By Alex Frazier
Player of the Year
Steve Neumann, Council Rock North
Not only was Neumann a unanimous National Conference Player of the Year, he is also a candidate for Regional and National All-American.
For the Indians this year, he scored 20 goals and added nine assists. He scored at least one goal against every team he played. Of his 20 goals, 12 were game winners, and of his nine assists, two resulted in game winning goals.
Coach of the YearTom Quintois, Souderton
Souderton had a remarkable turnaround this season after two years of sub .500 play, which included just three wins a year ago.
This year the Indians won the Continental Conference and finished with 12 wins.
“We had guys on this team that took a lot of pride in what they were doing,” said Quintois, “guys like Kyle Nelson, A.J. Androkites. They had enough of losing and turned it around. A.J. had four game winning goals.
“We got better as the year went on. At the end of the year we were a defending team. That’s what got us to where we got to. Unfortunately, we got up against a really good Central Dauphin team capable of winning a state championship.”
The cornerstone for this year’s championship was defense.
“The past two years we really worked on playing a flat four,” said Meuleners. “He (Quintois) explained all the ins and outs of that. This year we put it together, and it really worked for us. We saw how it worked the year we were freshmen and they went to states. He does a great job of portraying that and giving drills that bond the back four together and make them impermeable.”
But there’s more to winning games than just defense. Quintois also was strong on preparation.
“He’s great in preparing you in the preseason with conditioning and skills,” said Meuleners. “He gets us ready mentally before every game, he makes sure every player is in the correct mental state of mind. If you’re not, he’ll tell you.”
And like any coach worth his salt, Quintois made good use of his scouting reports.
“We spend an extensive amount of time focusing on the other team’s strengths and weaknesses and trying to pick that apart,” said Meuleners. “That’s one of the reasons why our defense did so well.”
Most Consistent Coach – I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize the considerable coaching talent of Central Bucks East’s Mike Gorni.I doubt there’s anyone else in Southeastern Pennsylvania who is so attuned to the soccer scene.
Year in and year out, he produces exceptional teams, whether he has a slew of elite players like last year or only a couple as this year.
For the past three years his teams have made the district semifinals, reached the PIAA quarterfinals twice and advanced to the semifinals once.
No other coach in the league knows as much about soccer in all its ramifications than Gorni.
He’s an excellent judge of players and consistently prepares them for each team they compete against.
Game of the YearThere might have been better games, but not that I saw or heard about.
When Council Rock North and Pennsbury met at Maccles Field on Sept. 24, the National Conference title was on the line.
Pennsbury had lost the first go-around and the pressure was on. Both teams fought hard, and the intense play generated plenty of excitement among the many fans that rimmed the field.
In the end, the Falcons’ Eddie Adams scored the game winner in overtime. Subsequently, Rock North went on to tie two games, while Pennsbury won out to claim the championship.
Most Regrettable Foul
Two come to mind.
Pennsbury’s Jimmy Oxford was red carded for supposedly elbowing William Tennent’s Dan Eckhardt when they both went up for a header in the second round of districts. The Falcons had to play nearly 70 minutes down a man, but coach Tom Stoddart didn’t blame the 1-0 loss on that.
In a district quarterfinal game between Pennridge and Souderton, Ram goalie Ryan Bailey received a yellow card with 5.5 seconds left in the second overtime. When the final whistle sounded, the two teams went to penalty kicks, but Bailey wasn’t allowed to take the goal. His brother Kevin stepped into the net.
Souderton made four PKs, while the Rams missed two of theirs to end their season.
All-SOL – I have never been a fan of awarding nearly half the players in the SOL all-league distinction. Somehow, I believe that dilutes the honor.
With that in mind, I have selected what I believe are the best players in the SOL regardless of position or team.
2009 All-SOL Team
Sepp Dasbach, Wissahickon
Kevin Matthews, Wissahickon
Dan Meuleners, Souderton
Christian Benner, Souderton
Sean Bonner, North Penn
Dan Christiansen, Central Bucks East
Ryan Apt, Central Bucks East
Tom Stackhouse, Central Bucks South
Steve Neumann, Council Rock North
Eddie Adams, Pennsbury
Jimmy Ockford, Pennsbury
Brian Powers, Pennsbury
Drew Hutchins, Pennsbury
Rick Domico, Neshaminy
Jidell Roach, Abington
Playoffs – Before I put the finishing touches on the 2009 season, I would like to raise a question.
