LYNN — The St. Mary’s boys soccer team is coming off a historic season in 2018. The Spartans won 20 games and advanced all the way to the Division 4 state championship before losing 3-1 to Bromfield. That success, and the experience from it, are what will help drive a young Spartans squad this fall.
“Experience is key for us,” St. Mary’s coach Mike D’Agostino said. “All my returning players got that edge of playing in regular season games and tournament games. They all felt what it was like. To go down by three goals and fight back and get a goal in the state final, it wasn’t the outcome we wanted but I was pleased with the success.”
The Spartans graduated plenty of talent from last year and while those roles may be hard to fill, D’Agostino expects the Spartans to begin right where they left off.
“Joey Thongsythavong is moving on to play at Norwich, Nick Pappas is at Lasell and Olu George may give it a try at UMass Amherst,” D’Agostino said. “Seeing these kids playing college soccer is great. That’s something I really take pride in.
“It’s been hard trying to fill those rolls,” D’Agostino said. “But a lot of the younger kids have the experience. We go to those tournament games and we bring everyone. It may seem strange to have 45 kids on the bench but I play everyone that I take. The younger kids got the experience from that. We’re going to be young and we might look small but all these kids play club soccer and are mature players.”
This year the Spartans have just five seniors but still have plenty of leaders, starting with senior captains Kevin Perez and Matt Gallego and junior captain Jackson Nickolau.
“Matt filled in well last year at goalie,” D’Agostino said. “Teams we played didn’t even know that we lost our starting goalie. It’s a hard spot to be in and he was very nervous but he stepped up well. Kevin is just like his brother Nolan. He has passion running around and he’s a great offensive player. We expect him to be a leading goal scorer among a couple other guys.
“Jackson is a lot like Joey (Thongsythavong) in his game,” D’Agostino said. “He’s a younger captain but he has that maturity. He’s stepped up in that role so well.”
Along with their captains, a young core and some new faces will help round out the Spartans roster.
“I was nervous coming in for numbers but right now we’re around 37 which is great,” D’Agostino said. “Dilan Moroney is a freshman and a great player that should put in some minutes for us. Josh Chez is a junior from Lynn. He’s going to be a big offensive player for us. He creates a great way to find the net. Ryan Fraher (sophomore) will fill in outside-mid. He steps up and I’m pleased to plug him in wherever we need him.
“A lot of juniors and sophomores will play,” D’Agostino said. “We just want to get in a groove like last year. We’re going to have a different philosophy and formation. It’s a bit of a different look but we’re excited. It’s a different philosophy with a lot of work to do in the back.”
D’Agostino is excited for some new foes on the Spartans’ schedule this year and the challenge it will bring his young squad.
“Our biggest strength is the passion these kids have,” D’Agostino said. “The maturity and experience will be big for playoffs. We want to set that tone right away in the City Tournament. We’re a small Division 4 school and a lot of people forget that because we play a lot of powerhouses. St. John’s and Lincoln-Sudbury are a few and this year we’re adding another Division 1 opponent in Peabody. We’re excited to stay competitive and challenge ourselves.”
St. Mary’s kicks off the season Sept. 4 in the Lynn City Tournament against Classical (7).