Bay sophomore Jack Creech (8), shown here last Saturday against Columbus St. Francis DeSales, will be a big part of a senior-oriented Rockets squad in 2010. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Boys hit the pitch as season opens
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published Sept. 1, 2010

Last season was a memorable one for high school boys soccer in the Westshore area.

Don’t look now, but the 2010 season could prove to be even better.

The Bay Rockets etched out another chapter in their program’s storied history, advancing all the way to the Division II state championship match against Columbus St. Francis DeSales. They did that despite losing the West Shore Conference title to Avon at the end of the regular season.

And no, the Rockets haven’t forgotten. More on that in a minute.

Westlake and North Olmsted had banner seasons, tying for the Southwestern Conference crown and meeting up again in the Division I district championship match. The Eagles got the better of the Demons in that meeting and advanced to the regional semifinals.

With the 2010 season underway, many of the area’s teams are looking for more of the same.

Bay got off to a 1-0-2 start last week in one of the most grueling first weeks a team could possibly have. The Rockets tied east side powerhouse Chagrin Falls, 1-1, then came back two nights later and claimed a 1-0 decision at St. Edward. Last Saturday night, Bay hosted DeSales in a rematch and rallied in the second half for a 2-2 tie.

As tough as that schedule was, Rockets head coach Bob Dougherty and his team have one match in mind: the upcoming replay with Avon.

“Avon is definitely the big game for us,” Dougherty admitted prior to his team’s match with DeSales. “They beat us in our own house (2-1), and were the only WSC team to score on us last year. So yes, we’re definitely looking forward to playing them again.”

Dougherty, beginning his 12th season as the team’s head coach, will have plenty of ammunition at his disposal with 14 seniors and seven returning starters. Most of them have been playing at the varsity level for three seasons, giving the Rockets one of the most experienced teams in the Greater Cleveland area.

Senior starters returning include defender Tony Passalacqua, defender/midfielder Connor Outcalt, midfielder Eric Linhart, forward Alec Petro, forward Jackson Heller and forward/midfielder Connor Spies, who was promoted to the varsity around the midseason mark last year.

Also back is one of the team’s top underclassmen, sophomore Jack Creech, who started in 10 matches last year. And a pair of sophomores, Matt Toth and Koray Sayir, will battle it out to see who replaces Nate McDonald at keeper.

“It’s difficult to replace guys like Shane Williams and Nate McDonald,” Dougherty admitted. “But we’ve managed to do it here every year. The players’ roles may change a little bit, but we’ve always had people step up and get the job done.

“Being a senior-oriented team, the guys are adjusting to having more of a leadership role,” he said. “They’re figuring that out as we go along. It’s more of a mental thing, really, trying to learn the right approach to take.

“On paper, we have a wonderful team. But we still have to keep going out there and continue to jell early on,” Dougherty added.

North Olmsted senior Luke Hatfield controls the ball with a header last Wednesday in the Eagles’ 3-0 win over Olmsted Falls. The team is expected to contend for the Southwestern Conference title, which it shared last year with Westlake. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Aside from the obvious challenge from Avon, the two other teams looking to get into the title chase in the WSC are Fairview and Rocky River. The Warriors and Pirates tied for third in the league last year at 4-3 and both have key players returning this fall.

Fairview graduated 11 players, but still has a strong core returning, according to fifth-year head coach Dave Snow. Back for the Warriors are senior Robby Miller, senior keeper Austin Zavodny and juniors Chris Gillmore, James Roland and Adrian Bendo. Bendo scored 10 goals last year, and Zavodny allowed 1.58 goals per match.

“We lost about 75 percent of our scoring from last year,” said Snow, whose team went 10-7-2 overall in 2009. “And we only have three seniors, so we’re looking for our underclassmen to step up to the plate for us.

“I’d like to think were going to play at a decent level and jell as the season goes on,” Snow said. “We’re looking to be competitive every time out.” Junior Colin Schmitz is one of the underclassmen in the mix, as well as sophomores Blake Beard, Kyle Starks, Mike Wilkinson and David Salamon.

At River, graduation took its toll as well as eight seniors graduated and took with them 17 of the team’s 28 goals scored. Still, head coach Kevin Zerby feels his Pirates have what it takes to make a splash in 2010.

“I’m excited about what this bunch of guys can do,” Zerby said. “We have a lot of talented and skilled players who are ready to prove that last year’s run to the district finals wasn’t a fluke.

