia, D, Lucas Boucher, M/F. Freshmen — Gavin Sullivan, M/F.
Mohawk Trail
COACH: Nick Brown, 1st season
LEAGUE/DIVISION: McGrath/3
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: Did not field a team
LAST TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2014, lost to Lenox, 2-0, in Western Mass Div. 4 first round
ROSTER: Seniors — Maxwell Summers. Juniors — Reuben Bassett, Oscar Cassin, Jaime Colmenarejo. Sophomores — Jeffrey Buck, Tyler Dubreuil, Robert Locke, Travis Russell. Freshmen — Porter Carr, Anthony collier, Jesse Dubreuil, Bronson Schoelzel. Eighth Graders — Mohamed Abdelgawad, Mosha Close, Weston DenOuden, Enzo Garofalo, Tony Hernandez, Rosco Palmer, Brett Summers, Aiden Weis, John Richardson. Seventh Graders — Jack Gancarz.
Pioneer
COACH: Don Fraser, 4th season
LEAGUE/DIVISION: McGrath/4
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 10-4-3
LAST TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2018, lost in penalty kicks to Westfield Tech in Western Mass Div. 4 semifinals
RETURNING PLAYERS: Seniors — Noah Keith, F, Jacob Quinn, F. Juniors — Ben Taylor, M, Josh Glazier, D, Sam Cahill, D, Liam Curtis, D, Zephyr Monette, M, Nolan Carmody, M, Brad Norwood, F, Daniel Kang, M, Felix Pruitt-Dahl, M. Sophomores — Daniel Doncev, D, Jason Quinn, F.
NEWCOMERS: Juniors — Cam Dresser, D. Sophomores — Jared Hubbard, F. Freshmen — Peter Loud, D, Nate Cosme, D, Levi Moran, D, Trey Fraser, M, Sam Glazier, D.