Baltimore County 2008 boys soccer preview

by Brandon Hopp
bhopp@digitalsports.com

The 2008 Baltimore County boys soccer season kicks off this weekend.  Last season, Baltimore County boys soccer teams were well represented in the Maryland State championships.  Loch Raven and Perry Hall both made the title game in their classes, 2A and 4A respectively.

This season, expect no drop off in the league and look forward to seeing a couple of County teams with the chance to bring home a state title.

Perry Hall and Franklin played to a draw last season to win a share of the Baltimore County Championship.  This year, Perry Hall returns the bulk of its team from last year and are poised to make another run at the title. 

Franklin lost a lot of experience from a year ago but still will be well coached and in the mix.  Towson, Eastern Tech, Loch Raven and Patapsco are gunning for the top spot.

Projected the top five teams in Baltimore County (nominated by coaches):

Perry Hall
Patapsco
Towson
Loch Raven
Eastern Tech

Top players in County (nominated by coaches):

Jimmy Nuggent - Parkville
Jon Evans - Parkville
Zach Kane - Perry Hall
Joe Glos - Perry Hall
Miguel Medrano - Perry Hall
Phil Saunders - Perry Hall
David Vaeth - Patapsco
Tim Fiedler - Loch Raven
Luke Maslow - Franklin
Matt Yates - Franklin
Jordan Spivey - Eastern Tech
Greg Coard - Dulaney

Team-by-Team capsules:

Division I

Catonsville Comets
Head Coach: Vic Vega (Fourth year)

The Comets will be one of the youngest teams in the County with only two returning starters back.

Top players for Catonsville include six-foot-two senior goalie Kevin Bradshaw.  Senior back Jonathan Bridle, and junior strikers Dillon Paice and Joe Ruzzi Jr. will have to work with the younger players to help the Comets as the season goes on.

"There is speed and qualityat midfield and striker that will create lots of chances on offense," said Vega.  "However, to be successful,we will have to play aggressive team defense and use our speed wisely."

Dulaney Lions
Head Coach: Jerry Tana (First year)

The Lions are returning a veteran team this year which hopes to improve upon a 6-7-2 record.  Defense will again be the strength of Dulaney, which is bolstered by returning senior keeper Greg Coard.

Dulaney is a big, physical team that returns seven starters including seniors Chris Wolf (6'0" midfielder), Max Millhausen (6'2" midfielder), Jake Millhausen (6'2" defender), Alex Gerding (6'3" defender) and Coard (6'5").

"Midfield play will be a key to the success and expect quick counters to fast forwards," said Tana.

Franklin Indians
Head Coach: Ian Reid (Sixth year)

Defending Baltimore County Co-Champions Franklin lost a lot of experience through graduation including David Borcik and David Cutair but do return three starters.

The Indians also won the Class 3A North Regional title last season before falling to Bel Air 3-2 on penalty kicks in the State semifinals.  Top players include goalkeeper Sam Hans, sweeper Luke Maslow and defender/midfielder Matt Yates, all seniors.  Franklin will still be in the mix to return to the County title game.

"We're a young team that need to grow as season progresses," said Reid.  "We should be strong defensively."

Hereford Bulls
Head Coach: Mike Lacko (Eight year)

There are some in the County who believe Hereford could be a sleeper team in the race for the title this season.  Lako (63-39-7 at Hereford) returns three starters on offensive and four on the defensive end from a year ago.

A positive for the Bulls is the depth they have at each position.  Senior goalie Randy Niles is steadfast in goal while seniors Max Rosen, Jake Gibson, juniors Jason Andrews and Chris Wilhelm will play big roles at the midfield position.

The Endres brother, junior Eric and freshman David, are apart of a strong striker group that also includes sophomore Tyler Dimes and junior Nathan Franz.  Sophomore Steven Vicchio and junior Steve Cassedy will lead the defense.

Loch Raven Raiders
Head Coach: Joe Fiedler (Twelfth year)

The Raiders came so close to claiming the Class 2A title last year but dropped the decision to River Hill (Howard County) 3-2 in overtime after beating county-rival Eastern Tech to win the 2A North Regional championship.

Loch Raven returns seven starters including Tim Fiedler, a four-year varsity player and one to watch in the County.  Seniors Matt Nolder, Steve Meninger and Kyle Bayley are all also four-year starters who will power the Raiders who look to make it back to the State title game.

