Mike Prince highlights the players to watch in all three conferences and features Upper Dublin, Bensalem and North Penn.
By Mike Prince
For Suburban One Sports
With the 2014 boys' soccer season underway, players and coaches from around the Suburban One are getting their new and returning players in check for what should be another exciting season.
With a number of key returning players, Plymouth Whitemarsh looks to repeat the success it had in 2013, while teams like Upper Dublin and Wissahickon should be right behind the Colonials making a push in the American Conference.
Neshaminy, coming off a perfect season in the National Conference, will look to the defense for its success. The Redskins' backfield allowed just 11 goals all of last year.
Central Bucks East and North Penn finished first and second in the Continental Conference last season, respectively and will look for continued success this year as well.
American Conference
After 21 years at the helm for Upper Dublin’s boys’ soccer team, Rick Schmidt opted to retire from being head coach of the Cardinals. Now, former assistant and first-time head coach Derek Preist is ready to step in and take on the responsibility.
Priest was the Upper Dublin junior varsity coach for six years before stepping in as the varsity assistant coach last season. Now, he plans on taking what he learned from Schmidt to be successful while being in charge.
“I’m looking forward to it very much. This is why you want to coach so you can coach at the highest level you can,” Preist said. “I’m looking forward to it immensely. Rick really taught me so much. We weren’t the strongest team in the area, but Rick really built the program into a strong one. I think it’s going to be a season of transition because I don’t want to mess around with what he did too much. If it’s not broke, there is no need to fix anything.”
With 10 varsity players returning from last year’s team, the Cardinals should be able to compete with the likes of PW, Wissahickon and the other top teams in the American Conference this fall.
“I would like to think that we will contend for the conference title this year,” Preist said.
If the Cardinals are going to be successful, Preist said that he would credit most of that to Schmidt - not only for what he’s done with the team on the field, but because of everything he taught him at Upper Dublin.
“I think last year, we complemented each other very well,” Preist said. “He has different skills that maybe I lacked in, and maybe even the other way around, but it’s just been a great experience working with him and under him and learning from him.”
American Conference Players to Watch:
Cole Kropnick, senior attacker, Wissahickon: In 2013, Kropnick, a captain for the Trojans, scored 15 goals and added five assists while earning first time All-League honors in the American Conference. Kropnick led the Trojans in scoring.
Coach Stuart Malcolm says: “Cole has been a four-year starter who was first team All-League last year. He is a captain this year, and he is the sort to ‘lead by example’ type of captain. He has worked hard during the pre-season and is anxious to get started. We will look for him to be a force in the attacking end of the pitch.”
Cameron Johnson, senior defender, Plymouth Whitemarsh: In 2013, Johnson was a first team all-league defender for a PW squad that captured the American Conference crown. The senior captain also excels on the basketball court, earning all-league honors in that sport as well.
Coach Devon Landgraff says: “Cameron is coming off an excellent junior year as an American Conference first team selection and has been a rock in PW’s back line. Cam brings the total package to the field as he as he is strong, fast, dominant in the air, technically talented and a tenacious 1v1 defender. Cam has stepped up as a captain this year in the PW soccer program, and his offseason work ethic has him put himself and his teammates in a good position to compete for a trip back to district playoffs.”
Cheltenham: Joe Galtman, senior forward; Gene Han, senior midfielder; Jonah Cohen, senior defender; Owen Deitcher, junior defender.
Norristown: Efrain Guzman, senior striker; Drew Baltrus, senior striker/midfielder; Brendan Kelley, junior striker/midfielder; Will Baltrus, freshman goalkeeper.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Alex Bilodeau, senior; Cameron Johnson, senior defender; David Reina, senior; Austin Betterly, junior; Dominic Wlodarcyk, senior forward.
Springfield: Riley Woron, senior midfielder; Ben Wiley, senior midfielder; Igor McVeagh, senior defender; Kevin Sykes, junior goalkeeper.
Upper Dublin: Justin Greene, junior midfielder; Jake Woodruff, junior center back; Pete Nysch, senior center back.
