New Faces, Same Drive For SP Boys Soccer

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Every high school team experiences turnover from year to year, but it is unusual for a soccer team to enter a season with 11 new starters.

That’s the situation early this fall for the Severna Park boys soccer team, which went 18-1-1 in 2017 and reached the state championship game but is reloading with a group of up-and-comers and a few key returners in 2018.

The Falcons got strong private-school competition to start the year in Severn and Gonzaga at Severn’s home tournament over Labor Day weekend.

A hat-trick by junior Gordie Bernlohr that included assists from Nate Carey and Camden Handwerger allowed the Falcons to start the year with a 3-2 win over rival Severn on August 31. The Admirals got goals from Nathan Gauthier and Nick Angelino, an assist by Peyton Lee and five saves by Nick Subong but couldn’t overcome the efforts of the visiting Falcons.

Severna Park was met with a stiff challenge the next day in Gonzaga College High School, the reigning champion of Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, one of the nation’s top private-school boys soccer conferences. The Eagles scored a second-half goal and repelled a series of late Falcon challenges in a chippy, physical contest they won 1-0.

PHOTO GALLERY: Severna Park boy soccer vs. Gonzaga

SEE ALSO: Severna Park Boys Soccer Pays It Forward - By Anna Grace Keller

Carey, one of the few members of the team to see significant playing time last season, said the team isn’t thinking much about the success of 2017.

“I think it’s important for us to forget about last season, because that’s gone, and just focus on the squad we have now and getting better every day at practice, working hard and just competing every single day,” he said, adding that the new minutes-earners are hungry for their shot. “It is great to see some of the younger class coming up and really putting in the work every single day, and I’m impressed with the start of the season and how we’ve worked together.”

Bernlohr is off to a good start scooping up the goal-scoring duties left open by the graduated Drew Belloff, who racked up 21 goals and 10 assists last season. He’s ready for that challenge, as well as the challenge of leading the next wave of Falcons into a proud tradition.

“It’s up to the returning players to instill a mentality of winning in this program among the new kids,” he said.

There are many to fill that need, as the Falcons are young but deep. The defense of Thomas Voisinet, Colin Wolfe, Jack Suski, and Elliott Skopp, goaltending of Braden Mondoor, and midfield/forward play of Carey, Bernlohr, Handwerger, Declan Byrne, Evan Blamphin, Zachary Tipton, Patrick Murray, Zachary Plummer, Owen Barrett, Kevin Breitinger, Jack Chadwick, Bennett Jefferds and others will all play a role in keeping the Falcons contending for the county and region.

Seventh-year head coach Ryan Parisi was glad to throw the newcomers into the fire of top-tier varsity competition this early in the season.

“Just competition. A lot of new kids on the team, figuring a way to compete and win when you don’t have everything working for you,” said Parisi. “Competing at the high school level is an important piece, and it’s hard to replicate game competition in training. I think for guys that are transitioning, whether they’re underclassmen or JV players transitioning to varsity, it’s a different expectation. But, two good teams, so it was a good test. We’re playing to learn and we’re getting better.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Severna Park boy soccer vs. Gonzaga

SEE ALSO: Severna Park Boys Soccer Pays It Forward - By Anna Grace Keller

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