Owings Mills Eagles
Head Coach: Tom Blumenauer (First year)

The Eagles beat Sparrows Point to win the Class 1A North Regional title last season before falling to Pocomoke in the State Semifinals.  The Regional title is the first for Owings Mills as a program in 21 years. 

"We are a young team looking to improve throughout the season," said Blumenauer, who is in his first year as head coach but second with the program that went 8-8 last year.  "We look to be competitive all season long in preparation to defend our region title come playoff time."

Owings Mills brings back two returning starters and only has four seniors on the roster.  Key players include senior midfielder Dave Rosenblatt, sophomore goalie Shawn Lorden, junior stopper Sam Friert and junior sweeper Blake Caplan.

Towson Generals
Head Coach: Randy Dase (Eighteenth year)

The Generals have appeared in eight straight regional chamionship games including last year's 3-2 loss to County-rival Franklin.  Towson has also won State Championships in 2003 and 2005 as well as being State finalists in 2002 under Coach Dase.

However, this season Dase says that his team is under a "massive reconstruction" with just four starters back.  Senior midfield tri-captains Jon Becker, Drew Bracken and Jerry Joiner will undoubtedly be the leaders of the team.  Another key player will be senior midfielder Josh Merwin.

"We're a very inexperienced team who hopefully will gel together by the regionals," said Dase.

Division II

Dundalk Owls
Head Coach: Sam Muffoletto (Second year)

Coach Muffoletto and the Owls finished at 5-9 and bring back seven starters from a year ago.  Junior Scott Doetsch will be looked upon to be the team's top defender while junior goalkeeper Ricky Hindle will be between the posts.

Other top players for Dundalk includes junior sweeper Michael James, junior midfielders Jordan Milbounre, Micheal Thompson, Eric Wondee and junior defender Mason Smith.

"Though still rebuilding, it is hoped that with experienced players coming back this year will be more competitive with the top teams," said Muffoletto.  "With a JV team for the first time in years, Dundalk will be getting better each year."

Eastern Tech Mavericks
Head Coach: Peter Glaudemans (Seventh year)

The Mavericks made their way to the Class 2A North Regional title game before falling 1-0 to Loch Raven.  Tech brings back six starters from last year and will stilll be in the mix for the championship.

Coach Glaudermans has a 144-89-9 overall record while with the Mavericks. "Keys for our teams success include communication, team organization and spacing, and quick play," he said.

Top players for the upcoming season are backs Jordan Spivey, Jeff Mascaro, Shane Thompson, Ryan Wheeler and Kyle Bivens.

Kenwood Bluebirds
Head Coach: Adam Mizell (Second year)

Mizel and the Bluebirds come off a 6-10-1 record last year but return seven starters with more experience.  Kenwood will count on seniors Steve Fama, Andrew Cullum, Tyler Hillenburg, Gavin Reed, and J.B. Bisasky for leadership.

Parkville Knights
Head Coach: Brad Hartin (Sixth year)

The Knights return three starters and boast one of the area's brightest players in senior striker Jimmy Nugent.  Nugent is a three-time First Team All-County selection and gained All-Metro honors last season. 

Senior Midfielder Jon Evans was named Second Team All-County a year ago.  Coach Hartin will also count on senior midfielder Nikolay Stoev and junior goalkeeper Conor Mulville to play a major role on the team.

Patapsco Patriots
Head Coach: Mike Griffith (Second year)

The Patriots are led by Coach Griffith who returned last year to lead his alma mater to a 10-5 record.  Griffith was an All-State goalkeeper and also earned Baltimore County Player of the Year honors on the 1995 Patapsco team that won the Class 2A State Title over Willde Lake.

Last season, the Patriots had seven shutouts and average less than a goal per game average to opponents. This season, Patapsco has a tough out of conference schedule that includes MIAA powers McDonogh and Curley and will count on UMBC-bound senior Dave Vaeth to lead the team.  Vaeth scored 11 goals and added 10 assists as he was named First Team All-County. 

Senior midfielder Gary Rader netted six goals last season and will be depended on to pick up some of the scoring load lost by the graduation of seven starters.  Senior attacker Brett Shinksy is considered by Griffith as "by far the fittest player on our team and has excellent soccer smarts."   Junior defender Kevin Kelly is the only returning starter on defense and is a top notch defender with an excellent sense of the game from his central defender position. 