Upper Merion: Angelo Misseri, senior striker; Brendan Magdamo, junior midfielder; Vito Vincent, sophomore striker; Alan Castillo, sophomore midfielder.
Upper Moreland: Conner O'Hahan, senior goalkeeper; Dave Arcaro, junior midfielder; Randy Meehl, sophomore midfielder.
Wissahickon: Cole Kropnick, senior forward; John Carrozza, senior goalkeeper; Devon Memis, senior midfielder.
National Conference
One season after finishing in second place behind undefeated Neshaminy for the conference title, Bensalem is back with several of its top players from last year and will hope to contend again in 2014.
With senior striker Chris Juergensen leading the way up front, the Owls’ offense should have the spark it will need to come out on top against some of the more difficult teams in the National Conference.
“We have a good young squad and they’re hopeful and they’re working hard and they know what they have to do to get back to where we were last year,” Bensalem coach Joe Leone said. “Hopefully we can get there sooner than later.”
With brothers Ryan and Ricky Molz, both juniors, leading the way on defense, Bensalem’s defense should be solidified from the start. With captain and midfielder Omar Luviano returning along with Avery Nyekan, the Owls have plenty of talent on all sides of the field.
“Avery is a competitor and he gives us good leadership,” Leone said. “He was on the team last year and he knows what it takes to be a good competitor. We’re going to need to be competitive because in our league, everything is so tight. We just played in the District 3 tournament and we knew that you could finish in first place or you could finish in last place. There are going to be good games and close, one –goal games all season.
“If we stick to our game plan, we should be successful. We just have to worry about ourselves.”
Bensalem is only two years removed from winning six games in the National Conference. A year before that, the Owls won just three. Last season, they were seeded ninth in the districts and advanced to the quarterfinals.
National Conference Players to Watch:
Jamen Rowan, senior defender, Neshaminy: With Rowan leading the way on defense, the Redskins allowed just nine goals in conference games last year and only 11 the entire season. He has been a first team All-Conference player for the past two years. He is still looking around at schools, including West Chester and Temple.
Coach Tom Foley says: “He has been our anchor on defense for the last two years. He is the captain of the team, he does a really good job in the backfield and he distributes the ball really well. He’ll be a solid player for us this year and he’ll be able to go to college at a really good school and play soccer where he wants.”
Chris Juergensen, senior striker, Bensalem: Juergensen was the leading scorer on a Bensalem team which was only one win away from advancing to the state tournament. After scoring 14 goals while adding five assists in 2013, the senior forward will lead a team which is hopeful to compete for a conference title this season.
Coach Joe Leone says: “Chris is a scoring threat and he’s our top striker. He’s grown a lot as a person and a player and he should have a real good year this year. He’s crucial to our team being successful and he’s a captain this year and he’s enjoying his responsibility. He takes it seriously.”
Abington: Matt Tracey, senior; Aiden Coyle, junior.
Bensalem: Ricky Molz, junior defender; Ryan Molz, junior midfielder; Omar Luviano, junior midfielder.
Council Rock South: Mark Jurewicz, Jake Shefsky, Sean Doyle.
Council Rock North: Gavin Bonas, senior defender; Tim Casey, senior midfielder; Bobby Bill, senior midfielder; Josh Hinton, defender; Billy Storm, junior goalkeeper.
Neshaminy: Jamen Rowan, senior defender; James McCourt, senior midfielder; Kenny Herrmann, senior forward; Devin Metee, senior defender; Dan Grindrod, sophomore midfielder; Zach Albarran, senior midfielder, Eric Schaffer, junior midfielder/forward; Dylan McDonald, sophomore defender.
Pennsbury: Colin Marks, junior midfielder; Eric Gaglardi, senior goalkeeper; Alex Kardos, senior, midfielder; Alex Tennant, senior defender.
Truman: Patrick Smith, senior forward; Joe Nyumah, senior forward; Matheus Souza, senior midfielder; Eddie Worthington, junior midfielder; Fernando Mendez, junior goalkeeper.
