By Alex Frazier
Meet…Dan Caya
Skill is one thing. Emotion is another.
A player who combines both is a valuable asset.
Someone like Pennridge’s Dan Caya.
“You can hear it in his voice and see it in his face,” said Pennridge coach Pete Valimont. “Every game is important to him. It’s a joy to have him on the field.’
Caya also has great field sense. Since he started playing at the age of eight for Deep Run Valley, Caya has played nearly every position on the field.He credits his father, his first coach, for playing him at center midfield.
“By learning how to play central mid, I was able to learn the 360 degrees of soccer, not just one side of the field,” said Caya. “I adapted to that and was able to jump up to the next level of play by being able to keep up with older guys and pass to the right guy.
“Learning to play all over the field is an advantage.”
Caya plays attacking right back for his club team, Penn Fusion, which qualified for nationals in Kansas City, Mo. last summer. The team played four games, going 2-2. The last team they lost to by a goal went to the finals.
“He plays at a very high level, and he brings that to the team,” said Valimont. “The guys feed off that.”
But for Pennridge, the three-year varsity starter is a striker. Along with Kevin Bailey up top, the two give opposing defenses fits. Caya often distracts defenders, leaving Bailey open.
“Kevin does get a lot of attention, and rightfully so; however, Caya has done a very good job being complementary to him,” said Valimont, “and being just as good if not better on certain nights. If Kevin has a bad night, Caya is one of the first guys to pick us up.”
Caya is No. 2 in points on the team.
“We’re very fortunate to have a player such as Caya that has experience playing back and can play forward and be very explosive,” said Valimont, who fully expects him to make first team all-league. He was third as a sophomore and second last year.
The bottom line is that Caya’s favorite position is just being anywhere on the soccer field.
“I love the game,” he said. “I want to do my best to help everybody else around me do their best.”
Caya’s emotion and presence on the field has gone a long way to inspire a Ram team that is beginning to live up to its pre-season hype. Wednesday he scored the game-winning goal against No. 1 North Penn. He also had a goal in the Rams’ big 2-1 win over Central Bucks East on Friday.
“We’re in high spirits and want to keep it going,” he said. “It took a while to get in a certain groove. We now realize that we’re all seniors and it’s the last shot to go for it all. We’re starting to get more serious at game time and in practices. I think we’ll be ready for the rest of the season.”
Besides soccer, Caya also kicks for the football team. As a sophomore, he came to the attention of physical education teacher Tom Nuneviller during a flag football class.
“I’d always be the kid kicking the ball,” said Caya. “Mr. Nuneviller came up to me asked whether I had ever thought about going out for the football team to kick.
“I didn’t think he was serious at the time, but word got around to coach Cuthbert and coach Valimont, and the next year I decided to go out. Everybody supported me and I’m thankful for everybody giving me the chance.”
He started kicking for the team last year. So far this season, he has missed just one extra point, the first one of the year.
“I was a little rusty and it was a bad snap,” he said.
He hasn’t yet had the opportunity to kick a field goal.
Playing soccer and football can be demanding at times. On four occasions this year so far, Caya has played an 80-minute soccer game Friday afternoon and then stood another 60 minutes on the sideline of an evening football game ready to sprint out and kick the ball as hard as he can.
“I’m very blessed that I have the endurance,” said Caya. “I’ve been taught how to stretch well, and I’ve had no serious injuries.”
Caya is in the complex process of college recruiting right now. Georgetown and William and Mary are two of many schools that are interested. He doesn’t expect to make a decision soon, more likely over the winter.
His favorite subject is biology and that is a direction he hopes to pursue in college, whether it is with pre-med in mind or an eventual teaching career.
“Recently I realized that I like working with younger kids, how they look up to you and you have to set an example,” he said.
Kind of like it is on the soccer team.
Long distance soccer – High school basketball teams travel to places like Florida or the Jersey shore over Christmas break to compete in prestigious tournaments. Even wrestling teams travel as far west as Reno, Nevada, or south to Virginia looking for the best competition.
In the spring, baseball and lacrosse teams head south in search of strong out-of-state opponents.
But long road trips in soccer are more the exception than the rule.
Last Thursday, after a two-hour rain delay on the tarmac at Philadelphia International Airport, the Pennsbury soccer team took flight for St. Louis, Mo., to compete in the Gateway City Classic, which bills itself as the premier high school soccer tournament in the nation.
Coach Tom Stoddart said that the team had received some national exposure last year on ESPN Rise, partly from players who competed on the YMS Explosion.
The tournament director sent out an invitation last year, and with the blessing of the parent group, Stoddart accepted.
The tournament was divided into a showcase division (with no winner) in which teams played just two games, and a round robin tournament in which 42 teams from 10 different states played three games, competing for a title.
Pennsbury entered the national showcase because it had too many non-league games on its schedule and was limited to a total of 18 games by the PIAA.
Of the six teams that participated in the showcase, only two of them won both games.
The Falcons were one of those teams.
Friday they took on defending North Carolina state champion Greensboro, which scored an early goal.
“We absorbed a lot of pressure in the first half, and even early in the second half,” said Stoddard.
As Greensboro began to wear down, Pennsbury upped the ante.
Evan Peterson got loose in the box and was taken down by the goalie. Kyle McDonald then buried the penalty kick.
With just over 10 minutes remaining, Sawyer Waters notched the game winner for a 2-1 victory.
