BOYS SOCCER MIDSEASON REPORT

Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports Editor

10-11-09 - 6:00 p.m. - At about the half way point through the Patroon Conference boys soccer season, ccSCOOP has decided to take a look at the teams and players people are talking about around the league. I hate to say top keeper or striker, because we are halfway through the season. So instead, at this point, I'll go with top units.

Top Defensive Unit: ICC  Despite a rash of injuries they've given up I believe a mere 3 goals this season.

Top Offensive Unit: MH  Tough call especially since ICC shut them out, but when they are clicking they can put up goals in a hurry.

Top Midfield Unit: ICC   The Riders midfield unit is about as talented as any group in recent years around the league. It may not have an absolute star recognized by the Section, but it's a good group.

Biggest Surprise Team: CD  Everyone knew they'd still be pretty good, but this good?

Biggest Disappointment Team: Chatham & MH  I know, I know, they both lost a ton, but there is enough talent still on these squads to be better than this.

Biggest Surprise Player: Will Gauthier from Chatham  I considered Jacob Yager from MH because he's having a great year, but unless you followed modified soccer from two years ago or are a Chatham insider, you had no idea what an impact Gauthier would have this year.

Biggest Disappointment Player:  I hate calling any player a disappointment, and it's even tougher because I'm going to choose two players from the same team: David Briggs and Steven Sepowski from MH. I think both players are having very good seasons, but for the Wildcats to get back to the level they should be at, these two need to play at the top of their games every game.

MVP:  If I must pick an MVP at this point, I use a few rules. Your team must be in the top tier of teams, or you as a player must be so good on your team that, even if you were replaced on your team by the next best player in the league, your team would be significantly worse. So that leaves us four teams to choose from in ICC, CD, Chatham, and MH.

I like Yager, Briggs, and Sepowski from MH, but if you replaced any of them with the top player from one of the other teams, would MH be any worse? Chatham is tough. They have a good defense as a unit and a lot of players come up big in various games, but no one every game. I like Zwoboda and Zoellner at Cairo, but that team is as much about defense as it is about offense, so that leaves me with undefeated ICC. I look at four players here, yes four! Nick Boardman holds that defense together in the back, but an MVP needs some individual stats. I love what Kyle Kline does for this team, but it's so passé to pick the "goal scorer." That leaves me with Will Poetzsch and Mitchell Niemeyer. Both have played center mid, with the first being more a creator/defender and the latter being more of a creator/scorer. It's a virtual toss-up for me, but I give Niemeyer the edge because of his size and ability to win a ball in the air, plus he gets bonus points for his seamless move up front to help this team score goals when injuries struck.

So my MVP is Mitchell Niemeyer from ICC.