DANVERS — The St. John’s Prep soccer team carries high expectations for itself year in and year out. The goals for the upcoming season are no different.
Coach Dave Crowell and his Eagles are coming off another successful season in 2018. St. John’s was co-champion of the Catholic Conference (along with BC High), earned the No. 9 seed in the Division 1 North state tournament and reached the sectional final before falling to No. 3 Lincoln-Sudbury in a nail-biter. The postseason run included PK victories over No. 8 Chelmsford (3-2) and No. 1 Lexington (2-1) in the first round and quarterfinal, respectively.
“It was a great year,” Crowell, entering his 20th season at St. John’s, said. “We were coming off an undefeated season and people were kind of looking past us a little bit. We had a great year. I don’t think we overachieved. I think we did what we should’ve done.”
St. John’s graduated 10 seniors from the 2018 roster, including center-midfielder Will Andrews, goalie Christian Buckley, center-back Peter Danif and outside-back Luke Surette. The 2018 senior class also played a crucial role in leading the Eagles to the state semifinal in 2017.
St. John’s returns 15 players with varsity experience this fall. It starts with captain Gabe Najim, who’s projected to propel the offense this season. Najim, a senior forward, scored a team-high 17 goals in 2018. Also serving as captains are seniors Ethan Ambrosh (forward), Zach Davis (midfielder) and Ryan Hart (center-back).
“Hart’s a center-back so he’s going to be the key to our defense with a new goalie this season,” Crowell said. “We’re going to have a whole new defense with the exception of Hart and (senior defender) Andrew Behling. It might take us some time to gel in the back but there’s plenty of depth back there.”
Seniors Jack Hausler, Garrison Jorge and Kuol Majok bring experience to the midfield.
“We have experience and depth,” Crowell said. “We have a lot of speed all over the field. We’re looking to be very competitive again. We’re looking to win our conference, earn a high seed and make another run.”
Crowell foresees a competitive Catholic Conference ahead. St. John’s aims for its sixth consecutive conference title this fall.
“We’re looking to repeat,” Crowell said. “We know there’s going to be a lot of competition from BC High. Xaverian is always very competitive. Catholic Memorial should be a lot better this year. They were young last year, so they basically return their whole team. It’ll be tough.”
Non-conference games on St. John’s schedule include tilts against Central Catholic, Everett, Lowell, Masconomet, Needham and Silver Lake. Matching up against some of the state’s top teams pays dividends for the Eagles when the postseason rolls around.
“We try to play the toughest schedule we can,” Crowell said. “It helps prepare us for the state tournament.”
St. John’s opens the season when the Eagles host Masconomet next Tuesday (4).
“Everybody’s ready to go,” Crowell said. “After awhile you get a little tired of playing against each other every day, in any sport. We’re going to a round robin Saturday with Needham, Westboro and Medfield. That should help us get ready for Tuesday.”