“Our goals are to challenge for the WSC title and do what no other River team has ever done before: win the district title. If we can come together as a team, I think we can have a special season,” Zerby said.

Returning for the Pirates is senior keeper and co-captain Ian Taylor, who recorded 123 saves last year and had a goals against average of 1.40. Also back is senior outside back and co-captain Kegan Sill, as well as fellow seniors Zack Hutton (midfielder, co-captain) and Matt Garibaldi (forward), who led the team in scoring last year with seven goals.

In the SWC, North Olmsted is coming off one of its best seasons where the Eagles went 16-2-3 overall. Veteran coach Chris Marsh begins his 18th season with the team and 32nd year overall. A 3-0 win over Olmsted Falls last week left him just five wins shy of 400 career victories.

Marsh said pay-to-play has made a considerable dent in the program, but that his team has plenty of firepower remaining to make another run.

“We had 11 players not come out this year, including three starters,” Marsh said. “On top of that, we graduated 12 seniors. That was one of the largest senior classes we’ve had here.

“But the kids have been fantastic trying to raise money,” Marsh said. “We got the fee down to around $200 per player ($725 is the fee for varsity soccer), and we got big donations from the NOSO Cup and Poppee’s Popcorn that were a huge help.”

The team returns senior tri-captains Josh Sandoval, Nolan Escher and Mike Warns. Sandoval was an All-Ohio selection last year and scored 24 goals, while Escher had 11 shutouts in goal. Also back is senior Nick Stone-Weiss, who scored 10 goals last year.

Seniors defender Brett Croston returns as well. Looking to contribute this season are senior midfielder Luke Hatfield, junior midfielder Jake Szeltner and sophomore forward Dave Ball.

“There’s plenty of room for the new players to step up and earn playing time,” Marsh said. “If we can keep the ball out of the net, we should be able to score some goals. We’ve got the guys on this team who can finish.”

Westlake head coach Mike Besu begins his 23rd season in charge of the Demons, who went 11-4-3 last year. His team won the SWC outright in 2008, so he’s got a strong group of seniors who are two-time league champions.

“We’ve had some injuries early, so we’ve had to make some changes,” Besu said last weekend after his team’s 3-0 road win at Mentor. One huge loss will be that of senior Stephen James, who tore his ACL and will miss the entire season.

But there are seven more seniors who will be looking to make it an SWC trifecta in 2010. That group includes Paul Apel, Dane Rinko, Matt Ritz, Tim Andrews, Cole Konrad, Alex Charnosky and Nick Perry. Also returning is junior keeper Alex Ferrell, who earned the job last year but was lost with a broken arm after the district semifinal match with Berea.

“We made some changes after the Amherst game (1-1 tie), so right now we’re working on getting the right chemistry going,” Besu said. “We’ve got players on this team who have played since their freshman year, so they know what that’s all about.

“In the SWC, there are about three or four teams that can win it this year. We’re ready to compete with them and defend our championship,” he added.

Olmsted Falls is looking for continued improvement after last year’s 6-8-3 campaign and a 1-6-1 mark in the league. Head coach James Walchanowicz begins his fourth season with the Bulldogs and 15th overall.

“We’re going to have a very young team this year,” Walchanowicz said. “But we’ve told ourselves this is not going to be a rebuilding year, and the team has high expectations. We need to stay healthy, and we’re trying to hang our hat on playing good defense as a team this year.”

Two of the Bulldogs’ top players are junior Taylor Lockhart and sophomore Jake Samsel, the team’s keepers. On the back line, Falls has freshman Eric Skutt, juniors Ryan Hanks, Kyle Barber and Tim McClaren, and senior Mike Coury.

Midfield is the deep part of the roster for Falls with six to seven core players. That list includes senior Zach Schultz, junior Brian Bildstein and sophomore Brad Sommer as well as senior Jim Coury, sophomore James Bildstein and freshmen Logan Johnston and Mike Payne. Up front, seniors Max Norman and Mark Zapotosky, along with junior Dino Alai and sophomore Jon Levin, will look to push the ball forward, according to Walchanowicz.

Lutheran West will look to improve as well after going 2-13-2 overall and 2-4-1 in the Patriot Athletic Conference last year.

Third-year head coach Josh Huebler returns eight lettermen, including seniors Lee Magistri (forward/midfielder) and Kyle Bailey (defender/keeper). Also back are juniors Ricky Downer, Daniel Hessler and keeper Gavin MacDonald, who had 84 saves last year. Magistri had six goals and three assists last year, while Downer chipped in with four goals and one assist.