William Tennent: Mark Palage junior, midfielder; Connor Weiss, junior midfielder; J.R. McCabe, junior forward.
Continental Conference
Last year looked as though it might well be North Penn’s year to own the top spot in Continental Conference play
Take away a stretch of five SOL games midway through the season, and it would have been, but a pair of ties and a pair of losses in that span forced the Knights to settle for second place behind perennial power Central Bucks East.
The Knights boast a strong core of returning players from that successful squad, but coach Paul Duddy knows that the road to the top always goes through East.
“In my mind, East will always be the favorite until proven otherwise,” the Knights’ coach said. “You win five out of six years – you’re the favorite. That’s all there is to it.”
The Knights lost high-scoring forward Dylan McMahon and his 17 goals and six assists to graduation but have six returning starters, including first team all-league defender Drew McMenamin.
“We lost three of our four defenders,” Duddy said. “McMenamin is the one back, and it’s great to have a core player like him to build around, but we have to get those other three spots solved.
“We need to get some goals too, and that’s going to fall on Kevin McKenna and Brad Deckel. Nick Miller is playing defensive midfield for us, and we’ll probably have to bring him back as one of the four defenders.”
And for those who have picked the Knights to win this year’s conference crown, Duddy offered a cautionary word, pointing out that his team lost to Archbishop Wood (3-1) in Friday’s opener.
“What I think we learned from the Archbishop Wood game is that we have to be better defensively,” the Knights’ coach said. “We’re usually a pretty good defensive team, but we gave up three legitimate goals to Wood, so it’s like, ‘Okay, we better rethink this and get our keeper situation resolved and take it from there.’
“Wood is a good team. They had some very good, tough Catholic League type players. They were good. It’s not like they didn’t deserve to win – they did. Until we see how East is and CB South – the usual suspects, then we’ll figure it out.”
Stay tuned.
Continental Conference Players to Watch
Evan Vare, junior forward, Central Bucks East: In 2013, Vare scored 11 goals and led the league with 13 assists (35 points). A starter since midway through his freshman season, he was a second team all-league forward for an East squad that captured the Continental Conference title.
Coach Mike Gorni says: “He’s very, very quick with the ball. He has a good shot - he has a good shot both from distance and in tight especially, slashing towards goal. He’s probably the best player in the air on our team, so he gets a lot of head ball goals. He’s not a big kid, but he jumps out of the house. He really gets good altitude for someone who’s not a tall player.”
Drew McMenamin, senior defender, North Penn: In 2013, McMenamin, who plays in the central defense position, scored four goals and added eight assists. He is a captain for the Knights and won first team all-league honors last season. McMenamin, who takes most of North Penn’s corner, direct and indirect hits, was also an honorable mention all-conference defender as a sophomore.
Coach Paul Duddy says: “Drew is just a very quick, dependable player. He has great footwork and he very rarely gets beat on our defensive end. He’s a great player.”
Central Bucks East: Evan Vare, junior forward; Booker Farrior, senior defender.
Central Bucks West: Jason Douple, senior defender; Conrad Urffer, senior midfielder; Bryan Van Eekelen, senior forward.
Central Bucks South: Colin McGonigal, senior midfielder; Danny Remick, senior midfielder; Ian Betts, junior defender.
Hatboro-Horsham: Corey Milewski, senior defender; Dante D'Alonzo, senior midfielder; Eduardo Romero, junior forward.
North Penn: Kevin McKenna, senior forward; Nick Miller, senior midfielder; Brad Deckel, senior midfielder.
Pennridge: Ethan Aigeldinger, senior forward; Steven Catlett, senior goalkeeper, Justin Musco, senior midfielder; Lucas Hefner, senior midfielder.
Quakertown: Isaiah Johnson, senior midfielder; Matt Munsell, sophomore midfielder; Ryan Leatherman, sophomore defender.
Souderton: DJ Rostron, senior defender; Chadd Ziegler, senior defender; Justin Molyneaux, senior midfielder.
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