CHSAA boys soccer preview
Chaminade's Jonathan Stallone (23, left) defends against St. Anthony's Myles Bent (12, right), during their game at St. Anthony's. (Sept. 30, 2010) Credit: Richard Slattery
Perennial national powerhouses St. Anthony's and Chaminade will be battling again this season for supremacy in Catholic High School boys soccer. Chaminade came out on top last season, beating St. Anthony's, 1-0, for the CHSAA state championship. Both teams are nationally ranked again.
Chaminade: Coach Mike Gallagher will start a mixture of juniors and seniors and rely heavily on his two senior captains, defensemen Chris Kanaval and Terrence McGovern. Senior forward Vincent Valenza is expected to lead the offense and junior defenseman Kevin Mercandante and midfielder Hunter Frey should also contribute.
St. Anthony's: Returns senior goalkeeper Anthony Lapotaski, who helped his team record 14 shutouts last season. Seniors Myles Bent and Colin Volpe are expected to control midfield for the Friars, while the Petrallia twins, Sergio and Fabrizo, will rotate their duties between midfield and forward.
St. John the Baptist: Coaches have said SJB could be the surprise team in the CHSAA this season. The team has young but experienced players who have been on varsity for one or two seasons already. Junior midfielders Junior Rosero and Andres Sandoval will lead what should be a strong midfield in front of senior defensemen Michael Mosher and Louis Sepulveda. Holy Trinity: Hopes to battle for a playoff spot this season. The team lost its top goal scorer from a year ago but will rely on junior forward Bobby Antonellis to help fill that void. Coach Dan Kramer says the team's strength will be its defense, led by senior Jeremy Waite at center back. Junior midfielder Chris Ernest is also expected to play an important role.
