As Virginia Episcopal School prepares to host New Covenant today in its season opener and first game of the annual Seven Hills Soccer Classic that concludes Saturday, the Bishops are eager to showcase what 13th-year coach Bob Leake considers the most talented team he’s ever had.
"I’m very pleased with the depth of our team this year," said Leake, who noted he can field a complete intra-squad scrimmage for the first time ever. "We can play two players at every position (so) there’s been a lot of competition for starting positions and playing time, which makes for spirited practices."
VES, which started three-a-day practices after its students arrived on Aug. 19, was supposed to kick off its season Tuesday against Roanoke Catholic, but the Celtics were forced to forfeit for lack of a complete team. The Bishops don’t have that problem.
"We’re tired of running into each other (in practice)," Leake said.
While the Bishops have a number of returnees, only three of those who started last year — senior midfielder Tylden Mosby, striker Will Manning and goalkeeper Keagan Frazier, starters since they were freshmen — will be in the starting lineup today against the Gryphons.
That’s because VES, which finished 7-8-3 last fall, has an influx of talented newcomers, including two exchange students from Germany — midfielders Felix Pritzer, a converted striker and sophomore Fabi Stramaglia — who will make immediate impacts.
"Technically, the skill level of these players may be the best we’ve ever had on the field at one time," Leake said. "Guys that started last year will be coming off the bench. We’re going to have so many options. I’m looking to have fun this year. I have three goalkeepers this year and it’s great as a coach because that’s what I played in college."
Keagan Frazier, who started in goal last year, may have the opportunity to play more in the field this season with the addition of J.J. Wisbeck, a sophomore who played goalie on his club team in Maryland, and a freshman keeper from the Danville area.
Leake’s challenge has been developing a team concept.
"That’s what we’ve been doing for the past two and a half weeks, building chemistry," he said. "It’s a matter of getting them to play together and not be selfish, to share the wealth."
For example, Pritzer has great passing skills, but Leake said he would rather be on the receiving end rather than making the last pass that leads to an assist.
Beau Johnson, a senior newcomer from Kansas and older brother of Wyatt Johnson, who played forward as a freshman last year, will complement Manning at forward.
Gray Clark, a junior from Wilmington, N.C., will shift from defender to midfield to start alongside Eliot Alford, a junior from Lexington who plays for the Roanoke Star.
The defense will feature Joe Jenkins, a sophomore from North Carolina, fellow sophomore Clay Johnson and Luka Vasic, a Serbian who played point guard for the Bishops’ VIS Division III state championship basketball team.
The Seven Hills tournament will also feature Virginia Independent Conference rivals Holy Cross, Liberty Christian Academy and North Cross as well as New Covenant, Trinity Episcopal and Fork Union Military Academy.
Holy Cross The Gaels only graduated two players from a team that finished runner-up to Eastern Mennonite in the VIC tournament and to Highland School — which they defeated to win their first Seven Hills Classic — in the VIS Division II state final in Richmond. But they also lost two starting midfielders — Teddy Delledera, last year’s leading scorer with 27 goals as a freshman, and Michael Zook — to Group AA state champion Jefferson Forest and central defender Ben Migmogna to E.C. Glass, the team Holy Cross coach Randy Turille coaches in the spring. "That was a big surprise to me," Turille said, noting Delledera’s father graduated as the Gaels’ all-time leading scorer with 127 goals. "I really thought he would stay at Holy Cross. Between him and Michael Zook, who scored 19 goals last year, we lost 36 goals unexpectedly." Still, the Gaels have a potent attack, led by Joe Bruzek, a senior forward who missed two-thirds of last season with a broken leg but still ranked as the team’s third-leading scorer with 13 goals, and senior central midfielder Iseman Knight. The tandem has combined for all 14 of Holy Cross’ goals and the majority of its assists. Bruzek assisted Knight and netted two goals, including the game-winner with two minutes left in a season-opening 3-2 victory at LCA. "We’re certainly counting on them to lead us," Turille said. "But we need, beside (Bruzek) and Iseman, somebody to step up and score some goals for us." He hopes sophomore Jacob Laurent, who starts up top with Bruzek, and freshman Nathan Ruggerri, who starts at center mid with Knight, will help fill that void. Defensively, the Gaels feature three senior defenders — Jimmy Wilmouth, Zach Keaton, Stephen St. Angelo — and Tom Bruzek, a sophomore who started as a freshman, in front of 6-foot-5 senior Nolan Mann in goal. Turille expects Eastern Mennonite to be the favorite to defend its VIC title along with Carlisle, which returns nearly everybody from a team Holy Cross beat in last year’s VIC and VIS