Patch Soccer Preview: New London Faces Challenges

The fall of 2010 was a once-in-a-generation if not a once-in-a-lifetime season for the Montville High boys' soccer team.

The Indians shared the Class M state title with Bethel after a 1-1 overtime tie in the final for the school's first soccer title and just the Eastern Connecticut Conference's third ever. A program-best 18-4-1 record, No. 1 state ranking among medium-small schools, the distinction of having star senior Tyler Leeman lead the state in scoring (38 goals) earn Gatorade Player of the Year honors. Can life ever be that good again for Montville soccer?

Well, even though Leeman and several other key players graduated, including All-Area goalkeeper Zac Johnson, Montville may not be finished making news in 2011. The Leeman Era is not entirely over either as junior midfielder Connor Leeman returns after an All-State sophomore year.

Leeman, a solid nucleus of starters and plentiful talent coming up from the productive Montville youth program make Montville one of the top local teams in the Patch southeastern Connecticut area. Waterford, winners of the first-ever ECC Tournament last year, and Stonington, paced by the area's top two returning goal scorers, head the ECC girls' circuit.

Here is a preview of each team in our Patch region.

BOYS SOCCER

Fitch

Jason Wolfradt posted a 2-13-1 record in his first year as Fitch coach, experiencing the goal-scoring drought that has haunted Falcon soccer in recent seasons. Fitch tallied just 17 goals in 16 games, which is you do the math requires the defense to produce a shutout for Fitch to win a game.

One positive, however, is the return of top scorers: senior midfielder Jon Mewha (2 goals) and sophomore MF Frank Norosky (4). They along with senior forward Doug Singer and promising newcomers hope to give Fitch its most explosive scoring attack in over a decade and make life easier for returning goalkeeper Tulsa Scott.

An influx of new talent hopes to change Fitch's fortunes in the ECC Large, where the Falcons were 0-9-1 last year. Life won't get any easier as Bacon, usually a stronger program, replaces Ledyard in the division, making Fitch an underdog in every game.

Among the new talent, Tyler Urena, freshmen Christian Guerra and Christian Poling will play forward, and junior Mason Cummings and Martin Alfaro join Mewha and Narosky at midfield. Juniors Drew Denno and Eric Powers are expected to contribute defensively joining returning back Andrew Perez and new stopper Shawn Burns.

Wolfradt is convinced the team's work ethic has improved.

"The players have bought into the program, both during the off-season conditioning and now during regular training," he said. "Many of these guys were able to see varsity action last year as freshmen and sophomores. They shouldn’t be surprised by the speed of the varsity game this year. We're more fit than last year."

Montville

Coach Colin Delaney acknowledges the state title year as the pinnacle of his eight-year tenure, but this is far from a rebuilding season as Montville looks to contend for the ECC Medium and Class M crowns.

The 6-foot-3 Leeman ranks as one of the state's best after a 12-goal, 20-assist season as a sophomore midfielder. Senior forward Richard Lusk, senior defenders Zach Foley and Jake Piersa, an All-ECC pick, and junior midfielder Jeff Tryon started during last year's title run.

Junior Jacob Sorensen will take over for Robinson at goalkeeper. Sean Rahosen, Nick Longo, Gabe Diaz, Nick Strecker, Colin Mansel, Matt Cicchese and Nick Namin will look for more playing time.

Backs Andrew Fratoni, Jack Greenwood and McKenzie Mahn and midfielders Paul Hanrahan and Robin Rudolph join the varsity.

"We have a very focused group," Delaney said. "We have good team chemistry and a solid work ethic. It's never easy to lose six quality seniors, but we have six or seven regulars back and look to make a run in the ECC and state tournament."

Montville won't miss Bacon, divisional co-champs with the Indians, moving to the Large Division, but will face a tough foe in Lyman, moving up to the Medium from the Small.

Waterford

Former coach Gregg Swanson accepted a position at after 11 years as Lancer coach, essentially swapping offices with Joe Mendonca, Jr., who becomes WHS boys coach after assisting the Conn women's program.

Mendonca, the former Stonington All-Stater, features an impressive resume of college experience, including an assistant coaching hitch with Division I Sacred Heart women's soccer. His father coaches Wheeler's boys' team. There's no truth to rumor that Joe Jr., has been thrown out of the Portuguese Club in Stonington Boro after taking the job at Waterford, always a bitter sports rival of Stonington.

"Being from Stonington, I never envisioned my name along side Waterford soccer, but I know Gregg and Rob Brule very well, and they leaned on me to take over here when Gregg took the Conn College job," Mendonca said.

