Main Line boys soccer squads kicking into high gear

The Main Line high school boys’ soccer scene this fall is chock full of teams that enjoyed success last year, including defending Central League champion Conestoga, Inter-Ac champion Haverford School, Inter-Ac runnerup Episcopal Academy, and Central League contenders Harriton, Haverford High, Lower Merion and Radnor. Shipley and Friends’ Central will be looking to make their mark in the Friends’ Schools League.
Here’s a beginning-of-season look at the Main Line high school boys’ soccer squads:

Barrack Hebrew
Head coach: Aaron Silver, sixth year.
Last year’s record: 7-7 overall, 6-6 Tri-County League.
Key returnees: senior goalie Hayden Ufberg, senior defender Ben Bernstein, senior defender Billy Cohen, senior defender Matan Dolev, senior defender Itay Godfarb, senior midfielder Bailey Moshal, senior midfielder Jordan Naim, senior striker Abe Wachs, senior striker Ethan Wilner.
Others to watch: sophomore midfielder Moriel Ben Abou, sophomore striker Daniel Wachs, freshman defender Noah Rosenthal, freshman defender/midfielder Noah Erlbaum, freshman midfielder Harrison Andelman, eighth grade midfielder Noah Ufberg.
Outlook: Silver said, “Our entire senior class, which was crucial to winning the conference championship in 2017, returns after being away last year in Israel. We look to build upon our success from two years ago, seeking to secure another conference championship and to progress in the state championship.”

Conestoga
Head coach: David Zimmerman, 18th year.
Last year’s record: 16-2 overall, 11-0 Central League (champions).
Key returnees: senior midfielder Nate Xu, senior defender Cael Willner, senior midfielder Patrick Kelly, senior defender Matt Doble.
Others to watch: junior forward Eli Brown, junior midfielder Grant Burns.
Outlook: “The biggest strength of our team will be its depth,” said Zimmerman. “While there might not be any superstars, the team is loaded with fundamentally sound, strong soccer players from top to bottom. Senior leadership on and off the field will be a critical component to our success this season. Also, how much players have improved from last year will go a long way in determining our success. We have a lot of new players on the defensive end, so it will be important that they quickly adjust to the new expectations and level of play.”

Devon Prep
Head coach: Tim Lazorko, first year.
Last year’s record: 4-6-2 Catholic League.
Key returnees: senior midfielder Alex Hardie, sophomore midfielder Chris Walton, junior defender Ethan Skorup, senior goalie Chris Yangello.
Others to watch: senior defender Kevin Husar, senior midfielder Aidan Ringiewicz, senior midfielder Max Fortebuono, senior midfielder Matt Masayko.
Outlook: Lazorko sees the Tides’ biggest strength as its senior leadership. “We have a very experienced roster with a lot of guys that have varsity experience,” said Lazorko. “The younger guys in the program are going to be looking up at the older guys to lead them, and I believe they will do a great job. Our biggest challenge this year is going to be to learn how to win the tough, tight games and learn how to win without a very successful graduated class. The guys that graduated last year had a very successful four years while they were here, but I believe that this year’s team is going to pick up right where last year’s team left off.”

Episcopal Academy
Head coach: David Knox, 11th year.
Last year’s record: 13-4-3 overall, 5-3-2 Inter-Ac (league runner-up for fourth year in a row).
Key retunrees: senior goalie Trevor Manion (Clemson commit), senior defender Brendan DePillis, senior forward Tryston Craft.
Others to watch: junior defender Xander Lostis, junior goalie Alex Geczy.
Outlook: Knox said, “There is a great spirit among this group – from Day One they have been as hard-working a team as I have ever coached. The biggest key to our success will be finding a system that suits our players and their style of play. This will be the youngest EA team in many years so gaining the experience and maintaining our composure as the season goes on will be one of our challenges in putting together the results that we want.”

Friends’ Central
Head coach: Galen Guindon, eighth year.
Last year’s record: 6-4-5 overall, 4-3-2 Friends’ Schools League.
Key returnees: senior midfielder Sevag Yepoyan, junior midfielder Jared Lonner, junior defender Eric Lillard.
Others to watch: junior forward Thabo Tsotetsi, sophomore midfielder Dylan Posencheg, sophomore defender Rhys Dillingham, sophomore forward Sam Gerber, sophomore forward Hugh Shields.
Outlook: “With nine starters lost to graduation last spring, we will look to a new core of players to challenge for the FSL title this fall,” said Guindon. “The impact of a strong 10th grade class will be key to this young team’s success and 11th graders Jared Lonner and Thabo Tsotetsi are tabbed for breakout seasons. If this new group of players can gel quickly and stay healthy, we should be back in FSL playoff hunt.”

Harriton
Head coach: Biff Sturla, 18th year.
Last year’s record: 13-3-1 overall, 8-2-1 Central League.
Key returnees: senior forward Mikkel Andersen (was first team All-Cental last fall), senior midfielder Owen Luby, junior defender Sam Finkelstein, senior forward Gibreel Mami, senior midfielder Diego Toffani, senior defender Austin Sellhorn.
Others to watch: junior goalie Daniel Katz, junior midfielder Reiley Kreiser.
Oulook: Sturla sees the Rams’ biggest atrengths as a solid defensive line and solid goalkeeping. “Our biggest challenge is the strength of our league,” said Sturla. “Radnor was second in the state last year and has a lot of talent back. Conestoga won the league again last year and will be solid. Lower Merion has some great young players who will be stepping up this year.”

