Montgomery boys soccer taking season one game at a time
After a 2015 season in which the Montgomery High School boys soccer team won its first Somerset County Tournament title and won the division title for the first time in 11 years, the Cougars enter this season with the cautious attitude of taking it one game at a time.
Montgomery lost 12 seniors to graduation, five of them starters, including reigning Courier News Player of the Year Zach Epstein, who along with Conner Yurcisin anchored a defense that allowed only 16 goals, forward Joey LaVake, midfielder David Goldman and goalie Matt Cabrera.
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"The boys have been working hard, it’s all about filling in the holes from last year, having some guys step up and do the best we can," Montgomery coach Rickey Steeb said. "I think the returners have a good idea of what it takes to win, and I think they’re really trying to pick up the younger guys and trying to show them the way, so they’re leading by example."
Despite the losses to graduation, the Cougars return a number of players who saw varsity time last year, and who know what it takes to win championships. On defense, seniors Andrew Dollard and captain Daniel Choi return, along with juniors Marko Elez and Trent Kettelkamp. Senior forwards Rory Kemmerer, a captain this year who scored 20 goals last season, and Christian Espana (five goals, four assists) return, and senior midfielders Lucas Freda and Brandon Marna (six assists) are also back.
"We have six seniors, and I think they’re doing a really good job of setting a good example and working hard," Steeb said. "I think we’re doing a good job at just moving guys around at different positions and trying to see what works for us. One big key is trying to stay healthy, and we were pretty fortunate last year and just asking guys to play multiple positions and changing it game by game."
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Montgomery has 10 newcomers who Steeb is looking to step up and help fill the holes left by graduation, and having played four tough scrimmages during the preseason, including one against Union County powerhouse Scotch Plains-Fanwood, the Cougars should have gained valuable experience that will help throughout the season.
"We’re looking pretty good, we’re working on filling a couple of hole from last year, and I think throughout the preseason we’re really becoming a team and we’re going to be successful this season," Choi said. "We lost a lot, but we’re gaining a lot more with experience this year."
Steeb knows it's going to be difficult to repeat the accomplishments of a year ago, but he's optimistic about how his team is going to improve as the season progresses. At the end of the year, Steeb hopes that his players can call themselves division champions, which is the number one goal.
"They’re very excited but I think they know that last season is over and for the seniors this is their last year and they want to win a championship," Steeb said. "So we’re just going to take it game by game and see what happens."
The Cougars open the season against Skyland Conference Raritan Division foe North Hunterdon on Thursday, and from there it's up to Steeb and his team to determine their fate the rest of the way.
"We’re going to take it game by game and see how it goes," Choi said. "We want to win as many games as possible and win championships like we did last year."
COURIER NEWS AREA PRESEASON TOP 10
1. Scotch Plains-Fanwood (20-2-2)
2. Pingry (12-4-3)
3. Gill St. Bernard's (18-4)
4. Bernards (12-4-4)
5. Montgomery (13-2-3)
6. Westfield (9-7-2)
7. South Plainfield (16-7-2)
8. Hunterdon Central (9-5-4)
9. Bound Brook (11-4)
10. North Plainfield (14-4)
Last year's final records in parenthesis.