“They were very good,” said Stoddart. “They were better than us. That was a confidence booster for us.”
In the second game Saturday night, Pennsbury faced Collinsville, Ill., a team that won four state championships and was runner-up in two others.
The Falcons had the game under control leading 3-1, but with five minutes remaining, Collinsville scored two goals in as many minutes to tie it up.
Matt Montgomery scored the game winner with a minute and half left.
“We were very excited,” said Stoddart.
Around the league –
Friday’s games
A red hot Pennridge squad defeated Central Bucks East 2-1, using goals from Tyler Henry (Joe Larwa assist) and Dan Caya (Zach Midgett assist). Ram goalie Ryan Bailey turned away six shots in the big win.
In the upset of the day, Norristown defeated Upper Moreland 1-0 to pick up its first win of the season. The Golden Bears entered the game in second place in the American Conference.
In a key National Conference game, Council Rock South edged Neshaminy 1-0.
Wednesday’s games
A surging Neshaminy bumped off Pennsbury 2-1 in overtime. The Redskins took the lead on a Sean Sheridan goal in the first half, but Pennsbury’s Stephen Tomaszewski tallied the equalizer with 19 minutes left in regulation.
Sheridan set up the game winner when he passed to sophomore Austin Transue, who spotted freshman Nick Tucci to the left of the box. Tucci fired it into the right side of the net with 1:30 elapsed in the first OT. Freshman keeper Austin Brotman had 11 saves for the Redskins.
Troy Czapor scored the game-winning goal in overtime as Council Rock South escaped with a 2-1 win at William Tennent.
Council Rock North slipped by Abington, 1-0, on Bryan Attansio’s penalty kick.
A rejuvenated Pennridge is coming on strong with its latest 2-0 victory over North Penn. Dan Caya drilled a penalty kick in the first half, and Cody Zickler netted the insurance goal early in the second half.
Keith Crews, Connor Stackhouse, Mike Serban scored for Central Bucks South in a big 3-1 upset over Souderton. Lasana Dukuly scored the Big Red’s lone goal.
In the battle for second place in the American Conference, Upper Moreland inched ahead of Cheltenham by defeating Plymouth Whitemarsh 2-1.
The Colonials held a 1-0 lead at the intermission, but the Bears put together a strong second-half effort to come from behind. Tommy Hays nailed the game winner in the final two minutes of play. Leading the way for the Bears were Carl Wambold and Tyler Foerst, whose “never say die” attitude sparked the team’s determination. Nate Roberts tallied his first goal of the season with a long shot which got away from the goalie and into the back of the net.
From that point on, UM rode the momentum all the way through the 88th minute when Tyler Foerst found the ball deep in the offensive corner. He sent a cross in front of the net and Tommy Hays deflected the ball past the PW keeper.
SOL Top Five
1. Council Rock South
2. Council Rock North
3. North Penn
4. Wissahickon
5. Central Bucks East
Southeastern Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Poll
(through Sunday)
1. LaSalle 9-0-2
2. Father Judge 8-1-0
3. Strath Haven 8-1-0
4. Council Rock South 8-1-0
5. Wissahickon 9-0-1
6. Unionville 7-2-0
7. Conestoga 9-1-0
8. St. Joseph’s Prep 9-2-1
9. Holy Ghost Prep 9-1-0
10. Central Bucks East 5-1-2
11. Council Rock North 6-3-1
12. Lower Merion 6-2-3
13. North Penn 6-2-1
14. West Chester Rustin 5-2-2
15. Archbishop Ryan 9-3-0
16. Abington 5-2-2
17. Archbishop Wood 8-3-0
18. Souderton 5-3-2
19. Haverford School 4-1-2
20. Shipley 9-1-0
Others receiving votes (in order): Pennsbury, Neshaminy, Kennett, Downingtown East, Spring-Ford, Great Valley, Upper Darby, Northeast, Central, Marple Newtown, Germantown Academy
Pennsylvania State Soccer Coaches Association Poll
(Oct. 4)
1. Mechanicsburg (3)
2. LaSalle (12)
3. Father Judge (12)
4. Warwick (3)
5. Hempfield (3)
6. Emmaus (11)
7. State College (6)
8. Strath Haven (1)
9. Peters Twp. (7)
10. Cumberland Valley (3)
Honorable mention: Central Dauphin (3), Conestoga (1), Conestoga Valley (3), Council Rock South (1), Dallastown (3), Lower Merion (1), Mt. Lebanon (7), Pennsbury (1), Upper St. Clair (7), Wissahickon (1)
National Soccer Coaches Association Region III Poll
(Oct. 5)
1. Seton Hall (NJ) 8-0-0
2. Mechanicsburg (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) 11-0-0
3. Don Bosco (NJ) 6-0-0
4. LaSalle 9-0-1
5. St. Benedict’s (NJ) 8-1-0
6. Father Judge 9-1-0
7. Pingry (NJ) 6-0-0
8. Warwick (NY) 11-2-0
9. Princeton (NJ) 7-0-0
10. Hempfield (Landisville, Pa.) 10-2-0
11. West Orange (NJ) 7-1-0
12. Emmaus (Allentown, Pa.) 10-2-0
13. State College (Pa.) 9-1-0
14. Clifton (NJ) 6-1-1
15. Strath Haven (Wallingford, Pa.) 8-1-0
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