Prep soccer hopes to return to top this year

It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since the St. John’s Prep soccer team won a league championship. While that might be not so bad for some teams, when you have the legacy and prominence of the Prep, it is considered a drought.It’s a drought that the Eagles and coach Dave Crowell hope will come to an end this season thanks to a very experienced team.”We return 12 guys from last year,” Crowell said. “I think that our depth and experience will help us. We’ve stayed healthy through the preseason and that’s a change for us.”The Eagles struggled at times offensively last season, finishing the year at 10-8-2 following a first round loss in the state tournament.Having a go-to goal scorer is something the Prep has lacked in recent years and is the main thing Crowell knows his team needs if it wants to find success come November.”We need a goal scorer to emerge. That’s what we’ve lacked. But we have a couple of guys who we think can fill that hole,” Crowell said.Senior Tyler McManus along with juniors Deklan Robinson and Ryan McManus will look to give the Prep that scoring punch this year.One spot the Eagles don’t have to worry about shoring up is the middle of the field as goalkeeper Adam Colella returns along with midfielders Jake Barrows and Grant Beane as well as center back Jimmy O’Leary.”We will be strong up the middle ? that’s one of our strengths. We also have great overall team speed and excellent depth,” Crowell said.Another thing the Eagles don’t lack is experience as they have eight seniors – Sean Mackinnon; Justin Peluso; Conor Hoovan; Ryan Palmer; Drew Jenkins; Jon Doucette; Jordan Bostwick and Steve Karalolis – who have been through the rigors of the Catholic Conference before.”We need to work harder and stay disciplined,” Crowell said. “We struggled to score goals last year and defensively we had some games that didn’t go as well as they should have.”The Prep will have its always challenging slate of non-league matchups along with a trip through a league that has provided three of the last five Division 1 state champions.”Our league doesn’t get a lot of respect as a soccer league,” Crowell said.