St. John’s Prep soccer: scorching hot

DANVERS — What a start it’s been for the St. John’s Prep boys soccer team, which stands at 8-0.

Head coach David Crowell said he’s very pleased with the start, but didn’t want to get too ahead of himself or his team.

“I am very happy with the success of the team so far. Despite a rash of injuries and an illness that has been running through the team, we have been extremely successful while playing an ultra-competitive schedule,” he said. “It is a next-man-up mentality that the players have embraced. Players who may not have been given a lot of playing time have been forced to play big minutes – including starting – and they have taken advantage of their opportunities.”

From scores to shutouts, the Eagles have seen a handful of contributors.

“Key performers have included junior midfielder Finn McCabe, who, in most tight games, has been forced to play a full 80 minutes. Senior captain Matt Foley is our leading scorer with four goals (3 game-winners) and three assists. Senior forward Grant Magnuson has three goals and two assists, and junior midfielder Mike Hutchinson has three goals.”

Others include James Minor, who has “been the rock of the defense,” according to Crowell, as well as goalkeeper Matt Droggitis, who has recorded five shutouts across seven starts.

“We have won four of our last five games by 1-0 scores, and Matt has made spectacular saves in all of those contests,” Crowell said.

But even when a team is undefeated, there’s always room for improvement.

“We can do a lot of the little things better, like simple throw-ins and killing off games in the final minutes,” Crowell said. “The biggest thing we need to improve is our passing game when we are being pressed.”

The Prep has its eyes set on something much bigger than an undefeated record, however. The Eagles want to make a deep run through the state tournament.

“Our goals are, as always, to win the Catholic Conference championship, earn a high seed in the state tournament, and advance deep into that tournament and see what happens once we get there,” Crowell said.

Mission accomplished, at least thus far. The Eagles are 4-0 within the conference.

They travel to face Needham at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in the Kicks for Cancer Tournament. Call it a midseason test, as Needham was last year’s state finalist.

“This is only going to make us better as we move deeper into the season,” Crowell said.

Owen Finn is a student at Endicott College studying journalism

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