St. Luke's Boys Varsity Soccer: Season Outlook

The St. Luke’s Boys Soccer team hopes to make another push for the FAA title this season with many of the squad who narrowly missed out in 2018 returning.

The boys were runners-up last year after a heartbreaking defeat in the final against Hopkins School, but Head Coach Ryan Fairhurst believes his squad has what it takes to return to the championship game: “Our goal is to not just reach the FAA final again but to win it this time. With everything they’ve learned and the experience they gained last year, the boys are prepared to act positively this year.”

The team is captained by Bear Crystal ‘20, Phil Platek ‘20, Mack Lemkau ‘20, and Desmond Pratt ‘21. Fairhurst is confident the quartet can lead the group to achieve its goals: “I’m expecting our four captains to drive the standards both on and off the field. I look to them to lead by example and maintain the culture of the team. They have been doing an excellent job so far, and I believe they will push this group all season.”

The Varsity squad has a wealth of experience with nine seniors on the roster, including Lars Ernberg ‘20, Thomas Besgen '20, Goose Ansaldi ‘20, Landon Bachman ‘20, Max Mitchell ‘20, and Julian Velez ‘20, as well as Lemkau, Platek, and Crystal. Fairhurst believes this will have a positive impact: “We have a number of seniors who are playing important roles and are the spine of the team. Mack is going to have a huge season in goal for us. Lars has a very solid partnership with Des, which will be hard to beat. We have Bear, Landon, Julian, and Max all playing in the center of midfield and Phil playing in the forward line. I expect Phil and Jake to maintain their excellent form and chemistry from last year. No one in the league comes close to their partnership up top.”

Fairhurst is also excited about a number of new faces: “The new players have really stood out and integrated well into the squad. Harris Halloran, Pierce Leclerc, Dillon Mannix, and Thomas Arnold, have all come in and added quality and depth to the squad. I expect them to contribute a lot, not only this season but for years to come.”

The Storm opened its season with a road trip to Rye Country Day School on Thursday, September 12, and put in a fine performance, winning 5-2. Crystal bagged a brace and the other three goals were scored by Kavan, Mitchell, and Leclerc. That was followed by another away game at Millbrook School on Saturday, September 14. Despite a hat-trick from Kavan, St. Luke’s fell 3-4 in a seven-goal thriller.

Fairhurst believes his team will bounce back: “Millbrook is a tough opponent but I thought we deserved something from the game. We have to limit the mistakes and be a little more clinical in front of goal. I fully expect the team to respond this week and get back to winning.”

The Storm recorded a 1-1 tie against Wooster School on Thursday, September when Kavan canceled out an early General's goal midway through the second half. BVS then traveled to South Kent School on Saturday, September 21 and picked up a 1-0 win courtesy of a Platek goal.

St. Luke's Boys Varsity Soccer has a huge FAA contest on Tuesday, September 24 hosting Hopkins School at 4:30pm