The way the PIAA brackets are set up, it’s very unlikely that two District One teams could reach the final. The District One No. 4 team is placed in the western bracket and often has a better chance to make it through than if it were in the top bracket. But that team must face all the best teams from the western part of the state.
The other three D-1 teams must duke it out in the top of the bracket for one final spot.
Why not cross bracket teams for the semifinals? That would mean the semifinal qualifier in the top bracket would meet the semifinal qualifier from the bottom bracket, and the semifinal qualifier in the bottom of the top bracket would face the semifinal qualifier in the top half of the bottom bracket.
This year, for example, instead of Unionville playing Father Judge the Indians would play Cathedral Prep, while Father Judge would take on Central Dolphin (instead of meeting in the final).
The games could be played at HersheyPark.
That would certainly mean more traveling, but it would better to ensure that the top two teams in the state met for the championship.
“It’s not fair,” said Souderton coach Tom Quintois. “Whether you win the game or lose the game, it doesn’t seem logical to have the one, two and three (District One) seeds all on the eastern half.”
Council Rock North coach Wendell Beres suggested that a representative from each district could confer and seed all 16 teams or even just the top eight teams in the state.
“It’s not quite fair for the first place and second place team in District One to meet each other in the second round,” said Beres.
Having pre-determined placements aren’t always the fairest way to do it. Each year should be individual.
Others might agree with Beres when he said, “I personally think if I get there I don’t care who I play, when I play or where I play. You have to beat everybody anyway.”
Co-champs – Apparently, both teams were disappointed that last Saturday’s PIAA Class AAA title game between Father Judge and Central Dauphin came down to a scoreless draw after overtime.
What’s the answer?
Let them continue playing until someone scores the game winner? Play it all over like they have done in the Catholic League? Go to penalty kicks?
My choice would be to let them keep playing until a winner was decided on the field of play.
However, given the PIAA playoff format where five games are played in the same location, time would be a constraint even if weather weren’t.
The PIAA could change its format. At one time, before there was more than one class, the semifinals and final were played on one weekend. Maybe it would be a good time to revisit that idea.
To play it over on another date would be a burden on everyone, and logistically a nightmare.
That said; let the winner be determined by penalty kicks.
As the old cliché goes, “Tying is like kissing your sister.”
Sportsmanship – I wholeheartedly endorse a Sportsmanship Award. Leagues should be stressing fair play and honoring it. But I’ve noticed that in most cases, the Sportsmanship Award usually goes to the last place team.
That in no way is meant to mean that the last place team is not deserving of that award.
But, is this really just a consolation prize?
Southeastern Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Rankings
(Final)
1. Father Judge. . . 22-2-2
2. Unionville. . . 22-3-0
3. Downingtown West. . . 17-4-4
4. Central Bucks East. . . 18-7-0
5. Lower Merion. . . 17-3-0
6. Pennsbury. . . 17-2-1
7. Council Rock North. . . 15-2-2
8. Octorara. . . 19-4-1
9. Christopher Dock. . . 20-3-1
10. La Salle. . . 15-3-1
11. Souderton. . . 16-5-4
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. St. Joseph’s Prep. . . 11-5-2
Others receiving votes (in order): Washington, West Chester Rustin, Conestoga, Shipley, Pennridge, Boyertown, William Tennent, Great Valley, West Chester Henderson, Neshaminy, Central Bucks West, Haverford School.
Sayonara – Once again, I would like to thank coaches, players, and parents for helping me to put together my weekly notebooks and game stories.
If anyone has suggestions about how to improve coverage of SOL soccer, I would appreciate hearing from you. Also, any soccer news, like college signings, additional accolades or big tournament wins, please e-mail the web site so we can keep our readers up to date on any soccer news.
See you in 2010.
- Log in to post comments
0
