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Valley Boys’ Soccer Has High Hopes with Young Bunch

The Valley Regional boys’ soccer squad hosted Cromwell for its first game of the 2017 campaign and took a 3-0 defeat on Sept. 8. One year after going 12-5-4 and advancing to the semifinals of the Class S State Tournament, the Warriors enter this season having graduated 14 seniors from that group. As a result, Valley will be relying upon some of last year’s JV players, as well as a few athletes who are in their first year with the program. Several of those athletes were on the field in the Cromwell contest.

Cromwell put one in the back of the net during the first half to take a lead that it wouldn’t relinquish against the Warriors. Even though things didn’t go the way Head Coach Mick Fearon wanted in Valley’s first match, he’s still encouraged by what he saw from his players on the field.

“I thought in the first half before Cromwell took the lead, we created a few good chances. Even after we were down, we had some more,” Fearon said. “There were a lot of positives from today. There were a lot of good things as a coach that we could build on for later in the year.”

Fearon believes that building will be a theme throughout the 2017 season. The coach knows that the experience of getting time on the field against stiffer competition will be invaluable to Valley’s younger players, and he’s hoping that leads to success both this year and in subsequent campaigns.

“The game today for a lot of the younger boys that played JV in the past, it’s an eye-opener to see how quick and physical the varsity game is,” Fearon said. “It’s a long season, and we’re going to be playing several really good teams. This can only benefit these players in the future when they get to be juniors and seniors.”

Fearon said the biggest void left by Valley’s graduating seniors is on defense. Multiple players will be learning to play defensive positions that they’re not accustomed to in order to fill the gaps for Valley this year.

“We virtually lost the whole of the defense,” said Fearon. “Right now, we have players who were midfielders and forwards. For some of them, it’s a big learning curve at that position. That’s something we have to think about—which formation suits us the best, instead of just playing the standard 4-4-2.”

Coach Fearon will be leaning heavily on his five experienced seniors to provide stability during his squad’s transition as younger players take on more prominent roles. One of the most integral seniors on the Warriors is captain Adrian Sperzel, who’s been a mainstay on the varsity roster since his freshman year. Fearon believes that Sperzel has both the attention and respect of his teammates because of his commitment to the sport of soccer.

“He’s been a varsity player for four years...He’s one of the few players that plays year-round soccer. He has experience,” Fearon said. “What I would like to see is good leadership from Adrian on the field, so players aren’t looking around to the sidelines for the coach for instruction.”

Fearon also feels that his vice captain, senior Kevin Baldwin, will have a heavy hand in keeping Valley focused due to his good-natured style of leadership.

“He’s a good boy. I think that the kids realize who the boys are who they’d like to have as leaders of the team,” said Fearon. “Kevin is a good kid.”

Fearon also expects to get offensive production from senior Charlie Ferrucci, who was the team’s co-leading scorer in the 2016 season. Kevin Michel and Zachary Stevens are the team’s other seniors. Junior Charlie Haughton is stepping up as the team’s regular goalie after starting half of Valley’s games last year. Fellow junior Michael Dilger will look to repeat his performance as the team leader in assists.

All in all, Coach Fearon thinks the Warriors have plenty of potential, but at this early point in the season, it’s difficult to ascertain just how high the ceiling is for his squad. For now, Fearon wants the Warriors to roll with the punches, keep trying their best, and, hopefully, the victories will follow.

“I think it’s a little early to tell,” he said. “You’re looking to the makeup of the team. Are they willing to help each other? When they make a mistake, do they worry about it or just get on with the game? As a coach, you just try to tell them that they’re all going to make mistakes. You just have to continue to work hard after you make them.”

Even with their inexperience, the Warriors are setting their sights on earning a spot in the postseason come November. Fearon believes they can accomplish that goal if his athletes buy in to working hard, learning, and getting better throughout the campaign.

“The achievement we want this year is states. It’s our No. 1 goal. In Shorelines, the top teams make it. That’s something that we’re hoping to achieve. As a coach, I’m hoping we see improvement as a team as the season goes on,” said Coach Fearon. “We’re going to be inexperienced with 12 players moving up from JV and two freshmen on the squad. I just hope we improve throughout the season.”

• The athletes on the Valley Regional boys’ soccer varsity roster this year are senior captain Adrian Sperzel, senior vice captain Kevin Baldwin, and fellow seniors Charlie Ferrucci, Kevin Michel, and Zachary Stevens; juniors Logan Bellos, Sean Cole, Chris Cook, Michael Dilger, Charlie Haughton, Dan Hearn, and Chris Morales; sophomores Evan Benson, Cameron Frazier, Sam Ocken, Ryan Shasha, Chris Sparaco, Dylan Sparaco, and Jaden Viega; and freshmen Michael Brooks, Keenan Pindar III, Cameron Ruel, and Andrew Sherman.

• Mick Fearon is in his 16th year as the Warriors’ head coach. Dan Denegre is the JV head coach and a varsity assistant, while Bryant Ziobron is also a varsity assistant for Valley.