Breaking down the 2022 high school boys soccer season for SouthCoast's nine teams
There's a combination of experience and youth among SouthCoast's boys soccer teams this fall.
Here's a look at the area's nine teams heading into 2022:
APPONEQUET
Head coach: Tom Couet
Last year's record: 0-16-1
Top returners: Brian Penney, Sr., F; Dylan Barreira, Sr., MF; Justin Tavares, Sr., D; Alex El Ghadi, Sr., D; Josh Keller, Sr., D; Brian Emerson, Sr., G.
Key newcomers: Rowan Jensen, Fr., F.
Outlook: After a winless season a year ago, the Lakers are continuing to build back up their program. “We have a good young group,” said Couet. “We’ve got good numbers in the sophomore and freshman classes. We’re trying to rebuild.”
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BISHOP STANG
Head coach: Nate Greene
Last year's record: 13-7-0
Top returners: Carter Dennis, Sr., F; Nico Ferreira, Sr. F; Mason DeAlmeida, Sr., FB; John Brum, Sr., F; Chris Pacheco, Sr. G; Josh Roderiques, Jr., NF.
Key newcomers: Spencer Menard, Jr., MF; Marco DaCosta, Fr., MF; Dino Psichopaidas, Fr., MF.
Outlook: The Spartans have 12 experienced players back from last season, including eight starters. They have dangerous forwards who can score and will look to control the ball and put constant pressure on opposing defenses. With a good number of players back for their fourth varsity seasons, the Spartans have the potential to improve on last year's winning record. Greene is eager to get the season going with a team he feels is the best he's had in his five years at the helm.
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DARTMOUTH
Head coach: Josh Silva
Last year's record: 7-9-2
Top returners: Corey Melo, Sr. FB; Jonah Correia, Sr., FB; Matt Furtado, Sr., F; Avery Reid, Sr., MF; Nolan Dennehy, Sr., FB; Civen Shrestha, Sr., MF; Lucas Martinez, Jr., MF; Owen Carter, Jr. MF; Nicholas Silvia, So., MF; Niall Fogarty, So., MF/FB.
Key newcomer: Andrew Sousa, Jr., F.
Outlook: Dartmouth returns 10 experienced players from last season, including eight starters. It will be important for the team to take things one game at a time and continue to learn how to win together. There may be some early-season hiccups, but Silva has some talent to work with on both sides of the ball. Only seven freshmen tried out for the team and Sousa is a new face who will be in the mix for playing time as a striker on offense.
FAIRHAVEN
Head coach: Paul Fernandes
Last year's record: N/A
Top returners: Tyler Chang, Sr., MF; Jack Cunha, Sr. FB; Lucas Fernandes, Jr., MF; Keathen Garcia, Jr., MF; Aiden Pacheco, Jr., MF; Sammy Simoes, So., G.
Key newcomers: None
Outlook: The Blue Devils will be a fairly well-rounded team, but they have some areas that will need some shoring up as the season progresses. The team will be offensive-minded in the early going while Simoes gets settled in as a second-year starter in net.
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GNB VOC-TECH
Head coach: Henry Almeida
Last year's record: 14-5-2
Top returners: Nate Cordeiro, Sr., CM; Jose “JJ” Quinones, Sr., F; Sebastian Araujo, Sr., MF; Andrew Soares, Sr., F.
Key newcomers: Diego Silva, Sr., MF; Ethan Macedo, Sr., D; Adriel Moreno, Sr., G.
Outlook: Even though the Bears graduated several players from last year’s team that reached the Div. 3 Elite 8, they should once again be strong with 16 seniors on the roster. “We’re certainly going to be competitive and we’ll contend for the conference,” said Almeida. “Having that many seniors and having experience and size, we’ll be in the running.”
NEW BEDFORD
Head coach: John Macaroco
Last year's record: 9-9-1
Top returners: Conner Silva, Sr., FB/MF; Ayala Ronis, Sr., MF; Ben Avendano, Sr., MF; Carter Barbosa, Jr., FB.
Key newcomers: Troy Rocha, Jr., F; Nicholas Rosa, So., F; Yanick Spencer, So., MF/F.
Outlook: The Whalers, who return four starters, will look to get off to a good start and build some momentum in the early going. There will be some new faces in the lineup on both sides of the ball and in net, where Macaroco has two players battling it out for playing time. A key will be finding the right combination of players to fuel the offense and anchor the defense.
OLD COLONY
Head coach: Alex Soares
Last year's record: N/A
Top returners: Robbie Andre, Sr., D; Ryan Scott, Sr., M; Andrew Fontes, Sr., D; Cole Bolkema, Jr., F.
Key newcomers: Christian Johnson, Sr., M; Aven Veauchemin, Jr., G; Noah Pimental, Fr., M.
Outlook: The Cougars haven’t been to the playoffs in two years and are hoping to change that this fall under first-year head coach Alex Soares, the school’s JV coach for the past seven years. “They have a good attitude,” said Soares. “They never give up. They bring a winning attitude.” Old Colony has a nice mix of returning players and newcomers that already have strong chemistry together.
OLD ROCHESTER
Head coach: Mike Devoll
Last year's record: 12-6-2
Top returners: Matt Carvalho, Sr., F; Ryan Blanchette, Sr., MF; Will Correia, Sr., FB; Liam Geraghty, Sr., MF; Bennett Chase, Sr., FB; Sam Balsis, Sr., MF; John Marmelo, Jr., FB; George Psichopaidas, Jr., MF.
Key newcomers: Reilly Garber, Jr., MF; Emile Joseph, So., G.
Outlook: The Bulldogs return eight starters and will look to hit the ground running and build some early momentum. They are loaded with experience and have a solid group of seniors who know what it takes to win. There's a lot of offensive firepower to go around and Joseph will have a solid defense playing in front of him in his first season as a starter in net.
WAREHAM
Head coach: Evan Wilga
Last year's record: 10-3-5
Top returners: Nate Wiley, Sr., MF; Seamus Braley, Sr., FB; Arman Araujo, Sr., FB; Freddie Rosen, Jr., G.
Key newcomers: Brayden Brophy, Sr., F; Aiden Roberts, Sr., F; Cole Berriault, Jr., FB; Ronal Per Solar, So., MF.
Outlook: The Vikings set a school record for wins last season and made their first-ever appearance in the state tournament. They have a good core group of returners and will have to work some new faces into the mix. The team's top goal will be making it back to the playoffs against an independent schedule that includes teams from the South Coast Conference Small Division (Bourne, Case, Fairhaven, Seekonk) and the Mayflower Athletic Conference Small Division (Avon, Bristol Aggie, Bristol Plymouth, Old Colony, Tri-County).
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: 2022 high school boys soccer season preview for SouthCoast