He comes into a decent situation even Waterford lost eight senior starters from last season's 10-6-2 team that reached the Class M state tournament second round. Don't feel too badly for the Lancers, because Class M All-State forward Marco Roberto is not one of the graduation losses.

Roberto, a senior, looks to challenge for the area scoring lead after notching 15 goals last year. Other key returnees include senior midfielder-back Khaliyl Holland, sophomore forward Aaron Schwartz and junior midfielder Joe Castelpoggi.

"Marco is a special little player who is very good with the ball, can take players on and beat them with technique and creativity," Mendonca said. "Aaron is also a very technical player. Overall we are young, but with two potential goal scorers and others who can attack offensively, we have potential to have a good season."

Junior Mike Spanos adds a physical presence to the backline which includes Schneider Jean-Pierre and Dan Getty. Juniors Ian Styger and Brett Pias will play midfield, and freshmen Kevin Zeppieri and Max Wolfley will also make contributions. Junior Elliott Diana, who exhibits foot skills of a midfielder, will step in as goalkeeper.

Waterford will play home games at Spera Field as the high school continues renovation.

Stonington

Despite milling around the .500 mark and allowing more goals than it scored, Stonington (8-9-1) reached the second round of the Class M state tournament before running into co-champ Montville.

Fourth-year coach Paul deCastro hopes to keep his post-season qualifying perfect this year but with about a week left to practice before the regular season opener Sept. 13 against Lyman, he's still undecided on a starting lineup.

It's not from a lack of bodies. The Bears feature a roster of 18 juniors or seniors. They will mix in some promising freshman, creating an interesting mix for deCastro.

"We will have a large varsity roster," deCastro said. "Players will have to earn their time in practice and when they get their chance in games.  We had a [preseason] friendly today with Waterford and Wheeler and it was very difficult to come up with a starting lineup."

The Bears lost several starters from last year, including goalkeeper Cody Candelet and midfielder Tim Riordan (10 assists) to graduation and other key players who did not return. Few players return with any varsity goal scoring on their resume.

Senior Joe Powers is back at goalkeeper but must stem off competition from sophomore Steven Zelopos to remain a starter. some to graduation and some to various reasons. Dan Riordan returns as a defender and may step into the midfield as a junior. Matt Smith, Casey Sartor, Aaron Williams and Chris Chapman are in the mix for starting positions.

deCastro said Kyle Gillick, Nick Herrman, Mitchell Kezer, Tony Gallichio, Ryan Lee, Alex Schroder, and Eddie Bockowski will be fighting for the four midfield positions.  "We need a few players in this group to really step up during the season," he said.

Gabe Miller, Tyler Krzyzaniak, Pat DiCesare, Jerimy Taylor, Zac Goldberg and Gustaf Jungnelius head the forward candidates. "Miller just started practicing with the team and has the potential to be our leading scorer," the coach said.

deCastro would not be surprised if a freshman or two pushes for varsity time.

"Jake DeLapp, Ian Kilcoyne, Collin Krzyzaniak, Jack Riordan, and Collin McColl have all looked good in practice," he said.

Stonington won't miss Bacon Academy, which moves up to the ECC Large, making room for Ledyard in the Medium. However, defending state champ Montville remains, and the Medium welcomes ECC Small power Lyman as well.

Ledyard

Ninth-year coach Bill Glenney thinks this should be the year Ledyard soccer takes a major step forward. Since winning the Class L title in 2001, Ledyard (3-11-2 last year) has missed the post-season more often than making it.

Nine returning starters and a strong junior class boosts Glenney's optimism. Goalie Jason Smith posted impressive games last year. Other returning junior starters include forwards Anthony Saccone, Ben Bruciati and Steve Servedio and midfielders Michael Hughes and Christof Weigel. Servedio will move to sweeper to stabilize the back.

Senior midfielder Zach Ash, James Cusmano, senior forward Gabe May bring the most experience along with stopper Conor Masie and back Zach Higgins. The key for Ledyard will be to generate an offensive attack that produces goals and lifts the Colonels out of the rut of 1-0 games that plaqued them last year.

"We don't have that one go-to scorer but have a number of players who can contribute often," Glenney said. "If Zach Higgins and Gabe May can find that scoring touch up front we could be a dangerous team. There are lots of things still left to answer though."

Glenney likes his defense.

"Our defense should be solid as I have six or seven players working towards a starting spot and all are capable," he said. "Jason is back for his third year in goal and is solid. Conor returns at stopper and is strong in the air while our midfield might be one of the strongest in the conference."