semifinals. LCA The Bulldogs will lean on senior midfielder Marcus Miller, sophomore defender Evan Meinke and Aaron Wescoat, the returning goalkeeper competing with senior newcomer Mike Sreel for the starting job. "We need to replace our top two goal scorers, Seth Dorman and Patrick Tolley, who combined for 55 goals last year," LCA coach Steve Moon said. The top candidate to pick up the scoring slack is Lewis Williams, a forward transfer from New Jersey, who netted both goals in the season-opening loss to the Gaels. "He’s a pretty solid player," Moon said. "He has some skills and some speed. We’ve got to figure out how to use him. "It’ll be an interesting year for us," he added. "We’ve got a lot of new guys, guys that are working hard, a lot of good character kids. I think we’ll improve as the year goes on. I think we’re going to be highly competitive (and) we’ll be in the running (in the VIC)." He and the Bulldogs can’t wait to open play in the Seven Hills Classic, though they may have to face the JV team from VES since their scheduled first-round opponent, Nansemond-Suffolk, pulled out after Hurricane Irene. "We haven’t played for two weeks so my guys are ready to play," Moon said. "They don’t care who we play." LCA begins VIC competition Monday against Fishburne and Tuesday against Hargrave Military Academy. VACA Former Timberlake Christian School standout Colby Heckman has plenty of rebuilding to do in his second season as coach of the Tornadoes, who finished third in both the VACA regional and state tournaments last fall. "We lost a good bit, including seven or eight seniors," said Heckman, who will build around younger brother Spencer Heckman, a returning senior center midfielder who led the team in goals and assists last season. "I think we can make a further run than last year. This year’s team may be a little younger, but we have more skill than last year." Heckman is complemented by forward Blaine Maddox, a sophomore who ranked second in goals, and Tyler Thomas, a sophomore forward/midfielder. Returning central defender Ryan Wood is a senior leader of the defense, flanked by a couple Korean players, including senior Min Ho Kim. TCS is off to a 2-1 start with wins over New Covenant and the Lynchburg Homeschoolers and an overtime loss to Hargrave last Friday. New Covenant But the Gryphons’ cheers turned to tears early on in a 4-1 loss to Timberlake when junior center mid Josh Aultice, a team captain, tore his ACL on an apparent score 10 minutes into the contest. "We thought we had scored the goal and then we heard the scream, and went from an incredible high to an incredible low," New Covenant coach Andy Ashcroft said, noting Aultice fell over on his knee as he kicked the ball. "We were all screaming because we thought he had scored the goal and then we heard Josh screaming." To add insult to injury, a Tornado defender came out of nowhere to clear the ball before it crossed the goal line. "We fell to pieces after that," Ashcroft said. "We have had to readjust our whole lineup." Sam Seniche, a transfer from New York who was playing center back, has moved up to center mid to take over Aultice’s role. Ashcroft’s son Josh Ashcroft, a returning striker, has shifted back to midfield while freshman Caleb Ashcroft has taken his brother’s place as a starting forward. Isaac Calloway, a left wing, is another senior who will help carry the team along with junior right wing Sam Kiernman. Two senior girls, Taylor Thornburg and Bethany Hartman, start at right and left fullback, on either side of junior center back John Thomasson. "We’re looking forward to playing in the Seven Hills tournament," Andy Ashcroft said. "Hopefully, we’ll be able to fine-tune again and come back stronger." Temple Christian School "Usually, we’ve only had one or two players on the bench," said Swisher, who finished 2-11 last fall. The Crusaders are led by senior twins Justin and Jeremy Brooks, who start at forward and defender, respectively, defender Josh Welfare and midfielder Faith Smith. They are backed up and supported by sophomore goalkeeper Josh Dunivan "We run a 4-3-3, which is more attacking-based than in the past," Swisher said, noting the team has scored 11 goals while allowing only three in two games. "We’re running a different system and it seems to be working well. We’re passing the ball much better and getting a lot more goal-scoring opportunities." He considers Timberlake and New Covenant the favorites, but doesn’t count Temple out of the VACA race. "We’d like to be in the mix," Swisher said. "A lot of the players have played together for three years now." Temple plays in the United Christian Tournament in Stanardsville this weekend, opening against Mt. Carmel Christian on Friday. Faith Christian Academy-Hurt "We’re a young team that starts three ninth-graders, one eighth-grader and a 10th-grade goalkeeper," said Parr, noting his leading scorer to date is sixth-grade sub forward Noah Goldsmith. "We’re pushing them pretty hard."
freshman forward Casey Johnson, sophomore defender Angus Beck and two eighth-graders — midfielder Tanner Amburgey and forward Nahum Andress.
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