Printer Friendly Version - Hand Boys’ Soccer Setting Sights on Adding to Championship Legacy

Hand boys’ soccer senior co-captain Santi Barrera (No. 5) runs to the corner flag to celebrate his game-winning goal against Guilford on Sept. 7. Also pictured are Nate Kraft, Will McGuire, Danny McSweeney, and Oliver Wilker. Photo courtesy of Mike Shirley

Junior Ethan Skonieczny gets into a tackle against Guilford during the Tigers boys’ soccer squad’s big season-opening 1-0 victory over the rival Grizzlies. Photo courtesy of Mike Shirley

A new individual may be guiding the Hand boys’ soccer team this fall towards the Tigers’ targets on SCC and state supremacy, though many familiar faces all around the entity will look to maintain Hand’s status as one of the preeminent programs in the Nutmeg State.

Last fall, Hand played to an average 7-7-2 regular-season record, but the Tigers’ postseason run was anything but pedestrian. As the 21st seed in the Class L State Tournament, Hand first upset No. 12 seed Bassick 4-1 on the road, prior to a 2-0 victory at No. 5 Berlin in the second round, before taking a quarterfinal loss to Guilford on penalty kicks to finish 9-8-2 overall.

As the new head coach in town, Mike Shirley is aiming to see the Tigers continue to claw their spot into the upper echelon of teams within the SCC and Class L state ranks, while he additionally looks to construct a squad that all members of the local community in Madison can proudly and loudly boast about throughout southern Connecticut. Hand certainly started that process quickly, going 4-1 in its opening five tussles, not allowing a single goal in any of its victories.

“The Hand boys’ soccer program has no intention of shying away from success,” said Shirley. “Success to us is making the town of Madison proud, making Daniel Hand High School [DHHS] proud, and achieving our goals on the pitch. The goals for the season on the pitch are pretty simple: to be playing in a conference championship match and be playing in a state title match.”

A tandem of terrific captains are heading off the soccer squad this season in seniors Santi Barrera and Danny McSweeney. While currently a center back on defense this year, Barrera started the most games as a midfielder for the team in 2022. Meanwhile, McSweeney mans the midfield again this fall to create a solid 1-2 punch of potent leadership.

“Santi is a captain that leads by example, and Santi scored the goal in the Guilford game [on Sept. 7] to win 1-0. Santi has a great mix of size and ability that suits the position,” said Shirley. “An attacking minded player with a unique ability to finish, Danny is the voice the team follows. He scored a brilliant goal from distance in a 2-0 win at Law [on Sept. 12]. Danny is skilled on the ball, and is a smart and tactical player, which allows for the team to play in multiple formations and multiple tactical approaches.”

Wing player Nate Kraft complements the captains quite well in the senior class. The Tigers additionally boast several key pieces amongst the juniors in midfielder Ethan Skonieczny, defender Will McGuire at center back, and Ernesto Barrosa upfront for the offense at striker.

“Nate Kraft’s combination of physical ability and technical ability make him a special player. We expect Nate to make a big impact this year,” said Shirley. “Will is a center back who brings a special mix of energy, toughness, ability, and leadership that makes for a strong defensive back line. Ethan brings the experience of starting most of his sophomore year into his junior season. He is the heartbeat of the DHHS midfield, and is a key player in a midfield that is tasked with a lot of responsibility. Ernesto is a playmaker who has the abilities to be a great striker for the team and make a massive impact. Coming into his junior year, it is time for him to prove he is the player he has the ability to be.”

As the Tigers started off the year in a big way by extracting revenge for last year’s postseason duel over Guilford, they will have a rematch with the Grizzlies to kick off October, in addition to five-star SCC matchups with the likes of Notre Dame-West Haven and Fairfield Prep.

“Hand vs. Guilford is one of the most storied rivalries in the state, not much needs to be said about why this game is important,” said Shirley. “Notre Dame has knocked DHHS out of the SCC Tournament and the State Tournament in the past two years, not something that is lost on the current team. If DHHS boys’ soccer is going to prove to be a major player in the SCC this year, solid performances against Fairfield Prep are necessary.”

The theme throughout the coaching staff this fall for Hand harkens to one of a sort of homecoming. Shirley is a Class of 2006 Tigers’ graduate. Assistant varsity coach Matt Thomas has been with the program six years and graduated from Hand in 2002; JV Head Coach Adam Kissack was a former head coach of the squad in the early to mid-2010s; Assistant Coach Dan Shirley is a Class of 2009 alum; and Mike Papantonio also graduated from Hand 21 years ago and formerly coached the freshman and JV clubs around the same time frame as Kissack.

“As you can see, this is a coaching staff that has a lot of alumni and brings a lot of DHHS soccer past experience and history,” said Shirley, whose coaching corps is rounded out by first-year freshman coach John Dewitt. “We know what this program represents and how important it is to the community. We want to build the tradition that guys like Kevin Dolan, Andy McConville, Bob Faulkner, and Greg Cumpstone have built before us, on the pitch and in the town of Madison.”

With experience all around them, the potential is alive and well within the veins of the Tigers’ program. Yet they understand that it is not just raw talent and soccer acumen that wins championships–it takes forging mental fortitude through displaying competitive fire daily while functioning as a family.

“I know this team has all of the ability to do something special,” said Shirley. “What we have been discussing all preseason and early in the regular season is the fact that ability does not make champions, mentality does. Do you have the desire to be a stronger, quicker, smarter, better player and person every day? Are you ready to enjoy the grind? As I watch us competing harder in training, not sometimes, not every other day, but every single day, I believe we can achieve what we have set out to achieve. This group of players is very very special to me. This is a group of guys I have collectively coached for going on three years now. I’ve gone to battle with these guys, and we have achieved things together that we did not think we could. We are a family.”

The 2023 Tigers’ roster is comprised of seniors in William Harriman, Eli Ackerman, Jack Rourke, Barrera, Patrick Mullally, McSweeney, Kraft, Robert Thompson, Ryland Silva, Micah Linton-Smith, Ehsan Rana, Owen Romblad, Mason Williams, Ethan Feldman, and Calvin Walker; juniors Eli Jacob, Max Wheeler, Barrosa, Oliver Wilker, McGuire, Skonieczny, Griffin Kubicki, and PJ O’Hanlon; sophomores Harrison Hodge, Elliot Arroyo, Calvin Davies, Samuel Duffy, Marcelo Gonzalez, Liam Harris, David Jacoby, Nathaniel Konstantino, Riley Letkowski, Finlay McConville, Jonas Markovitz, Nicholas Maynard, Trey Newman, Lucas Nolte, Zachary Porte, Amir Rana, Daniel Shenouda, Braydon Shields, Finn Strabley, and Jack Tanner; and freshmen James Boyd, Benjamin Coe, Pablo Correa, Lucas Felberbaum, Quinn Goody, Connor Greco, Henry Kench, Wesley Long, Lefty Maniatis, Timothy McSweeney, Hudson O’Hanlon, William Riggio, Wyatt Roberts, William Shay, Silas Song, Luke Steffen, Eli Surprenant, Riley Swift, and Daniel Tornos.