By Alex Frazier
Another season has finished, albeit a bit prematurely for the Suburban One League. Nevertheless, I would like to congratulate all the fine soccer players that were selected to their respective all-conference teams.
In particular, I would like to recognize the Players of the Year for all three conferences.
Steve Neumann, forward, National Conference
When Jake Fields turned up injured for the year, Council Rock North needed someone to step up big.
And Steve Neumann did just that.
The Indians finished their season at 15-2-2, losing only to Pennsbury in their own league before being upset by Pennridge in penalty kicks in the second round of districts.
“It was a really great season,” said Neumann. “We worked hard in the preseason, and were definitely ready for the season coming in.”
The Indians rolled to a 10-0 start before losing their second game to Pennsbury and then tying two more.
And then there was the shock of the playoffs when No. 19 Pennridge upset them.
“We worked hard the week prior to playoffs and felt good coming in, but it was one of those games we couldn’t find the back of the net, and Pennridge’s goalie had a great game and took care of the PKs,” said Neumann.“It was definitely a great season. Everyone worked hard for each other and played for each other. It was a team-oriented year for us.”
Coach Wendell Beres will not only miss Neumann’s 20 goals and nine assists next year, but also the leadership he provided on and off the field.
“If you go from just pure performance and take out his goals, we go from being 15-1 to probably flirting with .500,” said the coach. “He was big time. He singlehandedly took us to great things this year.”
A case in point - he scored a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win over Abington in the first game and then tallied three in a 3-2 victory the second time the two teams met.
“It was a special season and he was the reason why,” said Beres.
Two qualities in particular impressed the coach.
“He was always looking to get better and he was always looking for little pieces of advice to do that,” he said. “He was always trying to bring out the best in everyone else around him. His work ethic is phenomenal. That part became contagious.”
When Neumann leaves the area next year, he will be taking many fond memories with him.
“Freshman year we won states,” he said. “Going all the way as a freshman was a great experience for me.”
He’ll also remember all the Pennsbury games because he plays with a lot of those kids on his YMS club team.
“It was pretty neat to go up against them and know their tendencies and see what you can do against your own teammates,” he said. “Both the games against them this year were great games.”
Neumann is now playing for his YMS Explosion team, and is hoping to get back to nationals for the third straight year before going off to college.
He will be taking his considerable talents to Georgetown next year.
“It’s a great school with great athletics,” he said. “The mix of the two definitely drew my attention. Hopefully it will be a great fit. I’m excited to get started.”
Dan Meuleners, defender, Continental Conference
It’s no surprise that a Souderton defender was named the Player of the Year since the Indians made their fortune on defense this season.
A three-year varsity starter, Meuleners had just eight wins in his first two years for the Big Red.
This year he nearly than doubled that number as Souderton finished with a 15-5-4 record.
“It was quite a turn around,” said Meuleners.
More importantly, all 15 wins were shutouts. The Indians gave up just 19 goals in 24 games.
“We broke the shutout record this year,” said coach Tom Quintois. “Although Dave Giannini, Gary Guldin, Trevor Bishop and Scott Jablonski had a lot to say about that, Dan was the glue back there. ”We build our team around being defensive with our goalkeeping and Dan Meuleners. We play a flat zone trap at times. We’re very organized in the back, and Dan understood our basic concepts and he bought into them. That was huge.
“And he’s strong in the air and hates to get beat. He prides himself in being a great defender.”
And more important even than all the shutouts was winning the Continental Conference.
“A lot of our team goals were winning the league,” said Meuleners. “That’s what we have been talking about since we were freshmen. We knew we had the potential to do it. It was just following through on it and reversing the one-goal losses from last year. We got on a roll and stuck with it.”
Meuleners has the rare combination of size and speed. His 4x800 relay team placed sixth in the PIAA meet last spring.
“Dan is a terrific athlete,” said Quintois. “He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached. He’s a rare kind of guy.”
Meuleners also credited his FC Premier coach Jeff Ykoruk for his soccer successes.
Three of Souderton’s five losses came in the last three games of the year, which is an unfortunate way to go out.
“Losing in the District One semifinals to Downingtown West was kind of a letdown,” said Meuleners. “The (consolation playoff) game against C.B East, where we rested our players, wasn’t that big of a deal, but going out in states was hard because it was the last game we would play as a team.”
Souderton graduates 13 seniors, most of whom have played together in travel soccer since they were 13, some even back to age five.
“We were really a tight team,” said Meuleners. “We’ll be friends for quite a while.”
