High School Soccer Preview

Depth fuels competition for Hawks

Posted 9/2/14

The way the schedule works out, Bishop Hendricken will open the soccer season later than any team in Division I, a full week after most of its league mates.

The Hawks don’t mind the extra time. …

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High School Soccer Preview

Depth fuels competition for Hawks

Posted

The way the schedule works out, Bishop Hendricken will open the soccer season later than any team in Division I, a full week after most of its league mates.

The Hawks don’t mind the extra time. It’s a good year for it.

Hendricken has a deep team without huge gaps in ability from player to player, and the preseason has been marked by competition. In Thursday’s Warwick Vets Fall Soccer Tournament, Hendricken trotted out two completely separate lineups for its two games.

With still a week to go, the Hawks now have a template from which to start sorting it all out.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to see what we need to do, and we got a lot out of this,” head coach Mickey Rooney said of the tournament. “From that point of view, I’m extremely happy. We’re in a position where we don’t play our first game until September 10. So we’ve been taking it slowly with the kids, we haven’t been working them too hard. Now we know what we need to do and where we’ve got to go, so we’ll push it from here.”

When the season finally does begin, it will begin with optimism. Hendricken is coming off a solid year in which it went 7-4-3 and won a playoff game. Even with some significant graduation losses, talent remains.

That’s where the extra preseason work comes in.

“We have some experience, some new kids,” Rooney said. “We have some very talented kids. It’s just a matter of finding the right combinations now.”

Replacing some major contributors will be job No. 1. The Hawks had six seniors last year and they were key cogs all over the field. Defender Brady Chant and midfielder Brandon Silvestri were first-team all-division selections, forward Chris Cambio, goalie Dan Escobar and midfielder Justin Matrone made second-team and defender Anthony Graziano was a third-team pick.

That’s two defenders, two midfielders, a forward and a goalie. It’s a lot to replace.

“We lost some big names,” Rooney said. “The players who do have the experience are going to have to jell together.”

The Hawks have 10 seniors on the roster this year, with varying levels of experience. Brennan Martin, Jakob Franklin, Brennan Bica, Alex Leite, Reed Worthington, Luis Lawrence and John Hindinger have seen the most time, while Alex Amado, Gianfranco Paterno and Andrew Leveillee are less experienced. Two juniors – Christian Kirby and Craig Conway – and sophomore Lucas Gesmundo also saw time last year.

Throw in a lot of newcomers, and the Hawks have some work to do.

“Competition is healthy,” Rooney said. “With the fact that we had two teams out there today, we’ve basically got two people for every position. So they’re going to be fighting for it. That just makes it better and better.”

In goal, the Hawks have Amado and junior Tom Faltus competing for the starting job. They’ll be protected by a largely new defensive unit. Hindinger, an honorable mention all-division pick last year, leads the way with the most experience. Franklin and Worthington have seen some action, too, while juniors Alex Appolonia and Andrew Denkewicz will be getting their first extended taste. Paterno, junior John Edgar and sophomore Robert Merlino are also in the defensive mix.

The midfield is where the Hawks have the most experience. Martin and Kirby were starters last year, while Leite and Gesmundo came off the bench.

“We’ve got some talent and some experience in the midfield,” Rooney said. “That’s our strength. We’ve just got to find the right combinations. That’s the trick to it.”

Junior Luke Martin-Jourdenais and freshmen Andrew Pimental and Chukwuma Onyejose are also listed as midfielders.

Up front, the Hawks need to replace Cambio, a speedy scoring threat. Bica, who played some last year, and junior Nick Williams got the start in the tournament last week. Lawrence, a senior, and Conway, a junior, will also push for time, along with freshman Chukwudi Onyejose.

The Onyejoses are freshman twins who are a little undersized but big on speed and skill.

“Our philosophy is, if we take a player, we’re going to play them,” Rooney said. “If they’re good enough to make the team, they’re good enough to play. I think they might have been overwhelmed with the physicality of the game, but they’ll be fine.”

The Hawks will use the next week to continue the sorting-out process. It may not be complete for a long time, but when it is, Rooney expects to find a contender.

“We’ll probably be slow starters, like we usually are, but I think that we’ve got some talent,” Rooney said. “Provided we progress and provided we work as a team, I think in the end, we’re going to be a difficult team to beat.”

Hendricken opens the season on Sept. 10 with a road game at Shea.

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