Glenney is enthusiastic about Ledyard's new placement in the ECC Medium. The Colonels won't miss the annual two-game uphill battles against Large foes such as NFA, Woodstock, East Lyme and Waterford that more often than not resulting in 1-7 or 0-8 marks. Ledyard should be much more competitive against the likes of Stonington, Lyman, New London and Windham.

St. Bernard

The Saints struggled through an uncharacteristic 4-11-1 season under eighth-year coach Zoltan Nagy.

Up front, senior Robert Daly, sophomore Anthony Malchiodi and junior Juan Zuluaga-Romero lead the way. Senior Jeff Merino and sophomore Peter Stanner return as midfielders as do senior Kyle Vallieres and junior John Amarello as backs. Junior Kevin Kersy returns as goalkeeper.

New London

The Whalers hope the prospect of playing on Cannamella Field's synthetic field turf gives a boost to a struggling program. New London was 1-14-1 last year under third-year coach Chris Vamvakides.

Seniors Romer Ochoa (goalkeeper) and Pat Hanrahan (midfielder) give New London experience. Sophomores Carlos Mejia and Christian Mora show promise at forward. Senior D'Andre Jackson anchors the back line of defense.

GIRLS SOCCER

Fitch

Amanda Clarke returns for her senior season as a three-time starting midfielder, but she's not the only Clarke creating a buzz around Fitch High girls' soccer practices.

Aly Clarke, Amanda's freshman sister, enters Fitch clearly as the most talented 9th grader in school history. Clarke became one of the few area players to make an Olympic Developmental Program Northeast Region Team last year as a Cutler Middle School eighth grader. She'll start at forward, looking to jump-start a Fitch offense that tallied just 20 goals last year during a 5-10-1 season.

"I'm used to high-intensity practices, so it hasn't been a huge adjustment to high school play," Aly said. "I'm enjoying it because I know the girls and am having fun, as opposed to the high pressure of ODP."

Clarke hopes to score around 10-15 goals, teaming up front with senior Brooke Startz.  Amanda Clarke plays center midfield, joining Allie Herod, Beth Wallace and Holly Zeppieri. Christina Szeczesny, Chloe Taylor, Bridget Thomson and Carolina Entwistle comprise the backfield in front of keeper Nicole Sexton.

Fitch will need to elevate its play in the ECC Large with the addition of Bacon to a strong circuit.

"Fitch is always the underdog, but we're looking to be very competitive," Amanda Clarke said. "Aly is going to make a difference right away. She knows what she's doing and is easy to play with."

Fitch hosts Stonington Tuesday at 3:45.

Waterford

It was a sweet season - 17-3 record, 12th ECC Division title in 13 years - for the Waterford High girls' soccer team. Only the ending was sour.

"The goal for our program is to win the ECC Large, win the ECC Tournament and win five games in November (postseason)," coach Rob Brule said. "Senior leadership, finding vocal leaders on the field and improving our work-rate will be the key for us to compete for the ECC Championship."

Last year, Waterford accomplished two-thirds of its goals, winning its 12th division and the inaugural ECC Tournament. After a 7-0 first-round win, the Lancers suffered an upset state loss to Granby in the Class M second round.

As usual, Waterford graduated a lot of talent, including two-time All New England pick Julie Lavoie and two-time All-State goalie Emily Diana among eight seniors. And as usual, plenty of talent returns this year thanks to Brule's coaching style and the town's prosperous youth feeder system.

A trio of varsity newcomers, Hannah Scahill, Genaya Loftis and Summer Wyatt will try to ease the loss of Lavoie, who tallied 40 goals in the last two seasons.

"Replacing Lavoie will have to be by committee," Brule said. "You can't replace a kid that explosive and not feel the loss. However, with the addition of Scahill, Loftis and Wyatt up front, we may be deeper at that position than in years past."

They will receive help from an offensive-minded midfield led by seniors Olivia Mallari, Jaclyn Greenman and sophomore Cayla Cecchini. Midfield is an area of strength with junior Emily Skinner and sophomore Melina Spanos also returning, and talented freshman Sally Scarpa incoming. Ari Athenian and Amanda Lorentzen add experience in the defensive backfield.

One of the keys will be how well junior Julia Zawacki, and, or senior Christina Benak step up and provide championship-level goalkeeping.

"That will be one area of unknown," Brule said. "They will share time in goal until there is a clear number one."

