Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media 2021 Boys Soccer Preview
The North Penn boys soccer team is set on continuing its reign atop the Suburban One League Colonial but the division’s five other sides are out to make that a difficult task for the Knights.
Four Colonial teams made the District 1-4A tournament in last year’s compressed COVID-19 season with Pennridge coming so close to capturing the district crown.
The Rams seemed to have won the title over Neshaminy on a late second-overtime penalty kick in the final but that was waved off out due to encroachment. Pennridge should have been given a re-kick but Neshaminy incorrectly got a free kick and went on the edge the Rams in PKs.
Returning all-division first-team defender Shane Velez and second-team forward Aiden Castle, a motivated Pennridge is out to once again make some noise.
Souderton looks to build off the momentum of making its first district appearance since 2013 with an attack led by all-SOL Colonial first team forward Dillon Barbieri and second-team selection Aidan McClure back at goaltender. Central Bucks West, two years from reaching the PIAA-4A final where it lost to North Penn, aims for a bounce-back campaign after going 2-6-2 in 2020.
North Penn, meanwhile, graduated Reporter/Times/Herald Montgomery Media Player of the Year Josh Jones — now at Louisville — but the Knights should be stout defensively with all-division second team pick Ryan Mindick returning to the backline as NP goes for a sixth straight SOL title.
In the SOL Liberty, A young Abington side is out to defend the division title. Hatboro-Horsham returns nine starters while Plymouth Whitemarsh, which gave Abington its lone division loss in 2020, also brings back an experienced side.
William Tennent took the SOL Freedom crown a year ago but Upper Moreland is ready to build off its District 1-3A title and run to the 2020 PIAA semifinals.
The Philadelphia Catholic League looks to be as tough as always. La Salle claimed its third title in four years in 2019 and last season went unbeaten in its five league contests. Lansdale Catholic is aiming to stay among the PCL’s best and returns leading scorers Eric Fernandez and Jack Edling.
“In 2017, LC finished the season in eighth place in the Philadelphia Catholic League. The next three years, we finished sixth (2018), fourth (2019), and third (2020),” Lansdale Catholic coach Casey Farrell said. “This year’s squad is eager to build on that momentum and challenge for its first ever PCL title. That won’t be easy with a lot of great teams in one of the best leagues in Pennsylvania, but this group is up to the challenge.”
Faith Christian claimed the program’s first-ever PIAA championship, topping Greensburg Central Catholic 5-1 in Hershey for the Class 1A title. The Lions and Bicentennial Athletic League rival Dock Mennonite — which won District 1-1A in 2019 — should again be among those contending for a state berth.
Abington
Coach: Randy Garber (28th season).
League: SOL Liberty Division.
District-Class: 1-4A.
Last Season: 9-2-0 (9-1-0), SOL Liberty champion, lost to Pennridge in District 1-4A first round.
Key Losses: Bryce Lexow, Gavin O’Neill, Alex Woll, Arsene Bado, Jalen Harris, Tony Ditri.
Top Returners Steven Farjardo, Jimmy Marino, Pat Capone, Liam Hartman, Jake Kosik, Michael Lu.
Others to Watch: Drew Paxson, Fletcher Vollmer.
Outlook: Farjardo, an all-division second team selection, is among the returners looking to continue the Galloping Ghosts’ success after Abington has claimed SOL titles in two of the last three years.
“Should be a good season,” Garber said. “We have a young team with a lot of underclassmen. Should be an exciting season for players and coaches. We won the league last year, so we know teams will be looking to beat us. We will be competitive like everyone else. Good nucleus of players.”
Abington Friends
Coach: Dave Urbach (fourth season).
League: Friends Schools League
Top Returners Miles Kurtz (Sr.), MJ Kiernan (Jr.).
Others to Watch: Cameron Benfer (So.).
Outlook: “Overall we have a very young team, with several players new to the school that will immediately contribute,” Urbach said. “The Friends League is very strong and typically the focus of our season. “
Cheltenham
Coach: Bill Tonkin (fifth season).
League: SOL Freedom Division.
District-Class: 1-4A.
Last Season: 5-3-1 United X League (Spring 2021).
