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Camp Hill celebrates after defeating Tulpehocken in their District 3 final at Hersheypark Stadium Wednesday night.
The high school boys soccer regular season kicked off Friday. As local teams open their respective schedules, here are some storylines to follow.
Camp Hill, Boiling Sprngs move up, move onAfter lifting the District 3 Class A championship trophy and advancing to the PIAA Class A quarterfinals in 2021, Camp Hill is moving up to Class 2A for the next cycle, based on enrollment, beginning this season.
“Double A is a juggernaut,” Lions head coach Justin Sheaffer said. “You have Lancaster Mennonite, Oley Valley. You’ve got Middletown. You’ve got Trinity in there and Wyomissing. To get into the district playoffs for us is going to be a challenge, and once you get in, every game is going to be huge. But hopefully we’re there.”
Despite losing a few key pieces from last season to graduation, the Lions return plenty of experience in a lineup ready to take on the challenge.
Similarly, Boiling Springs moved up to Class 3A from 2A and graduated a slew of decorated seniors last year that helped the program ascend to the district championship game in 2020 and the semifinals last year.
Wildcats run it backUnlike the Lions and Bubblers, Mechanicsburg returns almost all of its lineup from a year ago, including a core group of seniors that have grown together over the last few seasons.
“A lot of our senior class has been playing together for a long time,” said Liam Stockbauer, a senior forward. “Our chemistry is better than it’s ever been. We play as one mind. We’re all connected on the field.”’
The senior core includes Stockbauer, midfielders Dilan Huffman and Alex Klebe, defenders Reese Brown, Aaron Babyak and Jacksin Drenning, and goalkeeper Noah DeLong. Tai San, a sophomore, has also developed into the Wildcats’ catalyst in the midfield.
Herd, Eagles charge into charge into challenging schedules
Two Class 4A district qualifiers from a year ago, Carlisle and Cumberland Valley, are looking to stay competitive in the Commonwealth Division. Both teams will be tested in both their league and non-league schedules. The Thundering Herd open the regular season with three straight road games – at Red Lion Tuesday and at Elizabethtown Friday and at Central Dauphin Sept. 6 – before their Sept. 8 home opener against Red Land. Meanwhile the Eagles’ daunting non-league slate includes a contest against Erie McDowell (Saturday), a trip to Emmaus (Oct. 1) and an Oct. 13 bout with Manheim Township, the first meeting between the two programs since Cumberland Valley received a forfeit win over the Blue Streaks in the 2020 district title game due to COVID issues at Manheim Township.
New turf for Northern, Trinity
Home fields for Northern and Trinity underwent a makeover in the offseason, transitioning from natural grass to artificial turf. In some respects, the grass may not be greener on the other side.
“It’s definitely going to be a mixed bag for us,” Trinity coach Dan Gustafson, “because that field was definitely an advantage for us. Teams struggled to play against us on that field, so we’ll lose that.”
“We like to be a technical team. We like to play the ball on the ground, and that’s definitely going to play into our favor.”
Northern debuted its new digs Saturday in a 3-0 loss to Mechancisburg.
Both the Shamrocks and Polar Bears are fielding new back lines this season after losing most of their defenders to graduation.
Jamie Nagy steps in as the area’s new head coach, taking over for Brandon Avery.
Nagy spent five years at Red Land as an assistant. His roster features a handful of juniors and seniors with experience alongside some promising sophomores. Overall participation numbers are up in the program, and he hopes to increase the level of competition as the Patriots embrace their role as the only Class 3A school in the large-school Commonwealth Division.
“We kind of always go in as the underdog,” Nagy said, “so we’ve got nothing to lose.”
Englebright led the Eagles with 15 points last season, helping a new crop of varsity players establish its identity.
Coming off a 17-goal season, Stockbauer returns as one of the key pieces in a determined and experienced Wildcat lineup.
The Lions’ holding midfielder returns among a group of experienced players looking to continue Camp Hill’s success.
With the Bubblers looking to replace a core grop of seniors that graduated last year, Yunk looks to help the transition to the next iteration …
One of the area’s top goalkeepers, Paukovits returns as one of the leaders on a Shamrock team rebuilding its back line.
Tim Gross is the sports editor at The Sentinel and cumberlink.com. Email him at tgross@cumberlink.com and follow him on Twitter at: @ByTimGross
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Key players, promising newcomers and notes to know as the 2022 boys soccer season kicks off.
Riding high expectations and confidence, the Wildcats charged to a 3-0 non-league win over Northern Saturday.
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A team-by-team look at the 2022 girls soccer season.
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As local teams open their respective schedules, here are some storylines to follow.
Camp Hill celebrates after defeating Tulpehocken in their District 3 final at Hersheypark Stadium Wednesday night.
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