English boys soccer ready for new season

The English High soccer team will have some big holes to fill this season, but coach Kerry King has a solid nucleus of players he?s hoping will fill the bill.Soccer players, volleyball players, golfers and cross country runners hit the fields, courts, greens and trails Thursday for the first day of practice. Their football-playing counterparts have already been at it since Monday.King greeted 40 players for his first day of practice, but he expects that number to swell to about 50 once school gets going and players wrap up their summer jobs. The veteran coach will have a few openings on the team with the graduation of six players, five of them starters.Perhaps the toughest shoes to fill will be those of brothers Daniel and Brayan Rovira, who both graduated. Daniel, a center midfielder, is looking at either prep school or he may end up playing for the Revolution Academy. Brayan, a striker who led the Bulldogs in scoring with 17 goals, could find himself at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in January.?They?re going to be very hard to replace,” King said.The Bulldogs finished 7-8-3 last season after starting off 7-3-3. They missed the tournament by one point.?We have a solid nucleus coming back. I?m just worried about a goal scorer,” King said.Senior tri-captains Kingsley Agbedun, Eddie Ayinla and Solomon Aiworo all started and are back in the fold.Agbedun was a midfielder and a Northeastern Conference All-Star. Ayinla played midfielder and striker and was also an NEC All-Star.?He?s a very solid player,” King said. “I?m expecting big things from him this year.Aiworo started at defender and in the midfield at various points in the season and can pretty much play anywhere on the field. Striker Eric Rodriguez, who missed the last half of the season due to an injury (he had surgery on his ACL), is back. He was third on the team in scoring.Junior Luis DeJesue will give the Bulldogs some experience in the midfield and two sophomores, midfielder Oscar Sanchez and striker Jason Deleon, should also help out at their respective positions. Both saw considerable action as freshmen.The Bulldogs also have some experience in net with the return of junior Kyle Arsenault. Arsenault was a backup goalie as a freshman and the starting goalie as a sophomore.?We have a lot of inexperience in some positions,” King said. “It (how the season goes) depends on how well we grow as a team.”English opens its season against Tech on Wednesday, Sept. 3, which is the first day of school in Lynn.