Haverford High
Head coach: David Cassanelli, fourth year.
Last year’s record: 11-7 overall, 7-4 Central League.
Key returnees: senior forward Aidan Tripler, junior forward Phil Udo-Inyang, junior midfielder Duncan Riegler, senior midfielder Evan Carfrey, senior defender Trey Emeno, senior defender Andrew Kelly.
Others to watch: senior midfielder Declan Sminkey, junior goalie Michael DePalma, sophomore defender Mason Baylis.
Outlook: Cassanelli said, “This is a close knit group who wants to win now. With lots of injuries to seniors last year, many of these guys gained lots of experience at the varsity level. Our biggest key to success is keeping the ‘0’ in our net. Our biggest challenge might be scoring goals.”

Haverford School
Head Coach: Dan Keefe, second year.
Last year’s record: 13-2-4, Inter-Ac champions.
Key returnees: senior defender MJ Atkins, senior goaltender Will Boyes, senior midfielder Mitchell Hark, senior midfielder Luke Macaione.
Others to watch: junior defender Kieran Bradley, junior midfielder Zach Seaman, junior forward Trent Davis.
Outlook: Keefe said, “We return the core of our defense and midfield after a great season last year. We have a dominant defensive back four led by seniors Carson DeMarco, Brennan McBride, Will Springer, and MJ Atkins, who protect a stellar goaltender, Will Boyes. This group should keep us in contention. The combination play of Luke Macaione and Mitchell Hark in the center of the pitch will generate chances for our emerging strikers and wingers. The new additions to the team provide a lot of depth and quick strike opportunities. The team’s biggest challenge will be developing young talent to compete physically in the Inter-Ac.”

Lower Merion
Head coach: Nicholas Severini, 10th year.
Last year’s record: 19-4 overall, 9-2 Central League.
Key returnees: senior defender Evan Goodman, senior midfielder Philip Monos, junior defender Sam Hecht, junior striker Shane Brown, junior midfielder Josh Axelrod, junior midfielder Eli Forman, junior midfielder Lincoln Blouin.
Others to watch: junior striker Owen Downey.
Outlook: Severini said, “We are a young team with a very positive attitude and selfless team play. The players are versatile and play as a cohesive team. Our biggest key to success will be our transitioning players into the starting lineup and rotation.”

Malvern Prep
Head coach: Susan Barr, first year.
Last year’s record: 6-11-7 overall, 1-7-2 Inter-Ac.
Key returnees: senior forward Ethan Kogut, senior defender Jaden Vogelman, senior defender Christian Siaton, senior midfielder Kieran Barr.
Others to watch: junior midfielder Frankie Taglianetti, junior forward Tucker Milhous, sophomore defender Graham Barringer.
Outlook: Barr said, “Even though we graduated some key players last year, our current seniors have had plenty of varsity experience and bring an organized defensive system. The team has been quicker in transition, committing more players into the attack and getting runs in behind the back lines. The key to our success will be the team adapting to a different style of play that involves both building through the midfield as well as recognizing when to play direct. Keeping healthy, and measuring ourselves on key objectives will prove challenging. The InterAc is a formidable league that will take time to build a sustained program. We’re ready.”

Radnor
Head coach: Joe Caruolo, eighth year (also coached the Radnor girls for six years).
Last year’s record: 20-3-2 overall, 7-2-2 Central League (fourth).
Key returnees: senior forward Ben Engstrom, senior forward Bobby Hydrisko, senior forward Jackson Birtwistle, senior defender Jake Lee, senior defender Josh Savadove.
Others to watch: sophomore forward Nick Lucchesi, junior midfielder Michael Sears, junior midfielder Charlie Bernicker.
Outlook: Caruolo said, “We’re coming off an exciting season making it the state championship final last fall. This is a new group who are optimistically looking to write their own chapter in Radnor soccer history. This year’s biggest challenge is consistency. The team looks great at times with combining in the attack creating chances and high pressing defensively; while at other times, the energy level dissipates and the quality declines. Losing the entire defensive core from last year will be a challenge as well, but this close-knit group will work together to find success and make some memories.”

Shipley
Head coach: Thomas Schauerman, 14th year.
Last year’s record: 7-8-2 overall, 5-3-1 Friends’ Schools League.
Key returnees: senior defender Brian McDaid, senior midfielder Jimmy Fallon, senior midfielder Ryan Kaliner, senior midfielder Umar Savinson, senior defender Declan Buckley, senior defender Cole Kelton, senior defender Henry Reed, senior goalie Dean Manor, senior defender Jordan Kaliner, junior midfielder Cameron Long, junior defender AJ Piscopo, junior defender Ethan Massey, sophomore midfielder Jack Gillan, sophomore midfielder Jamie Lenart.
Others to watch: senior striker Kevin Zhang, freshman defender Joe McDaid, freshman Jack McDaid.
Outlook: Schauerman said, “This year we will have a good amount of depth that will keep every position very competitive and will allow us to push each other day in and day out. It will also allow us to go a little deeper in each game. Another strength of our team is a big group of seniors, nine to be exact. The key to our success will be buying into a system of play, challenging each other at training and having strong leadership. Our biggest challenge is a tough schedule that will make us better but will be physically taxing.”