LYNN — The Lynn English boys soccer teams started the 2016 season on the right foot when the Bulldogs defeated Tech and St. Mary’s in the Lynn City Tournament to claim the city championship.
After that, however, there wasn’t much to smile about throughout English’s season.
The Bulldogs finished the year at 4-9-3 and struggled heavily against opponents across the Northeastern Conference.
“We struggled in goal scoring last season,” English coach Kerry King said. “We were very competitive and we played in some very close games, but we couldn’t find ways to put the ball in the net.”
English now looks to turn the page on the disappointing 2016 season and shift its focus to the 2017 campaign. Leading the charge for English this season will be a trio of captains in seniors Billy Allen, a goalie, and midfielders Muhammad Diallo and Nuhi Xhemajli.
“They were all varsity starters last season,” King said of his trio of captains. “So they should provide a solid core for us.”
King will also look for big seasons from junior strikers Brennan DeLeon and Bryan Portillo.
“They’re both very skilled strikers,” King said. “Hopefully they can provide a punch on offense that we didn’t have last season. They’re both very skilled.”
Midfielders Andric Barrios, a sophomore, and Johnson Ngandhui, a senior, will round out English’s group of key returners.
“Andric and Johnson both got quality minutes last year and they’ve looked good in the preseason,” King said.
This season’s team, King believes, will certainly have speed and quickness on its side. King’s also confident in his team’s passing abilities and feels English’s success will depend on how quickly the younger players on the team mature.
“I really think our strength is our quickness, and we’re very skilled,” King said. “I think we’re a good passing team. Our success will depend on how quickly the inexperienced players grow up. We have some inexperience at key positions.”
While last season’s team lacked speed up front, the Bulldogs are hopeful they’ve cleared that blemish this year. Through the first few weeks of the preseason, King has liked the athleticism and speed he has seen from his team.
“I think offensively we didn’t have a lot of speed up front (last season),” King said. “This year, we might have solved that. We’re a little more athletic up front. We’ve looked good there in our scrimmages but the true test will be when we go up against St. Mary’s to start the city tournament.”
King’s also hopeful that English will be more competitive in the NEC this season. Reaching that feat, however, will be a little more difficult for the Bulldogs this season now that the conference has added four teams from the Greater Boston League Merger. Joining English in the NEC are Everett, Malden, Medford and Somerville.
“It’s a little different this year with the merger,” King said. “The league’s split but I’m expecting the four teams that came in from the GBL to be very talented. Somerville and Medford are two of the top teams in Division 1 North. Everett and Malden have had good years in the past. There will be more competition in the conference this season, for sure.”
English opens the new season on Tuesday, when the Bulldogs clash against St. Mary’s at Manning Field in the city tournament. It’ll be a rematch of last year’s tournament championship game.
“I know Coach (Mike) D’Agostino does a great job there,” King said. “They’re (St. Mary’s) licking their chops because they didn’t like the result from last year’s game. We’re going to get a big challenge from St. Mary’s. They’re going to come out gunning for us.”
