The Lynn Classical boys soccer team faced its fair share of challenges last season. With a new head coach in Dominick Steadman, the Rams found themselves in the middle of a tough Northeastern Conference.
Still, the team managed to win six games and lost a handful of close games against some of the area’s top teams.
“It was a little disappointing but we only missed states by a few wins,” Steadman, entering his second season as Classical’s coach, said. “We played a lot of tough teams twice like Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Revere and Swampscott. All of those teams went far in the state tournament.”
Although the Rams didn’t qualify for the tournament last season, ending at 6-11-1, Steadman feels as though there were plenty of positive takeaways from 2016.
“We were up against it as it is anyways,” Steadman said. “We were competitive in a few of those games. Any time you don’t make states it’s disappointing, but any time you can get out of that schedule with six wins that’s pretty good.”
One of those positive takeaways from last season is the fact that Classical fielded a handful of freshmen and sophomores who earned quality varsity minutes. They’ll return to the team this season with experience, something they didn’t have on their side last fall.
“Our experience will be one of our strengths this season,” Steadman said. “My starting goalie and defenders last season were all sophomores. For them to get experience at the varsity level last season, that’s invaluable. You can’t get that. This year, so far from what I’ve seen, that experience from playing varsity minutes really pointed them in the right direction.”
The Rams will also rely on their depth to help push them to wins. Having players who can provide quality minutes off the bench will allow the Rams to stay in games without missing a beat.
“I have 16-17 kids that are interchangeable,” Steadman said. “They can go out on the field and not miss a beat, which is important because everyone needs a break. If you don’t have that depth, sometimes that’s how other teams can capitalize.”
Leading Classical’s pack of key returners this fall is senior midfielder Josue Blas. A three-year varsity player, Blas will serve as team captain this upcoming season. He also held that role last season as a junior.
Also among the key returners are juniors defender/midfielder Alex Amaya, midfielder Albin Asani, defender Ivan Melara and striker Kevin Molina.
In net the Rams will lean on Dan Cortes, a junior. Cortes took over as Classical’s starting goalie four games into last season.
“We have a lot of sophomores from last season returning and their progression has been phenomenal,” Steadman said. “They’ve come back with a fire to get back on the field this season, which is great to see.”
Classical’s achilles heal from last season was the team’s inability to generate offense. The Rams lost two of their top goal scorers from last season to graduation in Pa Sowe and Tyler Way, meaning Classical will have to score goals by committee this season.
“Losing Tyler Way and Pa Sowe means we have to find somebody that can put the ball in the net,” Steadman said. “This year it’ll be by committee but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Each night, it’ll be a different guy scoring the big goal. Hopefully with the progression our young guys have made, they’re ready to fill that role.”
Steadman would also like to see his team build a more consistent offensive attack.
“We were in a few games last year without scoring any goals,” Steadman said. “We scored a lot in our wins but we didn’t score much in our losses. Out of our 11 losses, we probably had five or six shutouts.”
The Rams open the new season when they visit Tech next Tuesday (5 p.m.) in the Lynn City Tournament at Manning Field.
“It’ll be tough but we have a scrimmage this week against KIPP to get us ready,” Steadman said. “We didn’t get any scrimmages in last season and starting against St. Mary’s was tough. That was a tough challenge. We went 0-1-1 in the city tournament last year and that’s fuel for our kids this season.”
