Camden’s Hunter Choquette (12) is one of the Blue Devils’ key returning players in 2016.
Last fall, coach Mike Blair was pleased with the way the Oneida boys soccer team progressed during his first year at the helm.
Most of these players are coming back and will try to be even better this season.
Ten players return from a 2016 that went 5-7 in the Tri-Valley League and 5-11 overall, falling to New Hartford in the first round of the Class A Section III tournament .
Senior forwards Jeffrey Coulter and Jordan O’Connell will once again pace the Oneida attack with classmates Dylan Ratnarajah, Casey Rich, Jared George once again providing midfield support with the return of Isaac Colvin , second year student. Seniors Kevin Spooner, Josh Goode and Elijah Scuderi will again play defense in front of guard Jarod Ripper, also in his final season.
Junior Gage Mair and sophomore Jacob George are two newcomers who could make an impact playing midfield for Oneida as they take on Camden, Central Valley Academy, New Hartford and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in the Tri-Valley League.
The Blue Devils also have a large group of players returning after a five-win campaign in 2015. Coach Bradley Scanlan will once again rely on seniors Hunter Holliday and Hunter Choquette and junior Jason Richards in the midfield with senior David Pitoniak leading the offense. Defensemen Brandon Boncella, Alex Williams, Cyrille Greasley and Jackson Pulizzi also return in front of senior goalie Carson Nedell.
Junior Colby Spencer, sophomore Sam Dunfield and freshman Parker Scholl join Camden this fall and will look to help the team continue to improve on last year’s performance.
Another group of Blue Devils also has a strong core of returning players. All-Central Counties League second-team selections Tyler Hummer and Ethan Snyder return to Madison’s midfield and defense, respectively. Coach Mike Strong also received returning CCL honorable mentions in midfielders Colton Stone, Spencer Haviland and Brady Strong as well as James Fleckinstein on defense. Fleckinstein will be joined by returners Dawson Eckrich and Alex Cotter on the backline, with Alex Cotter once again guarding goal.
Strong hopes his improving team can make some noise in the CCL this fall, on top of a tough non-conference schedule that includes Class A Camden and Class B powerhouse Lowville. Madison will also face league-leading Cincinnatus and McGraw, with Stockbridge Valley, Brookfield and DeRuyter also posing a challenge.
Cazenovia is aiming for a Section III title this fall after a quarterfinal loss in last year’s Class B quarterfinals to Westhill. Senior Burke Regan was named first team All-Onondaga High School League as a junior and the midfielder is one of the Lakers’ top returners and Sean McNerney earned a second team All-Onondaga High School League nod. OHSL from coach Adam Reynolds’ defense in 2015. Seniors John Williams, Chris Becker and Will Shephard and juniors Thomas Bragg and Ryan Modzeleski return and will be joined by new junior Tim Burr, sophomore Jack Aronson and freshman Joe Spiers as Cazenovia attempts to take on Skaneateles, Westhill and Marcellus.
In Hamilton, Brian Rose takes over a program that reached the Section III Class C semifinals last year but graduated several key seniors. Geordi Geier, Diego Kagle and Dale Lake all return as seniors for the Emerald Knights, alongside junior Eamon Pendleton-Witherspoon.
Chittenango will look to build on last year’s 4-11-1 record behind returning seniors Keoni Saturnio, Ryan Pitt, Ward Beley, Justin Makowski, Andrew Larsson, Mike Culkin, Jacob Blaszkow and Nick Stanton.
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