EAHS Boys Soccer Preview

(Josh Reem will be a key player for the Bears this season.)

Head Coach: James Sostack, 14th season, 2007 Section Two coach of the year.

2007 Record: 11-7-1 overall. Section Two co-champions. Beat Lancaster Mennonite 2-1 in Lancaster-Lebanon League quarterfinals. Lost to Manheim Township, 2-1 in double overtime, in L-L League semifinals. Lost to Wilson, 1-0 in overtime, in first round of District Three Class AAA playoffs.

Key Returners: Josh Reem, senior, F; Adam Morton, senior, MF; Mitchell Capelli, senior, D; Kevin Romanauskas, senior, MF; Shane Long, senior, D; Jason Good, junior, D; Sean Strangeway, junior, MF; Quinn Cozzens, senior, GK; Nathan Clarke, senior, MF; Ethan Luscian, senior, D; Brian Savage, senior.

E-town returns nine starters from last year’s section championship team, setting the Bears up for another good season.

Reem will be the team’s primary offensive force and will be needed at forward to provide scoring for E-town. He was a second-team all-section player last year.

At midfield, the Bears are loaded. The midfield will be led by Romanauskas, a first-team all-section player a year ago, and a smart player with a lot of skill. Morton, Strangeway and Clarke are also good in the middle of the field and will be used to control the pace of the game and set up scoring chances for E-town.

The Bears’ defense will be led by Cozzens, a first team all-section goalie last season. Cozzens recorded five shutouts last year and is athletic with good hands. He’ll keep E-town in a lot of games by making some outstanding saves.

Long, Good, Capelli and Luscian will be playing in front of Cozzens. All are tough defenders and know their section opponents and how to keep them off balance. The Bears allowed an average of only 1.3 goals per game last year and return the core of that defense with another year of experience under their belts.

Savage could be an x-factor for E-town this year. He was a starter on defense as a sophomore before missing all of last year with a knee injury. He returns for his senior season this year and gives E-town another talented player who can play defense or at midfield. If he can get back to where he was before the knee injury, he could be one of the keys to the Bears’ playoff hopes.

Key Losses: Tyler Aldinger, MF; Peter Davis, F; Bryan Kob, MF; Weston Parrett, D.

The loss of Davis, an all-section and all-state player who led the team in scoring, leaves a big hole in the offense that the team will need to work to replace. Davis was unstoppable at times last year and his shoes will be difficult to fill.

Kob was a steady midfielder who made a lot of plays for the Bears. And Parrett left everything on the field in defense when he was out there. Both were excellent players on last year’s team.

Aldinger was hampered by an injury last year, but had a good tenure in his time in E-town.

Key Newcomers: Ryan Sostack, junior, MF; Michael Van Horn, junior, D; Harry Rhodes, senior, GK; Drew Reinhold, sophomore, MF; Joey Funck, freshman, D/MF.

E-town brings in some good talent this season and, based on the amount of injuries the Bears suffered last year, they need to be ready to play starting with the season opener.

The most immediate impact from this group will likely be from Sostack, who could have a spot as a starter in the midfield.

Strengths: Experience, defense.

The amount of injuries the Bears saw last year did have one positive outcome – it gave a lot of players the chance to get on the field. Because of that, E-town will be one of the most experienced teams in the L-L League. Not many teams win their section, advance to the league semifinals and return nine starters the next year. The Bears are playoff-tested, and that should make them tough to beat.

“While unpredictable, we could be a dark horse in a talented L-L League,” Sostack said.

With the return of Savage this year, E-town’s defense will be stout. They are all smart and athletic and opponents will have a tough time finding the back of the net against them.

Weaknesses: Consistent scoring, depth.

In a lot of games last year, Davis was the offense. He routinely found holes in the defense and used his speed and touch to get off good shots, score 19 goals and assist on 12 more. The Bears had only 10 goals that Davis didn’t score or assist on last year. E-town must find a player that can earn the respect of opposing defenses enough to key on – and that guy could be Reem.

The Bears do have plenty of goal-scorers, though. Reem, Romanauskas and Strangeway can all score, but will need to do so consistently to keep the pressure off of E-town’s defense.

Outside of the nine returning starters, E-town’s bench isn’t very deep, which means that it can’t afford the amount of injuries it suffered a year ago.

Outlook: In the section, E-town has an excellent shot to repeat as champions. But they’ll have to go through Conestoga Valley, Ephrata and Garden Spot to do so. All three of those teams have the talent to win the section, so the Bears will need to be at their best all year long. But Sostack and his team are always in contention, and he said the rest of the league should keep the Bears on their radar.

“(We have) consistently finished in the top two (in the section), so the league should be careful not to forget their northern cousins who return nine starters,” he said.

With so many returning players, team chemistry will be high for the Bears and will help them work the ball around and make things happen.

“Chemistry and working as a unit will be essential if we hope to repeat as Section Two champions,” said Sostack.

E-town pushed league powerhouse Manheim Township to the brink in the L-L semifinals last year, falling 2-1 in double overtime. The Blue Streaks return another good team and it could come down to them and E-town again in the playoffs.

With what they have returning, E-town should find itself in the thick of the Section Two title race and playing deep into the L-L and District Three playoffs.