Outlook: “We are looking to build on the good spring season that we had and hope that the success rolls over into the fall season,” Tonkin said. “It will be exciting to get back to normal and be back in our division after missing last fall. We will see how things play out with the new division. Hopefully we can have some success with it and push for a playoff spot.”
Germantown Academy
Coach: Kurt Wetzel (fourth season).
League: Inter-Academic League.
Last Season: 2-1.
Key Losses: Shane Connolly, Chris Hackley (Dickinson), Kolby Palmer).
Top Returners Christian Combs (Sr., Forward), Sean Lipschutz (Sr., Forward), Connor Wetzel (Sr., Forward).
Others to Watch: Jacob Lee (Sr., Defense), Brett Rabbiner (Sr., Forward/Defense), Jack Strauss (Jr., Defense), Colin Leon (Jr., Midfield/Forward), Eli Torrey (Jr., Midfield), Tyler Weiss (Jr., Defense), Nick Venziale (Jr., Defense/Midfield/Forward).
Outlook: “Last season was an opportunity for GA to improve on an 11-8-2 record from 2019 and Covid quickly put an end to that. As such this year is an unknown,” Wetzel said. “I believe we have the talent to compete in the Inter-Ac, but this league has shown year in and year out that every game is a battle.
“The title has been decided on the last day of the season on numerous occasions over the last decade, and many teams have gone into games as favorites on paper and lost. As a fourth year coach, I would like to improve upon our 4-6 record in 2019.”
Hatboro-Horsham
Coach: Kyle McGrath (13th season).
League: SOL Liberty Division.
District-Class: 1-4A.
Last Season: 6-5-0 (6-4-0 division).
Key Losses: Jake Weiss, Fran Moio, Enrico Romano.
Top Returners Caleb Hudson (Sr., Defense), Tommy Harmon (Sr., Midfield), Ryan Toporowski (Sr., Midfield), Nathan Scavo (Sr., Forward), Nick Katherine (Sr., Forward), Lucas Howieson (Sr., Forward), Jake Freedman (Jr., Midfield), Jacob Kim (Jr., Defense), Noah Schlosser (Jr., Goalkeeper).
Others to Watch: Jack Elwell (Sr., Defense), Paul Guevara (Jr., Defense), Thomas Shegogue (Jr., Defense).
Outlook: An experienced Hatter side — that includes all-division first-teamer Hudson and second-team selection Freedman — is looking to better the third place finish in the Liberty in 2020.
“We return nine starters from last year’s team that narrowly missed the playoffs,” McGrath said. “Three of our losses were one goal games so our focus this season is closing games out the right way. We should have great senior leadership and a hungry junior class which has varsity experience.”
Lansdale Catholic
Coach: Casey Farrell (third season).
League: Philadelphia Catholic League.
District-Class: 12-2A.
Last Season: 7-3-0 (5-2-0 league).
Key Losses: Kellan Ward, Owen Webster, CJ McNally, Matt McDougal.
Top Returners Eric Fernandez (Sr., Midfield/Striker) Jack Edling (Sr., Striker), Alex Kulp (Sr., Defense), Will Kelly (Sr., Midfield).
Others to Watch: Kyle Schmidt (Jr., Defense/Midfield), Justin McQuiate (So., Defense).
Outlook: The Crusaders have a solid returning group — including Edling and Fernandez to pace the attack — that is aiming to stay at the top of an always-tough PCL.
“It’s my third year as head coach but I was an assistant here for two years prior to that, and I can confidently say that this is our deepest team in the last five years,” Farrell said. “We’re a versatile team, with almost every field player being able to play any position. And with the return of more than half of the starting lineup from last season, including the two top scorers in Fernandez and Edling, we are looking to continue our recent success.”
Methacton
Coach: Dave Stevenson (fifth season).
League: PAC Liberty Division.
District-Class: 1-4A.
Last Season: 4-8-1.
Key Losses: Zach Stevenson, Chris Rowland, Ryan Baldwin, Joseph Mun.
Top Returners Otto Hull (Sr., Midfield), Graham Halfpenny (Sr., Defense), Quinton Stemler (Sr., Defense), Brayden Ahlum (Jr., Midfield), Braden Kavanagh (Jr., Midfield).