"I believe our team will be very competitive in our Baltimore County league and hope to achieve a top four seed again in the Regional tournament," said Griffith.  "Our goal is to be better in October and November than we are today, and I think this group works hard enough to do just that."

Perry Hall Gators
Head Coach: Danny Skelton (Second year)

Skelton led the Gators to a 16-2-2 record in his first season at the helm for Perry Hall, which returns seven starters from their Co-Baltimore County Championship team from a year ago.

Key returners include senior goalie Zach Kane, senior striker Phil Saunders, junior midfielder Miguel Medrano, sophomore strikers Joe Glos and Kevin Medrano and junior defender John Shipley.

Perry Hall dropped a decision in the Class 4A State title game last season to Magruder 5-1 and are hungry for the title.  With almost the entire squad back, the Gators look to repeat feats from last season including a County championship, going undefeated in the division, winning another 4A North Regional title and on to the State title.

Sparrows Point Pointers
Head Coach: George Bischoff (Eleventh year)

Coach Bischoff brings a 108-44 overall record into the season as coach of the Pointers who are always a strong team.  Last season going into the final game Sparrows Point lost to Perry Hall, which went on to win a share of the Co. title.

The Pointers return seven starters including seniors Todd Sauerwald (back), Dylan Hurst (back), Ryan Dauses (Midfield), Seth Hewitt (Midfield) and sophomore Cody McVey (stricker).

"In the past nine years we have won two Baltimore County Championships, pretty good for a 1A school," said Bischoff.  "We're counting on strong defense with three returning starters from last year and our starting keeper."


Division III

Carver A&T Wildcats
Head Coach: Matt Gold (First year)

"We are going to impress some people this year with our high level of competition," said Gold in his first year at the helm.

The Wildcats return three offensive players and two on defense and will count on seniors Mitch Giller, Brian Weinstein, Jason Alford, and junior Eric Espinosa, Jr. to excel.

Chesapeake Bayhawks
Head Coach: Jesse Jay (Second year)

Senior goalkeeper Martin Copeland and junior midfielder Brandon Wilson are among four returners for the Bayhawks who went 7-7 a year ago under Coach Jay.

Lansdowne Vikings
Head Coach: Mr. Craig Llewellyn (Sixth year)

Lansdowne is fresh off of an 8-3-1 season and return seven starters from a year ago.  The Vikings will look to be one of the top teams in the Division III.

"Tradition continues to build at Lansdowne High School," said Llewellyn.  "For the first time in seven years at Lansdown, will field a JV squad.  The boys varsity is looking forward to another successful year."

One of the top players for the the Vikings is senior co-captain Billy Larrimore.  At the midfield position, Larrimore started every game for Lansdowne while scoring five goals and adding six assists.  Also, senior co-captain Earl Eppard will be huge in goal.  Last season Eppard tallied 85 saves and was named All-County in Division III.

Overlea Falcons
Head Coach: Vinnie Piscopo (Second year)

The Falcons finished 8-5 last season and bring back nine starters.  Overlea looks to be one of top teams in Division III.

Top players for the upcoming season include junior Marcus Green, senior Leonson Lopez who earned All-Division, junior Joey Knauer, senior Dominic Hooks and senior Marc Hobbs.

Randallstown Rams
Head Coach: Nick Forman (Second year)

The Rams finished 8-4 behind Forman last year in his first season.  Randallstown returns four starters included All-Division players Ousmane Toure, Yonus Waldu and Lionel Ndingwan.  Forward/midfielder Juan Ospina is also back.

"Our team this year has a different make-up than we have in previous years," said Forman.  "We lost seven starters to graduation."

" However, we believe our players have steadily improved over the past year and our reserves will be up to the challenge of starting this year.  We believe that we will contend for the Division III title, if not win it this year and advance further in the state playoffs than we did last year."

Woodlawn Warriors
Head Coach: Joe Kayser (Second year)

The Warriors are looking to rebound from a 2-11 record last season but return just one starter, junior keeper Chris King.  Woodlawn is the arguably the youngest team in the County as there are no seniors on the squad.

"This is a very young team this year," said Kayser.  "We have two juniors, one sophomore and 13 freshman in the program.  While there may be some growing pains throughout the year, Woodlawn is poised to make a run with this energized group that boasts a tremendous amount of talent."

Note: If more information is available or to add teams which did not appear in the Baltimore County League preview, please feel free to contact Brandon Hopp at bhopp@digitalsports.com