St. Mary’s boys soccer begins new era

The St. Mary’s High boys soccer program begins a new era this fall under new coach and former Spartan Mike D’Agostino.D’Agostino took over for his former high school coach, Al Jackson, who had to step down after last season because of work commitments. D’Agostino inherited a team that finished 10-8-2, including two wins in the Division 3 North tournament.Although graduation wasn’t kind to the Spartans, D’Agostino is very optimistic about the talent he has returning, especially on offense, and several newcomers, who he expects will step in and contribute.Senior Alex Glover is an offensive-minded center midfielder who scored 16 goals and had 12 assists, earning him Catholic Central League All-Star honors as a junior. Glover is already at it again this season, scoring several goals in a scrimmage Wednesday against Beverly.Rob Goggin will give the Spartans plenty of experience between the posts.”He’s a very mature senior, very smart in the net,” D’Agostino said. “He’s very versatile, very tall and agile. He made some great diving saves. He is a key to our defense this year.”Senior stopper Anthony Capabianco, the only returning senior on defense, is back, as is junior sweeper Jeremy Tranfaglia, who D’Agostino described as being very aggressive and very physical.Junior Julian Yourawski will be up front, adding more firepower to an offensive arsenal that also features Ralph Bertrand, a prolific goal scorer. The two, along with Glover, promise to give the opposing goalies nightmares.”He (Yourawski) is a great hockey player, but he’s an even more amazing soccer player. He’s fast as fast can be and he’s tough,” D’Agostino said, adding that Bertrand does a great job one-on-one and can put the ball in the net. He also has great footwork.”I think we have one of the best offenses, ” D’Agostino said. “I’m getting all my offense back, plus a bunch of new kids.”Among the other players who look to contribute this season are junior midfielder Zach Paone; junior outside midfielder Mike Campbell; junior stopper/defender Chris Leone; junior Dominic Barcleau, a defensive midfielder; and sophomores Nick Moschella (outside defender) and Nick Gagliolo, also an outside midfielder. Sophomore defender Grant McKinnon should also help out, along with freshmen forward Mike Russo, eighth grader Andrew DiMaiti (defensive midfielder) and Steven Stanko. Two seniors, Peter Louvaris (center midfielder) and Mike Adrien, should also give the Spartans a lift.”We have a good offensive team and we’re building our defense. It’s getting stronger every game. We’re going to outscore a lot of opponents. If we stay healthy, we should do very well,” D’Agostino said.St. Mary’s opens Tuesday at 7 p.m. against English in the Lynn City Tournament.