The Concord boys’ soccer team has been busy this preseason, working diligently to find replacements for the seven starters who graduated from last year’s Division I state championship team.
“It started a little slow, but we’re starting to get it together,” said junior captain Taylor Silverstein, one of the four returning starters from last year’s 15-1-4 title team. “We’re figuring it out and starting to play faster.”
The Tide saw progress in its scrimmage with Bow on Tuesday, a 2-1 win against a good Falcons team. It was the final tuneup before Friday’s season opener at Winnacunnet, which was 2-14 last year.
“We definitely took a step forward as a team,” Scott Dunlop, now in his 21st year as Concord’s head coach, said of the scrimmage against D-II Bow. “And I’m very encouraged by the preseason. Guys are excited. We’re looking to create our own identity and be successful.”
That identity will be shaped in large part by Silverstein, a three-year starter in the midfield. He’s a natural playmaker with slick feet who is also willing to play defense and take care of the little things.
“Taylor will be the guy in the middle of the park for us, the guy that gets us going, distributing the ball from the defense to the offense. He’ll be the link for us,” Dunlop said. “Every year he’s gotten better. This year he’s been very composed and taking a leadership role, that’s why we named him a captain as a junior, that doesn’t happen frequently. He wants that responsibility to take charge of our team.”
And like a good leader, Silverstein was quick to acknowledge the contributions of his other teammates as the Tide strives to reach the high bar set by last year’s team.
“I think part of us getting better is people from last year helping out the new people,” Silverstein said. “Liam (Bennett) is always holding it down in back, organizing the whole defense. Ngongo (Mungeta) is helping out in the midfield and Gopal (Timsina) is helping out the strikers.”
Bennett started at outside back last year as a freshman for the state champs. This year he’s moved into the key center back role and the transition has been smooth.
“He’s just taking charge of the defense, taking on that responsibility as a sophomore and that doesn’t happen too often,” Dunlop said. “I’ve only had a few guys who have come in as sophomores and really been a leader of the defensive unit.”
During Tuesday’s scrimmage Silverstein was joined in the central midfield of Concord’s 4-5-1 scheme by Mungeta and Ethan Dupre, both senior captains and returning starters. Mungeta is a physical presence as well as a guiding voice.
“I try to tell people where to go, how to get open, and we got to move up as a team and move back as a team,” Mungeta said. “In my opinion, if we play as a team, and love each other, we can go far.”
Dupre played on the outside last year and he may be in the mix there as well this season as Dunlop figures out the best roles for everyone. Freshman Ronaldo Cabral played well against Bow as he continued to make his case for playing time in central midfield.
Freshman Sebastian Pardo also showed up against Bow and he’s one of the players who is looking for playing time on the wing, along with junior Patrick Nadeau and sophomore Chea Chebo. But it’s seniors Isaac Bosa and Adam Bryant who are leading the way on the outside.
“(Bryant) played on JV last year, got called up for the tournament and trained really well with us during the postseason,” Dunlop said. “He’s shown that he’s really confident on the outside.”
Timsina, a sophomore, didn’t start last year but he did see playing time. And he definitely has pace and a nose for the goal, as he showed by scoring twice against Bow.
Junior John Cole Gorham will be Bennett’s central back partner. Junior Josh Adams will get the nod at left back while senior Noah Wachter and sophomore Grant Rienstra battle for playing time at right back.
Concord lost an outstanding goalie in Dylan Thomson, who is now playing at the University of New Hampshire, but they had another waiting in the in the wings in sophomore Liam Devanny.
“We’ve got a great keeper coming in,” Dunlop said. “He’s very athletic, very confident, he’s strong in the air. He’s been very successful at all levels form JV to his club team.”
Devanny started for the Global Premier Soccer NH Classics U15 team this summer and helped the squad to a national title. Bennett was also a starter on that team, and that pair of Liams may turn out to be the strength of this Concord team.
“I think our strength is going to come out of the back,” Dupre said. “Liam Devanny is really strong and I think he can learn a lot from our senior goalie, Brian DeFranzo, so I think it starts in the back for us.”
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or at tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20.)