By Wayne Witkowski
Allentown High School boys soccer coach Andrew Plunkett said he has all but a handful of players back from last season, including all but one leading player.
But he says he’s still trying to figure out where to set them in his 4-4-2 formation, as the Redbirds prepare for their opener at Trenton Central High School Sept. 8 at 4 p.m.
“We started all sophomores and freshmen and one senior last year, and this year we’re looking the same way, with only a couple of seniors and mostly juniors and sophomores,” Plunkett said. “We’re still young. There are not a lot of set positions, maybe two or three. I know who can start, but we’re still figuring where.”
That includes at goalkeeper, where senior Joe Jurik and junior Chris Reeder return and are expected to split time again, although Plunkett said he is undecided who will play first. Jurik, at 6 feet 2 inches tall, is hard to score on with his sheer size, but Reeder is very athletic, the coach said.
“I’ve seen a lot of effort [from players] — more than in previous years,” Plunkett said. “We’ve had high-intensity practices. All of the players have tuned in; nobody is slacking off.”
Andrew Bardwil is the lone graduated starter from last year’s team that finished 4-11-1 after a 2-2-1 start. It beat Lawrence High School, 1-0, and Ewing High School, 4-2, late in the season that ended in a 3-1 loss to West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in the opening round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group III tournament.
Allentown was moved from the Colonial Valley Conference Patriot Division to the Valley Division, where it will play West Windsor-Plainsboro North, Nottingham High School and Hamilton High School West within the division.
This season, Allentown has only one scrimmage when it travels to Riverside High School Sept. 1, but Plunkett feels his team will be ready to be even more competitive this season.
“We should be. I hope we don’t go backward with another year in development,” he said.
Plunkett said the biggest improvement needed from last season is the speed of play.
“We were a little slow getting the ball forward last season. We’re not the biggest team that we can win the battle on the ball,” Plunkett said. “And we have to keep pressure on teams.”
What is certain is that rising juniors A.J. Ariano and Spencer Caruso will start in the middle on defense and senior Mohammed Kotby will be in the midfield. Hunter Zykowicz, a sophomore, has impressed at forward.
Plunkett said that juniors Max Allen and Chris Patrylow will play in the midfield, at forward or in both areas during games. Junior Dave Zauner will be on the outside in the midfield or defense and Nick Eng, another junior, will be either an outside midfielder or forward.
Plunkett also singled out juniors Julian Tsang and Brian Buechele as getting an opportunity to play major roles as starters or getting meaningful minutes off the bench.