Sports
York High School soccer roundup
By Uwe Seeler
York junior Dan Powers battles against Winnacunnet defenders in last Saturday's scrimmage at York High School.
Photo by Kate Rasche
YORK - The York High School soccer programs hit the ground running over the past week with a series of pre-season scrimmages.
With the final varsity squads nearing selection, head coaches Jeff Smith and Wally Caldwell watched their respective teams at work to see which players would earn starting spots.
Seniors dominate boys side
Smith's boys side sees a returning group of 16 seniors, all of them experienced veterans, including co-captains Joe Corsello, Matt Carey, Ryan Clausen and Dan Graziano.
With an eye to the following season and the loss of essentially his entire team, Smith will be carrying an expanded roster of 24 players this season. In addition to the 16 returning seniors, the varsity squad will include five juniors and three sophomores who will likely be the nucleus of next year's team.
But make no mistake, this is the year for seniors. A physically strong and technically talented group, many of these players can trace their experience back to their U13 days with the York Soccer Club where they were Maine State Champs. A dominating group as JV players, this year is their chance to make their mark.
Winnacunnet 2, York 1
In their opening pre-season contest, York faced class L Winnacunnet of New Hampshire last Saturday at York. Starting with an all-senior lineup and using a flat-back four at the outset, York fell victim to disorganization in the back line early on and the visitors broke in clear from 30 yards out and dribbled around keeper Graziano, slotting the ball into the open net for the early lead.
York settled down after that and began to respond offensively with Pat Cartier launching a rocket just over the crossbar from 25 yards out.
Smith then began a rotation that saw all 24 players get time on the field before the end of the half.
The second half saw the seniors return with junior Matt Haight taking over in goal. York started strong with pressure up the middle from Phil Alibrandi, followed by a strong shot from Clausen, barely deflected wide by the visiting keeper.
Winnacunnet put in a second goal against the run of play to go up 2-0 after a breakdown in marking allowed for a buildup on the right side of the York defense, resulting in a hard strike past the diving Haight.
York finally responded with a goal by Corsello, who took the throw in from sophomore Max Loeffler at the edge of the Winnacunnet box, shielded off his defender and turned in for a run to goal, finishing with a hard drive on the ground to beat the keeper from a tight angle.
York finished the game with its younger players and kept up the pressure with a series of good buildups and crosses into the goal area, but was unable to finish off any opportunities.
The boys team was scheduled to face Spaulding High at York Tuesday night in continued pre-season action.
Young girls squad sees wide open battle for starting slots
York sophomore midfielder Emily Boone moves the ball upfield during last Saturday's High School Jamboree at the Seacoast United Outdoor Complex in Epping, N.H.
Photo by Steve Rasche
Coach Wally Caldwell's girls side starts the year in a rebuilding mode from last year's squad, which graduated eleven seniors. With only a handful of returning starters, spots for this year's squad were "wide open" Caldwell said last week. After a weekend jamboree and a Monday scrimmage, though, some slots seemed to be settling in.
In goal, returning starter and sophomore Brooke Simpson appears to have the starting role, with junior Kelsey Cruz as the number two keeper. Cruz, a solid all around athlete, is also seeing time at various field positions.
In the back, returning junior starter Kate Rasche looks set to anchor play from the center back position. Sophomores Hannah Carey, Meredith Reed and Michaela Schilling have all seen solid minutes at the outside back positions. Strong play by freshman Emma Clark looks to have given her the nod at the stopper position.
Midfield sees the return of senior co-captains Stephanie Plaisted, Susan Barton and Morgan Taylor, with returning junior starter Kiah Voyer-Colbath also in at the inside midfielder position.
The only settled player up top through Monday appeared to be returning starter and sophomore Chelsea Tewell.
With Caldwell looking to hold onto only about 17 players for the varsity squad this year, the rest of the slots remained up for grabs heading into today's scrimmage versus Exeter.
In game play through Monday, York has looked solid on defense, with scoreless draws at the Epping Jamboree on Saturday against John Stark High of New Hampshire and Memorial High of Manchester. York also had a clean sheet against Milton, Vermont, on Monday at York (4-0).
York's only defeat to date came at the hands of New Hampshire's class L Bishop Guertin, 2-1 on Saturday.
While defense has been largely solid so far, the offense is clearly still taking shape. During Saturday's jamboree, York had no offensive threats in the first two games before coming to life in the third game against Bishop Guertin. There, York finally began stringing passes together and working some solid buildups resulting in a season opening goal from Plaisted, who chipped in from the 20 off the Bishop Guertin keeper who had come off her line.
Better ball movement from York led to good scoring chances by sophomore Emily Boone and Tewell. Defensive breakdowns against the run of play allowed two goals for an eventual 2-1 victory by Guertin, but this was clearly the strongest York performance of the day.
On Monday, York played host to Milton High of Vermont and dominated play from start to finish for a 4-0 win. York went up early on an own goal by the visitors off a corner from Voyer-Colbath. Susan Barton followed with a goal off a left-footed shot hard to the short side off the keeper's outstretched hand. Tewell made it 3-0 when she slotted home a well placed shot low past the keeper off a nice cross from Morgan Taylor. York added one more in the second half when Barton snuck a second goal in from short range off the keeper's legs.
Milton never threatened in this game, and York held regular pressure with scoring opportunities throughout.
Today's game against Exeter should mark the first real test for Caldwell's young squad. Exeter returns a strong senior-dominated lineup, which includes several legitimate Division I college candidates. Game time is 2 p.m. at York High School.
