Loaded boys field is hard to predict
The new statewide boys soccer tournament to be implemented this school year has scrambled the landscape of several divisions, including a few long-time mainstays jumping up to tougher competition.
Division 1 is filled with several leagues with multiple suitors for a state title. In the Bay State Conference, 2019 state finalist Needham is looking to make another deep run with senior captains Marcus Trabucco, Mac Turner and Peter Speilmann. Framingham, with senior captain John Haplin and junior captains Jack Carney and Ben Sharon, and Natick will also be in the mix.
Out of the Catholic Conference, BC High will be led by four senior captains and three-year varsity starters Malcolm Flaherty, Matt Byrne, Sam Wolf and Matt Tevnan. St. John’s Prep will have senior three-year starter and defending Catholic Conference Player of the Year Joey Waterman in net. Xaverian has seniors Finn Mungovan, Andrew Xavier and Jon Mora along with junior Brendan Murphy.
For newcomers to Div. 1, Milford made the Div. 2 state final in 2019 and Kevin Gomes will be the backbone in goal with Chris Tocci headlining the defense. Concord Carlisle has senior captains Liam Harrington in the midfield and defenders Lars Bjork and Wolffe Berrouet out of the Dual County League. Seniors Tate Demond, Craig Scharland, Joe Scott and junior Emery Sunderland will help the offensive attack of Bishop Feehan. The 2019 Div. 2 state champions, Winchester, will have senior captains Jude Munson, Brian Shea and Max Durand-Morris to lean on.
With the 2019 champion Winchester up a division, Div. 2 is wide open with a couple Dual County teams making a case. Wayland has senior captains Jackson Dresens, Ben Chen and Jonny Goldin who were all on the 2018 state championship squad. Senior Chris Nunn has become an elite playmaker for the Warriors as they compete against Bedford for supremacy in the DCL with both teams making the jump up from Division 3.
In the Hockomock, Canton returns four seniors in midfielder Dylan Baird, top scorers Erik Valdovinos, Jacob Crugnale and goalie Giovanni Ruggeri. Oliver Ames will look to compete with returning All Star Mathias Taylor and impact junior Hector Bucio.
For other Div. 2 squads, Somerset Berkley has five seniors to watch, including Nate Caruso, Jacob Dorego, Myles Isidoro and Noah Lazaro. Masconomet has senior captains Sam Brockelman, Aidan Gauvain and Eoin O’Brien leading the way. For Dartmouth, senior forward Damian Anderson, senior goalkeeper Liam Fogarty and junior forward Matt Furtado will be a force in the Southeast Conference. Duxbury, with four-year starter Nolan Kirk-Elliot, Silver Lake and Walpole will also be tough outs.
Coming off their second straight Catholic Central League title, Archbishop Williams is poised to make a deep run in the Div. 3 bracket with four-year starters senior forward Adam Stelljes, senior midfielder Colby Carey and senior Costas Dhimioni controlling the tempo on offense and defense. Medway ,a 2019 state finalist, will have the tough task of returning a young roster with senior captains Liam Harrigan, Kyle Myers and junior captain Marco Perugini grooming the future in sophomore Ben Martin. Dover-Sherborn, also out of the Tri-Valley league, has juniors Harrison Smith, Kofi Poku and Cathal Keating as well as seniors Conor Keating and Dan Griffiths to aid a potentially tough out. Norton may be young, but senior captain Jack Rilli will control the center of the field to help out juniors Kyle Kofton and Cam Lerner on defense.
Also, in Div. 3., St. Mary’s of Lynn will face tougher competition with seniors Ryan Fraher and Richie LeBrun helping the Spartans on offense and defense respectively. In the Middlesex League, Watertown will be anchored by senior captains Erik Tonyan and Joey Cottone offensively. Out of the Cape Ann League, Newburyport has one of the top players in the league in captain Mac Gagnon to go along with junior captain Brady O’Donnell – both were Eastern Mass All Stars last year. Other teams to keep an eye on are Norwell, Greater New Bedford and Dover-Sherborn.
For Div. 4, Cohasset will look to be at the top of the South Shore League yet again with senior captains Lucas and Kevin Federle leading the way and Alex Norgeot taking another step forward. Sophomore Zach Smith will be a forward to watch as well. Rockland and Randolph will also provide some competition out of the South Shore League. Other teams to watch out for are Burke, Manchester Essex, West Bridgewater and Nantucket.
In Div. 5, Mystic Valley will be led by seniors Allen Bulic, Tazir Kaba and Rintaro Inomata with Josh DeSouza and Matt Nguyen chipping in as well. Boston International out of the Boston City League will have juniors Jheremy Da Silva and Marcel Angui as well as senior Marlon Perez and Rockport out of the Cape Ann League will also be teams to watch.