Ossining lost a slew of talent to graduation from a team which earned the No. 7 seed and beat Ramapo 3-0 in the opening round of the Section 1 Class AA tournament a year ago.
However, despite those player-losses to graduation, its coach Joe Scamarone feels his squad has the potential to have another solid year this fall.
“This is a rebuilding year in terms of experience but talent wise the potential is there to have another good season,” Scamarone said. “We have a lot of talented players but they just need varsity experience. If they can develop the way I think they can, we can contend for a league championship and have a chance to go far in the sectionals.”
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Scamarone said that he will be able to find out how good of a team he has right off the bat. The Pride opens its season with a road game at 4:15 p.m. Sept. 7 against Fox Lane, then follows that with a home game at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 9 against visiting Keio before a 4:30 p.m. Sept. 13 contest against host Horace Greeley.
“The first three games are going to be a key for us to help get the confidence of the younger players we have up,” Scamarone said. “We are facing three very good teams so if we can do well in those games that will bold well for the rest of the season.”
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Expected to score plenty of goals this season is senior striker Walther Bejarano.
“Walther is a very dynamic player, he is very fast,” Scamarone said. “He’s a good dribbler and finisher too. He’s scored a lot of goals last year and he should have another good year this year.”
Alex Tejera, a sophomore, who played on the varsity as freshman last year, is an attacking midfielder according to Scamarone.
“Last year he was a striker, this year he will play more in the middle,” Scamarone said. “He’s big and strong, is a very powerful striker and has good foot skills.”
Junior midfielder Josh Travagli is a playmaker in the middle of the field for the Pride in addition to being a good defender.
“He can play both sides of the field very well,” Scamarone said. “He is a dynamic midfielder who will be a very key player for us in the middle of the field.”
The key defender in the back of the field for Ossining is senior Jon Scorcia.
"He brings a lot of experience as he has been on the varsity for the last two years," Scamarone said. "He is a very good defensive player.”
Scorcia said he feels that if he and his teammates on his side of the field do their job, the Pride will enjoy a successful season this fall.
“With the group we have up front on attack, we have the capability of scoring 3, 4 goals a game,” Scorcia. “The key for us is defensively, keeping the other team out of the box. If we do that, we should be fine.”
