There was no team hotter at the end of last season than George Washington.
The Patriots rode that momentum all the way to the state championship, defeating Hurricane 1-0 in the title game. GW (18-4-3), which ended the year No. 10 in the state coaches association rankings, won its last six games.
Jake Stevens (left), a 15-goal scorer last year, and all-state keeper Connell Green are George Washington’s top returning players.
"You have to be realistic [about] a new season, new bodies and everybody else is starting fresh, too,'' said veteran GW coach Tom Hopper.
"Everybody has high hopes of getting [to the state tournament]. We certainly would like to repeat. I think we have a little different talent. We lost some very good players. I think we have more depth than we've had before. I think we'll be competitive.''
Despite losing Nick Claudio, a first-team all-state selection who is on scholarship at WVU, the Patriots return a solid nucleus.
Senior keeper Connell Green was a first-team all-state pick and junior Jake Stevens paced the offense with 15 goals.
Seniors Ian Thistlethwaite, Charlie McElwee and Chris Power, who had seven goals, juniors Kurt Suter, Zack Claudio, who is back from injury last season, and Luca DiPiero, who saw a lot of playing time, are also back. Senior Ethan Kirk returns after battling injuries the past two seasons following a promising freshman year.
"I think overall we've got a good team,'' Hopper said. "I think collectively they are stronger. I think we're spread more evenly with talent.
"It's just a matter of feeling comfortable with one another. We've talked about it from the standpoint of now the target's on your back. I don't think they're feeling the pressure right now. By and large they know what it takes to get there.''
Here's a quick alphabetical glance at how last year's state-ranked teams are shaping up (last year's record and ranking in parentheses). The high school regular season begins today. This is also the first year prep soccer will be divided into two classes - AAA and AA-A - with two state champions crowned at the end of the season.
Capital (14-7-1, No. 17): The Cougars are never short on talent, but they are on experience with six seniors lost to graduation.
Seniors Kyle Maner and Chase Vasale, who moves to keeper this year after playing in the field, and junior Tyler Burdette are the only full-time starters back.
There was no team hotter at the end of last season than George Washington.
The Patriots rode that momentum all the way to the state championship, defeating Hurricane 1-0 in the title game. GW (18-4-3), which ended the year No. 10 in the state coaches association rankings, won its last six games.
But that was last year.
"You have to be realistic [about] a new season, new bodies and everybody else is starting fresh, too,'' said veteran GW coach Tom Hopper.
"Everybody has high hopes of getting [to the state tournament]. We certainly would like to repeat. I think we have a little different talent. We lost some very good players. I think we have more depth than we've had before. I think we'll be competitive.''
Despite losing Nick Claudio, a first-team all-state selection who is on scholarship at WVU, the Patriots return a solid nucleus.
Senior keeper Connell Green was a first-team all-state pick and junior Jake Stevens paced the offense with 15 goals.
Seniors Ian Thistlethwaite, Charlie McElwee and Chris Power, who had seven goals, juniors Kurt Suter, Zack Claudio, who is back from injury last season, and Luca DiPiero, who saw a lot of playing time, are also back. Senior Ethan Kirk returns after battling injuries the past two seasons following a promising freshman year.
"I think overall we've got a good team,'' Hopper said. "I think collectively they are stronger. I think we're spread more evenly with talent.
"It's just a matter of feeling comfortable with one another. We've talked about it from the standpoint of now the target's on your back. I don't think they're feeling the pressure right now. By and large they know what it takes to get there.''
Here's a quick alphabetical glance at how last year's state-ranked teams are shaping up (last year's record and ranking in parentheses). The high school regular season begins today. This is also the first year prep soccer will be divided into two classes - AAA and AA-A - with two state champions crowned at the end of the season.
Capital (14-7-1, No. 17): The Cougars are never short on talent, but they are on experience with six seniors lost to graduation.
Seniors Kyle Maner and Chase Vasale, who moves to keeper this year after playing in the field, and junior Tyler Burdette are the only full-time starters back.
Seniors Tyler Dawson, Conner Snodgrass, Brad Deitzler and Edwiin Parra, juniors Jacob Moales and Marty Riley and sophomores Sean Ferrante and Trevor Gibson round out the starting lineup.
"At least half have played quite a bit,'' said coach Scott Menefee. "It's going to be how quickly they adjust and fill in the roles they need to play for our team.''
Hurricane (21-4-1, No. 9): The Redskins lose four first-team all-state players that were instrumental in their run at the state title. Hurricane, however, welcomes back seven starters and four more that saw a significant amount of playing time.
Senior Ryan Gdula and juniors Noah Blackhurst, Colin Miles, Brooks Paine, Cameron Keenan, Ryan McWatters and Matthew Hale helped anchor the team's playoff run. Juniors Christian Hale and Zack Montebell and sophomores Bruce Hale and Tomoki Suzuki will continue to add valuable depth.
Keenan and Paine led the team with 13 goals apiece while Bruce Hale chipped in nine before having to play keeper the final seven games of the season because of a shoulder injury to Blackhurst, who turned in a dozen shutouts.
"We have some players adjusting to position changes and many of our kids [are] accepting more and new responsibilities,'' said coach Jim Dagostine. "It will take some time to work some things out.''
Winfield (12-4-2, No. 11): The Generals have nine of 11 starters back as they begin play in Class AAA.
Seniors Caleb Martin, Parker Wolfe, Chad Quick, Kyle Huffman, Jason Huffman, Shane Foster, Ian Ellington, Jon Campbell and Dustin Atik form a solid nucleus. Senior Spiro Stilianoudakis and junior Matt Wilton add depth.
Foster was the squad's second-leading scorer with 13 goals, Campbell added 11 and Huffman had nine. Martin had his hand in seven shutouts.
"Talentwise, we're OK,'' said coach Sam Fizer. "By the end of the year we should be on track to being competitive going into the sectionals.''
Keep it clean. Comments that are obscene, sexually explicit, racist or offensive will be removed. If you wouldn’t say it to your mother, don’t post it here.
Be civil. Don’t threaten to hurt anyone. Personal attacks, insults or harassment of any kind are subject to removal.
Be truthful. Don’t lie about a situation or person.
Keep it brief. Keep your comment to one post. Redundant or multiple posts in a row aren’t allowed.
Stay on task. Stick to the topics relevant to the story and discussion.
Let us know about offensive comments. Click the “Report Abuse” button if you think a comment is against the rules.
Post a comment