CVC season reboots with two divisions
Many boys soccer coaches refer to the new Colonial Valley Conference Colonial Division as “The Conference of Doom.”
That’s little consolation to the seven squads who will be playing in that division.
Four of those teams finished in The Trentonian’s Top 15. Two of them won division titles as former Patriot Division champion Allentown and runner-up West Windsor-Plainsboro North join Colonial champ Princeton and the rest of the CVC’s bigger schools.
“When I started in coaching, it was always a big deal to win the Colonial or the Valley title,” said Tigers head coach Wayne Sutcliffe, who, with 22 years under his belt, is the dean of CVC coaches. “I think the change adds a little more credibility to winning the title outright.”
Perennial favorite Princeton advanced to the NJSIAA Group IV final last season in its first year at that level, but graduated 14 players from that 17-6-1 club. No worries. The Tigers still have talent back with leadership expected from seniors like forward Sebastian Ratzan, midfielders Josh Nieman, Atticus Lynch and Grant Luther, plus backs Tommy Reid and Alec Korsah.
West Windsor-Plainsboro South also had a strong season in 2017, going 13-5-1 and advancing to its second Mercer County Tournament final in three years. Fifteen players graduated from that squad, but head coach Bryan Fisher still has a decent nucleus back to push the Pirates.
“I believe we’re going to compete,” Fisher said. “I have super senior leadership. Our young, talented guys will have to adjust to the speed of varsity.”
The midfield figures to be WW-P South’s biggest asset with seniors Ryan Grund, Elijah Moore-McGuinness, Gavin Grescek and Leor Hecht making life tough on the opposition.
Allentown also graduated 15 players from its 11-7 team of 2017, which leaves coach Andrew Plunkett’s team a little green.
Returning seniors like midfielder Connor Maher and backs Hunter Zytkowicz and James Buba, plus an up-and-coming junior class should keep the Redbirds in the thick of the new Colonial.
“We have a young crew,” Plunkett said. “Being in the Colonial Division will be a good challenge for us. This is a good year for our younger players to get some experience.”
Trenton only had 10 players graduate after an 11-6-2 finish a year ago, but with more players not returning, the Tornadoes will have some holes to fill.
For starters, the Tornadoes will be strong up the middle because of senior back Mario Palacios and senior midfielder Erick Lopez. From there, it is up to a solid junior class and newcomers to keep Trenton soccer trending upward.
“Mario and Erick need to stay positive and lead by example,” third-year head coach Joe Fink said. “They’ll have to wear a lot of hats for us.”
Hightstown, WW-P North and Notre Dame won nine, eight and seven games, respectively, last season, so even with the bigger division, their goal to improve has not changed.
“With the personnel we have, we’re going to play a similar style (to 2017) and see how we do,” said Rams’ thirdyear head coach George Wolkiewicz said, whose team gets a tough early jump when it hosts Middletown North Sept. 4, then plays at Allentown Sept. 6 and at Princeton Day School Sept. 8.
Hightstown has six returning seniors hoping to help the team to the next level. While Daniel Tobito runs up front, his classmates Ian Lumkong, John Chuqui, Kenny Castillo and Nathan Diller will try to keep the backline stingy as senior Liam Connolly and junior Jacob Forst handle the net.
“We have a strong senior class that’s 12 deep,” said Northern Knights’ 19th-year head coach Trevor Warner, whose team will have a challenge right off the bat as Hopewell Valley visits Sept. 6. “We’ll have to blend our new guys in.”
With seven returnees among that 12-member senior class, WW-P North will be best equipped for the rigors of the Colonial Division. In the midfield, the Knights will have seniors Alex Quezada, Liam Stern and Rohan Joseph, while Brendan Kerins and Anuj Dutta patrol the net as classmates Nicholas Pugliese and Evan Robinson tighten the backline. “We have a nice, hardworking group,” said the league’s newest head coach, Notre Dame’s Rich Leedom, who is in his second year at the helm, yet in his 32nd with the program. “We have a decent back four and midfield, plus we have speed, so I think we can be pretty good.”
The Irish have a solid senior class, including eight returning players who want to get off to a better start than last season’s 1-5-1 opening. Upperclassmen like Kyle Dixon and Gabe Fajardo (forwards/midfielders), Brendan Rath (forward), Alex Balsamo (midfield), Sam Griffis (midfield/back), Chad Nelson, Justin Yu and Patrick DePasquale (backs) figure to play key roles to help ND survive in “The Conference of Doom.”