Calhoun enjoys strong first half

A summer of togetherness on the soccer field has helped pay big dividends for Calhoun’s boys’ varsity team during the 2013 campaign. Almost the entire starting lineup took the field together for an eight-game summer league, and the chemistry has carried over to the fall where the Colts have jumped out of the gates with a 5-2 start (4-2 in Conference AA-III.)

Though a 4-0 loss at MacArthur last Friday may have taken a little steam out of Calhoun, coach Jim Cantley was hopeful there wouldn’t be any lingering effects. The Generals scored just 20 seconds into the game on a ball that bounced off a defender and then the crossbar before landing right in front of the net. 

“We have great guys and good practices,” he said. “It was a tough loss versus MacArthur but hopefully it will help to re-focus us to work harder.”

Before the loss to MacArthur, Calhoun sandwiched a pair of 2-0 shutouts over Elmont (Sept. 23) and Herricks (Sept. 17) around a 1-0 loss to Great Neck South on Sept. 19. Senior keeper Stephen Tappeto has three shutouts overall. After biding his time behind another strong senior keeper last season, Tappeto has stepped right in and been a leader as the last line of defense.

“He was always ready with a great attitude and knew that this would be his year,” Cantley said. “He has a toughness and good communication, knows the position and makes all the saves.”

Junior Jack Thomann lines up in front of Tappeto and is a tall defender who excels playing balls in the air. Junior sweeper Eric Rawson doubles as the kicker for the Colts’ varsity football team and his speed is an asset when clearing balls from the defensive zone. At outside back, senior Sean Elliot and sophomore Brian Hendrickson also provide support. The midfield has been anchored by senior Dylan Drasin, a captain, and the unit has also gotten strong play from senior Patrick Chin, a tireless worker, who like Thomann is fearless going after the ball in the air. Junior Chris Cederroth and classmate Matthew Krause also log consistent minutes at midfield.

“One of the things we try to do is [maintain] possession and [have] ball control,” Cantley said. “But we do have the speed up front to play thru balls [from the midfielders].”

The bulk of the scoring has been handled by senior Harry David, who is back after missing almost all of last season due to injury. Strong on the ball and quick catching up to it on thru passes, Davis scored both Colts goals in the win over Elmont. Senior Aleco Podias is also a weapon for Calhoun at forward.