TMHS Boys Soccer Has Solid 'Returning Nucleus'

The Tewksbury High varsity boys'  soccer team hopes to make another run in the state tournament and head coach Steven Levine thinks the squad has what it takes to compete. 

"This year we have a good returning nucleus, but all around them is inexperience," Levine said. "We lost a lot of players, and we also have four or five players on the team who have never played soccer before so it's tough to get them together but once we do that we're going to be fine."

This "returning nucleus" Levine refers to will be led by senior co-captains Tyler McQuesten and Andrew Chabak. Other experienced players are forwards Patrick Bernardo, Stefan Monteiro, and Jon DiGiorgio. DiGiorgio was a Merrimack Valley All-Star Selection for 2009-10. 

In net will be senior goalie Chris Campbell. Campbell was very active in the Redmen's first two scrimmages against Revere and North Andover on Aug. 28. Tewksbury lost to the Minutemen 2-1, and tied the Scarlet Knights, 1-1, after an own-goal was scored in the last minute of the scrimmage. 

Another notable returner is senior Niko Cunha who plays forward and midfield for the Redmen.

A rock on the defensive end is returning player Scott Middleton. Middleton will be leading the team's defense this year. 

In addition, a promising newcomer to the team is Nick Bane. Bane was the only member of Tewksbury's freshmen class to make the varsity squad.

The Redmen will be building off a successful 2009-10 season. They were the only team in the Merrimack Valley League that qualified for the North Sectional tournament. Tewksbury held their own in the tournament, winning in a preliminary round against Lynn Tech. before falling to Reading, 4-2, in the second round. 

Working against the Redmen boys' soccer program is the lack of players trying out for the teams. Only 35 students tried out for varsity and junior varsity this year, which is very low, considering the size of the rosters.

"We just don't have the numbers. We only had 35 kids try out total, and a team like North Andover has 40 kids on the side lines," Levine said. "It's tough for us but we make the best of it and the kids come through. One good thing about Tewksbury kids is that they are really tough so that helps out."

Next up, the Redmen will compete in another pre-season tournament held at Wakefield Memorial High School. Competing teams will include Wakefield, Tewksbury, Saugus, and East Boston. 

The team's first official league game will be away Tuesday, Sept. 7, against Lawrence at 4 p.m.