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New coach looks to take Knight boys soccer higher

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August 25, 2010

by Devan Matthews

Correspondent

With a new head coach, the Nordonia High School boys soccer team has its sights set high in 2010.

That new coach is Jake Cooper, who coached at Orange for 10 years. He's making the jump from Division II to Division I.

The Knights finished 8-8-1 a year ago, including a record of 2-2-1 in the Lake Division of the Northeast Ohio Conference.

Of the 14 players on this year's roster, 11 were part of the varsity squad last year. In addition, nine of those 14 are seniors.

Among the seniors who are returning are forward Scott Danner, defender Trevor Hawks, midfielder Andrew Mendez, defender Justin Politi, forward Brandon Richards, midfielder Sean Tyrrell and midfielder Ricky Zapora.

There are also two junior returning players -- forward Josh Bodziony and goalie Marcus Perry. The two sophomores on the roster from a year ago are defender Ryan Bauer and midfielder Josh Hathaway.

There are also three newcomers to the squad. They include senior defender Sebastian Wilson, sophomore midfielder Alec Groff and senior midfielder Badic Patel.

Wilson was hurt last season and did not have the opportunity to play.

Wilson and Hawks were voted as the team's senior captains.

According to Cooper, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the 2010 season, starting with the Knights' attitude.

"Being new to the program, I knew that Nordonia has had a rough decade," said Cooper. "I didn't know what to expect, but we have a very hard-working senior class that's very motivated and coacable. The chemistry on the team is also very high, and we're bringing back two sophomores in Bauer and Hathaway. They started every game as freshmen last year. I think we have a good nucleus of guys."

In terms of strengths, Cooper pointed to the defensive side of the ball, where the Knights have a ton of talent and experience.

"We've worked really hard with our defensive unit," said Cooper. "We have Hawks, Politi, Wilson and Bauer and Marcus Perry in goal. He reads the game very well. I think defense is going to be one of our strengths."

As far as goals for the upcoming campaign, Cooper has set two for sure.

"Our goals are to have a winning record and to compete for a possible league championship," he said.

Cooper's varsity assistant coaches are Andrew Elsoffer and Jeremy Johnson. The junior varsity coach is Mark Politi.

Nordonia was set to open the new season at Olmstead Falls Aug. 23, but results were not available at press time. The Knights will host Stow-Munroe Falls Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.

E-mail: stowsports@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113




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