Oratory Soccer Preview

It is that time of year when the fall sports have come around once again as the temperatures drop and the leaves start to fall. The cross country team has been going at it since July, coming off a very strong season across the three running sports. The other fall sport, soccer, has also started as the team has started their scrimmages in preparation for their season debut home against a tough Scotch Plains team later next week. The soccer team is coming off a .500 season (9-9-2), in which there were many successes but also a lot of things for Coach Baressi to improve with this new young team of his. A big change in the lineup is star defender Max Cook, adding a new chapter of his novel with a new position being played, hoping to generate more goals for this Oratory team. To replace him, JV stud Patrick Barret has come in on the right side accompanied by Luis Cueva on the left. The fullbacks for this team are Dereck Zapata and Connor Tole, both coming off strong seasons on JV. Henry Griffiths returns on top after an impressive rookie season scoring 8 goals for the Rams, adding a boost in their offense for seasons to come. Sean Van Hoven in the middle is another great piece of this strong team, in which it will be the last season Sean puts on the jersey for the Rams. Senior Ryan Tole and Jack Olohan are on the wings, hoping to use their strong passing abilities to assist many goals for the strikers and man in the middle. Freshmen Matt Pasternak is a great addition, coming from Millburn to help the Rams in their goal scoring troubles from previous seasons. Last, Brody (Brexit) Henderson sits in the middle for his slide tackling abilities and strong defending. The two way threat has turned himself into a varsity veteran, using his two way ability to help generate and stop goals this season. The Rams have two great keepers in Eric deVomecourt and George Fagan, in which they will use their communication skills to help the Rams lessen the damage on the defensive side. Senior Sean Van Hoven and Max Cook have been named captains for the Rams this season due to their outstanding playmaking abilities and creative soccer minds. Overall, I believe this season will be a success for the Rams after losing many seniors in which they will be able to maintain many close games against hard competition. Their is only one way to find out as the season starts on September 7th home against Scotch Plains! Come out and support!