Outlook: “Our first goal is to improve upon our efforts of last year’s shortened season,” Stevenson said. “Too many close games did not end in our favor and this year we’d like to change the outcomes of those types of games to our win column. If that happens, the PAC Final Four is a possibility.”
North Penn
Coach: Chris DePeppe (second season).
League: SOL Colonial Division.
District-Class: 1-4A.
Last Season: 11-3-0 (8-2-0 division), SOL Colonial champion, lost to Neshaminy in District 1-4A semifinals.
Key Losses: Josh Jones (Louisville), Sawyer Meade, Roman Ilovski, Dominik Gedek (Polish pro club reverse team).
Top Returners Ryan Mindick (Sr., Center Back), Hunter Stites (Sr., Midfield/Defense), Alex Stewart (Sr., Center Midfield).
Others to Watch: Nate Kim (Jr., Defense), Jovani Gonzalez (Sr., Forward), Achilles Triantafyllos (Sr., Defense), Gabe Kemp (Sr., Goalkeeper), Jimmy Perine (Sr.), Riley Baker (Sr.), Ben Barbosa (Sr.), Kyle McKeever (Jr.), Matt Willis (Jr.), Hayden Wagner (Jr.).
Outlook: Standouts such as Jones and Carter Houlihan (2019 grad now at Lafayette) that led the Knights to a PIAA crown two years have graduated but North Penn still has high expectations. Mindick was an All-SOL Colonial second-team selection while Stewart earned honorable mention for the Knights, who seek a sixth straight SOL title.
“Our goal every season is to battle every game and hope to come out on top again in the toughest conference in District One,” DePeppe said. “If we are good enough to do that, we will put ourselves in a good position to get back to a district final…but that is no small feat and we will have to get more players raising their game for us to succeed.”
Pennridge
Coach: Pete Valimont (14th season).
League: SOL Colonial Division.
District-Class: 1-4A.
Last Season: 10-6-0 (5-5-0 division), lost to Neshaminy in penalty kicks in District 1-4 final.
Key Losses: Ben Scary, Colin Monahan, Kevin Link, Carlos Erazo.
Top Returners Shane Velez (Jr., Defense), Aiden Castle (Jr., Midfield), CJ Dimmick (Jr., Goalkeeper), Jake Saville (Sr., Midfield), Ryan Saville (Sr., Defense), Jeff Stritzl (Sr., Defense), Nicky Williams (Sr., Forward).
Outlook: Pennridge came achingly close to capturing the district crown and the Rams are out to again make a run in the division and district. Velez was a first-team All-SOL Colonial selection while Castle earned all-division second team honors.
“Different season but goals remain the same, compete for conference title, district tournament and state tournament,” Valimont said. “’Human error’ stripped the district title from us last season so we are highly motivated to earn a different and better outcome in 2021.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh
Coach: Richard Kessler (third season).
League: SOL Liberty Division.
District-Class: 1-4A.
Last Season: 3-7-0 (3-7-0 division).
Key Losses: Willy Schildt, Zach Kolsun.
Top Returners Brendan Corpus (Sr., Center Midfield), Dean Allen (Sr., Center Back), Henry Couchara (Sr., Center Back), Andrew Jang (Sr., Center Midfield), Luke Edwin (Center Midfield), Mason Clatterbuck (Jr., Forward).
Others to Watch: Dan Small (Jr., Goalkeeper), Zach House (Sr., Forward), Jake Clatterbuck (Sr., Forward), Connor McBride (Sr., Midfield).
Outlook: “PW Boys return a bunch of key players this year and have a very deep senior heavy roster,” Kessler said. “This is a very experienced and talented group that knows what it takes in this league. I expect the league to be very tough as it always is, I also expect PW to be very competitive in each game.
“We play a brand of soccer that we are proud of, we’ll build out of the back, we move the ball around well and we will always play an attacking style of the game.”
Pope John Paul II
Coach: Sackda Viravong (third season)
League: PAC Frontier Division.
District-Class: 1-3A.
Last Season: 2-6-0.
Key Losses: Brett McMenamin, Tommy Rutkowski.
Top Returners Aidan Zepp (Sr., Forward/Midfield), Stephan Rist (Sr., Midfield), Dylan Russ (Sr., Goalkeeper), Ben Rubinich (Jr., Midfield), Ben Bosio (So., Forward).
