Arundel, Annapolis, Meade, Severna Park return top talent

The Anne Arundel County boys soccer season this spring will not be the usual marathon across three-plus months. Instead, the county’s 13 public school programs will have about four weeks to shine in a full-out sprint to the finish that won’t include any postseason accolades.

The dramatic shift has put many players and coaches in a conundrum. How do you weigh the importance of celebrating seniors, winning games and just trying to have fun while competing amid a pandemic?

Teams have not been practicing daily, as the extended preseason shifted teams to practice three times per week rather than the usual five or six. And for many student-athletes, playing just five or six games was simply not worth it.South River second-year coach Marlyn Argueta has seen the effects of it all, saying all the changes and the pandemic has made a “big impact.”

“Meeting a couple times a week versus everyday definitely makes practices flow differently. Players take longer to get used to and learn from each other. My participation numbers decreased significantly,” he said. “This is the first year in over eight years as a coach that I did not even have enough players to conduct real cuts or tryouts because of numbers. I had many players opt-out because of COVID and also had many seniors just not return because it’s not a real season.”

Argueta and South River are not alone. At Southern, secondyear coach Seth Brannon said his varsity team has just 14 players, seven fewer than last year, while Old Mill first-year coach Bob Thomas also had low turnout at tryouts.

“We expect our numbers to rise next fall once the COVID restrictions are lifted,” Thomas said. “The lack of numbers is due to safety concerns, but our program has taken the best safety precautions to ensure our players stay safe.”

Meade coach Rob Biondolillo said the pandemic “has been a limit on new players” but stressed it has little impact on those already playing. And on the field, the Mustangs have high hopes.

First team All-County senior forward Caleb Pritchett is expected to among the top players in the county as he is coming off a 2019 season in which he transitioned from defense to forward and totaled eight assists and 18 goals, including a school record 15 in the regular season. The

Mustangs, who lost the county championship game to Annapolis, return six starters, including senior forward Caleb Marcheny and senior center-back Julian Olivarez.

Arundel is a popular pick among the coaches to be near the top of the standings. The Wildcats took a big leap in reaching the Class 4A state semifinals in 2019 and return five starters, headlined by senior midfielder Aidan Koch.

While Annapolis saw its participation drop, the Panthers are still expected to be a dangerous team with six starters back. They return one of the best players in the league in senior midfielder/ forward Anderson Irarte-Herrera, who broke out in his first year playing high school soccer in 2019 by netting 13 goals to go with 13 assists. The first team All-County pick also scored the game-winning goal in double overtime in the county championship game against Meade.

Severna Park has 22 players back on the varsity roster and a massive senior class, making the Falcons arguably the deepest squad in the county.

Meanwhile, Old Mill, which won 11 games in 2019, is looking to make some noise with a new coach. Senior forward/midfielder Zack Harpel is on the shortlist of best players in the league, according to county coaches, while junior goalkeeper Skylar McCarthy will be hard to score on.

While Broadneck may have finished lower in the standings than usual with a 9-7 mark in 2019, coach Sean Tettemer returns three four-year varsity players in midfielder Brandon Morse, defender Zach Fletcher, and forward Sean Mangan to pair with transfers Jake and Charlie Meehan.

Junior defensive center-midfielder Daevon Lionel, a first team All-County pick, and teammate forward Blake Hoskins will keep North County in the mix. Lionel started every game and had five goals and five assists for a 2019 Knights team that battled a slew of injuries, and coach Shawn Behegan expects Hoskins to be a top goal scorer in the county.

Southern has some top talent as well in senior forward Ellis Amo, a three-year varsity player who led the Bulldogs in scoring in their last season. Amo’s brother, Elijah, was recently selected by Real Salt Lake in the MLS SuperDraft.

The boys soccer season will begin Tuesday, March 23 with the final game scheduled for April 15. All games will be played on Tuesdays and Thursdays at either 5 or 7 p.m. with girls varsity alternating start times. For the shortened season, no county championship or state playoffs will be taking place.

Here is what to expect from each local program:

ANNAPOLIS

2019 record: champions

Coach: Jake Shinn, third season

Top players: Seniors Anderson Irarte-Herrera (F/M), Christian Teague (D), Sean Johanson (M), Modou Sarr (D), Anthony Valasquez (D) and Connor Walter (M/GK).

11-2 overall, county

ARUNDEL

2019 record: 14-3-1, 4A East region I champions, state semifinalists Coach: Mike McCarron, 10th season Top players: Seniors Jack Hartford (D), Andrew Versis (D), Todd Price (M), Mike Magorka (F) and Aidan Koch (M); junior Tyler LeGrand (D); sophomore Evan Koch (M).

BROADNECK

2019 record: 9-7

Coach: Sean Tettemer, 19th season Top players: Seniors Brandon Morse (M), Zach Fletcher (D), Sean Mangan (F) and Brady Coogan (M); junior Zach Tettemer (D).

CHESAPEAKE

2019 record: 7-6-1

Coach: Drew Belcher, fourth season Top players: Seniors Christian Angel (F) and Sammy Adams (M).

CHESAPEAKE SCIENCE POINT

2019 record: 2-12

Coach: Arif Albayrak, fifth season Top players: Seniors Nahuel Albayrak (F/M) and Sabestian Navarette (M).

GLEN BURNIE

2019 record: 7-8

Coach: Donald Gibson, second season

Top players: Seniors Gusatvo Wong-Silva (M), Justin Gilbert (M/F), Declan Levery (D), Tito Tamayo (M) and Ethan Stearns (D); junior Brendan Orlove (M/F).

MEADE

2019 record: 9-6-1

Coach: Rob Biondolillo, 12th season Top players: Seniors Caleb Pritchett (F), Caleb Marcheny (F), Miguel Villacorta (M), Julian Olivarez (D) and Jose Barrios (D).

NORTH COUNTY

2019 record: 2-12-1

Coach: Shawn Behegan, fifth season Top players: Seniors Jimmy Flanagan (F) and Brian Perdomo (D); juniors Blake Hoskins (F), Deavon Lionel (M/D), Chris Torres (D) and Connor Lyons (M/F); sophomore Jackson Behegan (D/M).

NORTHEAST

2019 record: 3-10-1

Coach: Cliff Buck, third season Top players: Seniors Brandon Wingfield (F), Jacob Bartlett (D) and Jason Meckley (GK); juniors Kaden Koester (F) and Leyton Calzado (M); sophomore Tanner Calzado (M),

OLD MILL

2019 record: 11-4-1

Coach: Bob Thomas, first season Top players: Seniors Zack Harpel (F/M), Jacob Green (M), Joe Chinchilla (D) and Bryce Blatzheim (M); juniors Skyler McCarthy (GK) and Xavier Lewis (D); sophomore Jose Guzman (M).

SEVERNA PARK

2019 record: 9-2-3

Coach: Ryan Parisi, ninth season Top players: Seniors Benjamin McLay (GK), Graham Snyder (D), Jack Muldoon (D), Daniel Key (D), Owen Barrett (M), Jay Pierce (F), Bennett Jefferds (M), Zachary Plummer (M), Michael O’Callaghan (D) and Brendan Fisher (D).

SOUTH RIVER

2019 record: 6-9

Coach: Marlyn Argueta, second season

Top players: Seniors Brien Hill (M/F), Josh Griffin (M) and Jay Jenkins (GK); junior Christian Gionis (M).

SOUTHERN

2019 record: 4-9-2

Coach: Seth Brannon, second season

Top players: Seniors Ellis Amo (F), Gavin Kinch (M) and Matthew Raymond (GK); junior Jonas Dzambo (M); sophomore Wade Kauffmann (M).