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09/30/2024 08:59 AMFor the Valley Regional boys’ soccer team, the last two seasons have been a bit sub-par by the very lofty standards set by their past accolades and championships. Yet through those bumps and bruises, the Warriors have bounced back with a collective group much more experienced and acclimated to the always competitive pitch along the Shoreline.
The Warriors earned an overall mark of 4-11-1 for last year’s campaign–marking the second-straight occasion Valley Regional posted that record. Yet thus far in 2024, Valley is working hard and is on the right path to flip that script, and it has fought its way to a mark of 5-3 overall through the month of September. The Warriors scored two big wins this past week after a 9-0 blanking of Stafford on Sept. 23 and then dispatching Old Lyme 6-2 two days later.
Longtime Head Coach Mike Fearon of course knows the pedigree that the program has set forth after being at the helm of so many of its crowning achievements. So with that said, he knows the main objective for the remainder of the fall is to grow on the last two years’ struggles and earn back the Warriors’ status as a postseason mainstay.
“After missing the Shoreline Conference and state tournaments the past two years, the goal for this year’s team is to return to both tournaments after consecutive 4-11-1 seasons,” said Fearon. “The main goal is to build on the history of strong, competitive Valley Regional High School soccer.”
Leading the 2024 squad are senior captains that include goalkeeper Kenny Batt, who was an All-Shoreline Honorable Mention in 2023 for his efforts in net. Joining him on the four-man front of stewardship are Nathan Crown and Tucker Norton–both up front at the offense as forwards—plus Birch Whitbeck, assisting both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball at midfield.
In addition to his four captains, Fearon pointed out the fact that the Warriors house a great deal of depth across their senior class in general. The success of the club relies heavily on each of them giving it their all on a day-to-day basis.
“These captains, along with senior defenders Cam Costanzo and Joe Welch, and senior midfielder Caleb Winkley were asked to log significant minutes in their sophomore and junior years.,” said Fearon. “Seniors Nic Cartagena, Eddie Johnson, Kevin Ramache, and Tyler Welch are also expected to contribute.”
The juniors entered this campaign with a great deal of experience via taking on some time at the top team ranks a year ago. Gavin Abderhalden, Tyler Benson, Jonas Campion, and Patrick Finnegan are all athletes who played varsity in 2023. Additionally, sophomore Aaron Johnson, “comes off a solid freshman year at defense, and he will be asked to move the team into postseason play,” per Fearon. Sophomores Mark Condon, Chris Kostek, and Will Ung will also be vying for time on the varsity squad.
Outside of the more experienced athletes in the group, the Warriors have some great potential to increase the depth of their club even further with a Junior Varsity (JV) program that’s well on the rise.
“There is a strong contingent of JV players coached by first-year Coach Matt Schenk, who will be pushing hard for a look at varsity level play and raising expectations for the future of Valley Soccer,” said Fearon.
As is the case virtually every fall, the Shoreline Conference is stacked with competitive clubs from top to bottom. Yet there are some squads that have tried to begin to pull themselves from the pack. For the Warriors, they are looking to keep pace with those target opponents and put themselves into the conversation of the upper echelon teams of the league.
“The 2024 season has started well with our 5-3-0 record,” said Fearon. “Morgan, Old Saybrook, and East Hampton have separated themselves from the rest of the conference, so it will be important for Valley to get positive results against the other eight teams in league play and to perform well in non-conference play.”
In terms of Valley’s prior results in the opening month of action with that trio of squads Fearon noted, the Warriors took a 4-1 loss to Morgan on Sept. 9. Valley also suffered a defeat by that same margin against East Hampton on Sept. 16. Lastly, the boys battled Old Saybrook on Sept. 27 and suffered a 5-0 defeat.
For the non-conference portion of its remaining schedule, Valley is home for Vinal Tech on Friday, Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. The Warriors also venture to Griswold exactly one week later for a 3:45 p.m. contest. Finally, they will travel to Amistad Academy three days after that on Monday, Oct. 14 with the matchup scheduled to begin at 4:15 p.m.
Fearon is in his 23rd year at the helm for Valley, and he is assisted by Bryant Ziobron, who has been with the program for 19 years.
The 2024 Warriors’ roster is comprised of seniors Whitbeck, Crown, Norton, Batt, Costanzo, Welch, Winkley, Jack McPherson, Cartagena, Johnson, Remache, Sean Catota, team manager John Wadle; juniors Campion, Elijah Arsenault, Rinze Knoop, Abderhalden, Benson, Finnegan, Owen Ingram; sophomores Alan Pinto, Kostek, Ung, Condon, Johnson; plus freshmen Varrick Recchia, Keegan Colquhoun, Levit Batt, Rex Cecchini, Canyon Erikkila, Kash Glowac, Cale Nunes, Peyton Riebold, Cody Ziobron, and Benicio Cardoso.
2024 Valley Regional Boys’ Soccer Regular Season Results and Schedule
Sept. 3: Valley Regional 2, Cromwell 1
Sept. 9: Morgan 4, Valley Regional 1
Sept. 12: Valley Regional 3, Cromwell 2
Sept. 16: East Hampton 4, Valley Regional 1
Sept. 19: Valley Regional 6, Hale-Ray 0
Sept. 23: Valley Regional 9. Stafford 0
Sept. 25: Valley Regional 6, Old Lyme 2
Sept. 27: Old Saybrook 5, Valley Regional 0
Monday, Sept. 30: at North Branford at 4 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 4: vs. Vinal Tech at 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 8: vs. Haddam-Killingworth at 4 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 10: at Portland at 6 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 11: at Griswold at 3:45 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 14: at Amistad at 4:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 16: vs. Westbrook at 6 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 18: vs. Coginchaug at 6 p.m.