Others to Watch: Alex Glenn (Jr., Defense), Aidan Gray (Jr., Defense/Midfield), Ian Goetz (Jr., Defense).
Outlook: “Defending is going to be the key for the team this year,” Viravong said. “If we can minimize mistakes and allow fewer goals, it will keep us close in the game. On the opposite end, the forwards and midfielders must find ways to create and score goals. In the past few seasons, we allowed more goals against us than scoring goals for ourselves. We must reverse that trend in order to be competitive.
“As a team, we need to remain strong mentally and retain our fitness on the field. If we can lessen injuries, we can make this soccer season respectable and memorable.”
Souderton
Coach: Matt Benner (ninth season).
League: SOL Colonial Division.
District-Class: 1-4A.
Last Season: 4-5-3 (3-4-3), lost to West Chester East in penalty kicks in District 1-4A first round.
Key Losses: Brody Emery, TJ Hibsman.
Top Returners Dillon Barbieri (Sr., Forward), Tyler Bovell (Sr., Defense), Tyson Bui (Jr., Defense), Nolan Hughes (Jr., Midfield), Aidan McClure (Sr., Goalkeeper), Ty Quintois (Jr., Midfield), Ryan Schewe (Jr., Midfield), Thomas Smith (Sr., Defense).
Outlook: The Indians ended a long postseason drought, earning their first district appearance since 2013 and bring back All-SOL Colonial selections Barbieri (first team), goalie McClure (second team) and Bovell (honorable mention).
“This year’s team returns a lot of varsity experience, particularly in the defending group of players,” Benner said. “The Indians will look to consistently score multiple goals in games in the ever competitive Suburban One League. The team is excited to compete for the Colonial league top spot, secure a place in the District One Tournament, and earn a spot in the state tournament.”
Springfield Montco
Coach: Dan Meder
League: SOL Freedom Division
District-Class: 1-3A.
Last Season: 1-6-2 (1-6-1 division.
Key Losses: Pierson Rubincam, Matt Leibfreid, Ian Short.
Top Returners Grant Williams, Tommy Bailey, Tyler Bunting, Peter Schmidt, Riley Martin, Julian Casabon.
Outlook: “With a solid group of players returning this year, Springfield will look to flip many of the close games they dropped last year,” Meder said.
Upper Dublin
Coach: Noah Johnson (first season).
League: SOL Liberty Division.
District-Class: 1-4A.
Last Season: 7-4-1 (6-3-1), lost to Pennridge in District 1-4A quarterfinals.
Key Losses: Sean Seabrook.
Top Returners Zack Berman (Sr., Outside Back), Patrick Stewart (Sr., Center Midfield).
Others to Watch: Reilly McLaughlin (Fr., Outside Back).
Outlook: Berman, an All-SOL Liberty first team selection, is among the returners for the Cardinals, who last year won their first district playoff game since 2016.“This year the boys will be playing under a new coach and playing a different style of soccer without having their leading goal scorer Sean Seabrook,” Johnson said. “We are looking forward to kicking off the new season with Our family vs. their team.”
Upper Moreland
Coach: Justin Allegra (second season).
League: SOL Freedom Division.
District-Class: 1-3A.
Last Season: 10-3-0 (6-2-0), District 1-3A champ, lost to Northern in PIAA-3A semifinals.
Key Losses: Josh Henderson, Travis Slear, Mateo Infante.
Top Returners Michael Kane (Sr.), Michael Soroka (Sr.), Logan Taylor (Sr.), Logan Holman (Jr.), Aaron Snyder (Jr.).
Others to Watch: Michael Scollion (Jr.), Chris Heron (Jr.).
Outlook: The Golden Bears came through in the clutch last year with double OT wins in both the district and the state first round. Kane was an All-SOL Freedom first team pick in 2020 while goalkeeper Snyder and Taylor made the division’s second team.
Outlook: “From underdogs to the hunted, the Golden Bears is no longer going to sneak up on anybody after emerging with the program’s great success and winning the District 1 championship,” Allegra said. “There’s still some unfinished business after the Bears could not claim the Freedom Conference. The Bears will work hard to finish the conference on top.”