Barring any interest from big colleges, Meuleners will probably attend Penn State next year, either the Erie campus or University Park. His father is a financial officer at the Abington campus.
He is still undecided whether he will play soccer or run track. It will depend where he ends up.
“I will probably go for whichever one is the better program,” he said.
This winter he will be running indoor track, preparing to make a return to the state meet in the spring.
“I want to tune up my fitness for the spring,” he said.
Sepp Dasbach, midfield, American Conference
Wissahickon had one of its finest soccer seasons, going undefeated in league play.
Sepp Dasbach was a big part of that
The center midfielder was in a good position to score and defend for the Trojans.
Dasbach was surprised that he was named Player of the Year.
“It’s a really nice honor to have,” he said. “It means a lot.”
He was a unanimous selection. “It was a testament to what the other teams thought of him,” said Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm. “As a coach, having that sort of player on the team was a huge advantage in all games”
Like Neumann, Dasbach also plays for the YMS Explosion, which has had a profound effect on his success as a player.
“It helped me improve my game so much,” he said. “I almost owe it all to them. They’ve done so much for me.”
While he is a center midfielder for the Trojans, he plays sweeper for YMS.
“I like both positions,” he said. “I’ll play any one anytime. I’ve played a lot of different positions in my years of playing.”
Dasbach created problems for opposing coaches. If they gave him room, he scored - he had12 goals and nine assists for the season.
“They have to game plan to contain him as much as they can,” said Malcolm. “One of the things that was difficult for other teams to game plan for was he was very dangerous on set pieces and re-starts.”
A case in point was the tying goal he scored in the final game of the year against Souderton off a re-start.
Even if other teams managed to contain him, Dasbach was able to use his passing ability to set up teammates.
“He had a tremendous awareness,” said Malcolm.
Dasbach will continue his soccer career next year at Penn State to which he has orally committed.
“I liked a Big 10 school,” he said. “There’s a lot of spirit and it’s close to home.”
Looking back on his career, Dasbach has a lot of choice memories.
“The coaches were just great and every year something new came up,” he said. “Our playoff run my junior and sophomore year when we had upsets against teams we were supposed to lose to, and this year, my senior year, going 14-0 in the league is a great memory.”
Final SOL Top Five
1. Pennsbury
2. Council Rock North
3. Souderton
4. Central Bucks East
5. William Tennent
Southeastern Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Pol1
(through Nov. 16)
1. Father Judge. . . 21-2-1
2. Unionville. . . 22-2-0
3. Downingtown West. . . 17-4-4
4. Central Bucks East. . . 18-7-0
5. Souderton. . . 16-5-4
6. Lower Merion. . . 17-3-0
7. Octorara. . . 17-4-1
8. Christopher Dock. . . 18-3-1
9. Council Rock North. . . 15-2-2
10. La Salle. . . 15-3-1
11. Pennsbury. . . 17-2-1
12. Germantown Academy. . . 12-5-2
13. North Catholic. . . 12-5-1
14. Archbishop Wood. . . 17-3-0
15. Pottsgrove. . . 16-3-2
16. Strath Haven. . . 13-3-3
17. Upper Darby. . . 12-2-2
18. Archbishop Ryan. . . 13-6-2
19. Wissahickon. . . 14-4-1
20. Haverford School. . . 11-3-2
Others receiving votes (in order): Washington, West Chester Rustin, Conestoga, St. Joseph's Prep, Central Bucks West, Shipley, Pennridge, Boyertown, William Tennent, Great Valley, West Chester Henderson, Neshaminy.
NSCAA National Region III Rankings
(Nov. 17, final)
1. Unionville (Kennett Square, Pa.) 22 - 2 - 0
2. Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.) 19 - 2 - 1
3. Father Judge (Philadelphia, Pa.) 21 - 2 - 1
4. St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.) 17 - 2 - 0
5. Central Dauphin (Harrisburg, Pa.) 21 - 5 - 0
6. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) 22 - 2 - 0
7. Cliffside Park (Cliffside, N.J.) 19 - 1 - 1
8. Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) 21 - 2 - 1
9. Cathedral Prep (Erie, Pa.) 18 - 2 - 0
10. Upper St. Clair (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 20 - 4 - 1
11. Parkland (Allentown, Pa.) 21 - 1 - 0
12 Mount Lebanon (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 19 - 2 - 1
13 Scotch Plains (N.J.) 20 - 3 - 2
14 Rancocas Valley (Mt. Holly, N.J.) 19 - 3 - 2
15 Palmyra Senior (Pa.) 25 - 1 - 0
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