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Despite a difficult 2016, the boy’s soccer team was able to get a lot of younger players some valuable experience on the varsity field. Here is our review.
Cinnaminson opened the season with a 1-1 draw against Group 3 Ocean City at home before taking down division rival Pennsauken 3-0 for their first win.
The Pirates finished the 2016 campaign 6-12-1 overall and 5-7 in the Liberty.
Five of the Pirates six wins on the season came against division opponents.
Their lone win outside of division play came against Pemberton by a 6-1 score.
Plenty of younger players were filtered into the lineup and they gained valuable experience on the varsity field, learning through a lot of adversity.
“Their desire to compete and practice day in and day out for six days a week 2-2 1/2 hours a day stands out,” head coach Jason Miele said. “The younger players learned from this senior class what it takes to be successful.”
“If we want to play at the highest levels we need to work on our weaknesses and need to be better in all aspects of the game. The underclassmen really began to accept this daily challenge at the varsity level, but unfortunately injuries really never allowed us to string together a consistent run.”
One of those younger players that made an impression on Miele and the coaching staff was sophomore Dom Coppola.
“Dom came into the pre-season as a player with a lot of potential. The coaching staff initially thought of Dom as a “taxi squad” guy who was going to practice with varsity but play JV on game day.”
“As the preseason continued and we played one another in practice he began to warrant minutes and a look as a full time varsity player. He really impressed us and seemed to grasp a lot that we were trying to do as a team. Dom’s ability to anticipate and see a play develop allowed him to have an impact in a number of different positions on the field which was extremely valuable. As the season continued Dom continued to adjust from game to game and became a player who did a lot of the little things that will really help us going forward.”
Towards the end of the regular season the Pirates had a chance to secure the third spot in the division standings, but dropped a 2-0 contest with Northern Burlington.
Cinnaminson lost its final four regular season games via shutout and a combined score of 10-0.
The Pirates made the postseason as the #13 seed in the South, Group 2 bracket.
Cinnaminson visited #4 Sterling in the first round, falling by a count of 4-1.
Meile commended the play and poise of senior keeper Mike Deal throughout the 2016 season.
“Mike took a lot of ownership (probably too much ownership) in our inconsistency. This just drove Mike to work harder and be better by the next game.”
“He held his teammates accountable for needing to work harder and learn from our mistakes. I’ve said it all four years when Mike was in the program; he is the hardest working kid day in and day out at practice. The team really should build off of his example and challenge each other this entire offseason to get bigger, stronger and better.”
Tomorrow we continue our Fall 2016 season review series with a look back at the girl’s soccer campaign.
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