By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
Onlookers will only have to see the captains’ pre-game meeting to see how unique this year’s Bordentown Regional High School boys soccer team is.
Sophomore defender Brandon Hudik is the Scotties’ head captain. It’s fitting as the Scotties are young and very strong in the back.
”The returning lettermen have really stepped up and I have the strongest freshman class I’ve ever had,” said Bordentown’s Mike Brennan, who begins his sixth season as head coach. “Combine the two and hopefully we can win a lot of games.”
The Scotties were 9-8-2 last season, and lost almost their entire starting team to graduation. Those losses made this year’s preseason particularly important as it gave Bordentown a chance to work together for the first time and see how good they can be.
”We’ve done pretty well considering we lost eight or nine starters depending on the lineup we played last year,” Brennan said. “We are extremely young. There are generally four or five freshmen on the field at any time.”
Senior midfielder Scott Gorish and back Zach Burgher will captain the team with Hudik. Senior back Dylan Scaccetti and senior midfielder Mike Villano also return for the Scotties. Sophomore midfielders Andrew Cary and Steffan Knudson return along with Hudik after making last year’s varsity.
Newcomers this year are: senior goalies Gunnar Decker and James DiPerro, junior back Drew Pederson and forward Estaban Torres; sophomore goalies Andrew Morris and forward Richard Stoveken; and, freshmen forward Omer Kaya, midfielder Robert DiPierro, midfielder Nate Hilbert, forward Boris Urgiles and midfielder Zach Brennan.
It will be trial by fire for them early, though Bordentown dropped from the Liberty Division to the Patriot Division of the Burlington County League. They will still play Delran, Burlington Township, Moorestown and Rancocas Valley, but only once each during the season. Holy Cross is Brennan’s early Liberty Division favorite, but he hopes his young team can vie for the crown.
”We need to figure out a way to score a goal or two a game,” Brennan said. “We’re going to have to manufacture it. We don’t have the star power we’ve had in the past, so we’re going to have to work for it. We have to avoid the giant mistake. If we can avoid the big mistake, we’ll win a lot of games. We’re rock solid in the back.”
Hudik leads the back that is being counted on to keep the Scotties in every game. The defense has the bulk of the returning experience.
”Brendan Hudik is a top returning player,” Brennan said. “He was one of the top defenders as a freshmen. We expect him to continue his evolution into the top defender in the area. He was named captain this year.
”I have never made a sophomore captain before,” he added. “There’s no way I could justify not making Brendan captain. He’s a great player, and he’s a great person. He has the respect of every player in the program. He’s extremely fit and a hard worker. He’s a big asset to the program.”
Bordentown is still trying to figure out from whom exactly their scoring will come. It’s part of the mystery that comes with having such a young, unproven team.
”It’s a very bright future,” Brennan said. “I’m excited about this season. As coaches, we can do a lot of teaching to kids that are very eager to be coached. It creates a lot of excitement for the coaches.”
