Boys Soccer Preview: Rebuilding Springfield determined to forge new identity

SPRINGFIELD >> The recipe for Springfield’s run to the PIAA semifinals last fall wasn’t difficult to decipher.

Fourteen seniors, 10 of them starters, represented a special generation, one that developed as the season progressed and exceeded even the loftiest of expectations coach Jason Piombino could’ve ascribed to them before the season.

For Piombino and assistant coach Rich Duffey, who has longstanding ties with the high school and youth programs in the town, the emphasis on development over the long haul means last year’s crop wasn’t an aberration. But while the next generation germinates, the comeuppance this season will be a team that must be replaced in total.

Only one starter returns from last year’s team: defender Ron Miller, a junior who steps into the sweeper role vacated by All-Delco Ryan Straube. Justin Eckard, a forward who split time up top last season, will slide into a deeper role in midfield to exert more control on the ball. And a pair of juniors, Jake Proctor and Thomas McCaffrey, saw limited minutes on varsity last season but nonetheless took the journey with varsity to within an extra-time goal of the state final.

The message of adapting youngsters to the rigors of varsity soccer is the most pertinent for Miller and Eckard to try and disseminate.

“We have a good selection of guys this year, and I think it’s all about teaching them the varsity intensity,” Eckard said. “It’s more about the game pace and how it’s going to get a lot faster now, and everyone has to get used to it as a team.”

The bright side is that Piombino sees many of the same characteristics in the current crop of freshmen and eighth graders as he saw in the class of 2016. He’ll start at least two freshmen, with Billy Smith and Steven East slotting into defense.

“They’re good players,” Miller said of the younger contingent. “We just have to teach them to get up to that level. We’ll get there soon, hopefully.”

Replacing last year’s contributors isn’t a matter of spelling a special player here or there, however gifted Daily Times Player of the Year Nick Jannelli or clutch goalscorer extraordinare Andrew Astrino were. The strength of the team was a scaffold of solid if unspectacular, lunch-pail types at every level — from goalkeeper Mike Gerzabek to defender Justin Donnelly to midfielder Mike Wallace — that provided the special attacking players a sturdy platform to build on.

The programs in Pennsylvania that can replenish that year to year are few and far between; none fit the profile of Springfield as a small, Class 3A public school.

So while this year isn’t exactly square one, any illusions of replicating last year’s methods of play are quickly dispelled.

“We’re not going to try to live in the shadows of last year,” Eckard said. “We’re going to build our own identity this year and restart as a team, find our new leaders, find our new skill level.”

Add in the fact that last season’s success engenders a sizeable target for Springfield to tote, and Piombino knows he has his work cut out for him. The lower classification helps, and while the Cougars aren’t blessed with a multitude of leaders, those like Eckard understand that whatever unique identity this group forges, it must maintain one key aspect that drove last season’s team.

“We left every single game last year leaving everything we had on the field, and we were pretty successful,” he said. “It’s just work as hard as we can and we’ll be fine.”