Waterford is undertaking a rigorous preseason scrimmage schedule: Newtown, E.O. Smith, Guilford, Foran, Darien, to prep for a beefed-up ECC Large (Bacon in, Ledyard out). The Lancers also welcome the addition of former Lancer All-America and current pro Katie Schoepfer as an assistant coach.

"By November, her fingerprints will be on our style of play," Brule said.

Stonington

Coach Dave Walsh won't have to look too far to find offense in his 17th year at the Bears' helm.

Stonington expected to return two of the area's top scorers in senior Kelsey Thomas, a three-time All-Stater who scored 22 goals last year, and junior Danielle Jacobs, who cashed in 18 times for goals. It's a 1-2 punch similiar to Walsh's best teams ever midway through the 2000s when All-State picks Lindsay Trubia and Kellie Warner each scored 20 plus in a season.

But the curse of girls' soccer, the torn ACL knee injury, hit Stonington again. Trubia missed the senior year of her brilliant career with an ACL injury during a pickup game. This summer, Jacobs tore his ACL in a premier league game and will miss the season.

"We've had our share of ACL tears and Danielle will be tough to replace," said Jacobs. "It will be difficult to replace Danielle, and we're going to do it with a lot of young players. But they are very talented. Once the young players gain game maturity -adjusting from playing age specific premier teams to conquering the intimidation factor of playing 17 to 18-year-olds - we're going to be very strong."

Stonington posted a 12-6-1 record last year, falling in disappointing fashion in the state tourney opener after a strong ECC Tournament showing, beating Woodstock and losing in OT to eventual champ Waterford in the semis.

"We're looking to go farther this year," Walsh said. "We've got eight returnees, plus the young corps which played on an excellent Stonington U-14 team. We have great team speed."

Junior Sophie Moore (5 goals last year) can make teams pay for focusing on Thomas, the center midfielder. Sophomore Amanda Thomas and freshmen Gabby Sylvia and Madeline Ferreira will play up front. Seniors Lauren Valenti and Elizabeth Hobalca return to midfield with varsity experience as well. Freshmen Allie Cohen and Caitlin Whipple will also play there.

In the defensive back, Maddie Kornacki, Kate Edelman, Uma Mistry, Molly Kamm, Emily Prue and Quinn Slocum will play in front of freshman goalkeeper Gabi Hoops.

Ledyard

A young Ledyard squad rode high with a 7-3-1 record heading into last season's stretch run. An upset 1-0 loss to Fitch on Senior Night sent the Colonels into a tailspin, ending the year with five losses.

Luckily for Ledyard, only three seniors graduated. A solid group of athletes return for coach Clive Prior, who is looking to guide the Colonels into their third straight state tournament, this year with a high seed.

"Moving from the ECC Large to Medium, we look to make a bid for a divisional title and ECC Tournament berth," Prior said.

Ledyard features the ECC's fastest team with two members of outdoor track's 4x100 relay team: senior back Emily Loy and senior forward Kaylyn Bruciati among a strong senior class. Bruciati joins  Genaya Loftis, Olivia Delgrosso and Savannah Johnson at forward.

Senior K.C. Wilson, junior Michaela Holland and Kayla Fowler bolster the midfield. Loy, Addy Jakuba, Megan Comstock and freshman Carly Loy form the back line of defense in front of returning goalie, senior Colleen Rusk.

New London

Talk about rebuilding projects. New London is coming off 0-14-1 and 1-14 seasons. And now the Whalers head into 2011 off the graduation of all-time leading scorer Chanel Johnson, a four-time All-State pick now playing at the University of Hartford.

Montville

The Indians lost one of the top scorers in school history when Courtney Stefano (12 goals, 4 assists) graduated from last year's 8-7-1 team. But coach Allison Delaney expects to have a more balanced scoring attack in 2011.

Senior striker Stephanie Giuletti (4 goals, 3 assists), senior midfielder Jennifer McNamara (4 goals, 4 assists) and senior midfielder Allison Occhialini (3 goals) share goal-scoring experience and will look to expand their roles.

Midfielder Paige Skinner and Abby McAdams, striker Jessica Fortenberry and Lauren Hess and defenders Rachael Orbe, Abagail Krucek and Jessica Tryon also return. Meghan Autencio is back after sharing time at goalkeeper last year.

Delaney also welcomes a large class of freshmen, some of whom may land varsity playing time, including backs Stefanie Szot and Hanna Marchini.

"We are in a state of rebuilding," Delaney said. "We are hoping to stay competitive in the difficult Medium Division, gain experience and qualify for the state tournament."