Boys Soccer Preview: Players Focus on Conditioning, Offense, Leadership

Like many of his teammates, Nick Corrao, a senior midfielder and forward on 's varsity soccer team, has woken up at 6 a.m. most mornings for the past two weeks.

For Corrao and the rest of the team, the summer days of sleeping late are over, and it is time to get to work with 7 a.m. pre-season practices. But the squad isn't complaining.

“We know that nothing is going to come easy,” Corrao said. “So we know if we fight hard and we do all the running in the morning and all the conditioning and the push-ups and all the workouts, in the end, we will be one of the best conditioned teams on the field."

One of the goals behind the conditioning is the potential to last the full 80 minutes — instead of becoming fatigued halfway through the game, according to Corrao. That is just one of the ways the Bears are looking to improve upon last year’s campaign, when they won just one game with an ultra-young squad.

“At one time we had seven sophomores starting last year on varsity, which is pretty unheard of,” coach Scott Potusek said. “After knowing what they were up against, they knew that they were going to have to work hard over the summer if they wanted to improve and they did that.”

Part of that hard work came in the form of participating in the summer soccer league held at .

“It was very important for us to play in that league,” Corrao said.  “During practice we discussed plays that we ran [there], what we did good and what we did bad. It was a very good experience for everybody, even the experienced players.”

That, along with the year of experience the Bears' younger players got last year, has made the team confident in its goals of winning least four games and qualifying for the sectionals.

Corrao is one of the Bears' experienced players, and he will be a key cog in their offense. He is one of the Bears that Potusek expects to lead the squad offensively. Another top Brewster player is junior midfielder Neil Williams, who is an aggressive player with solid soccer skills. And senior forward Oscar Juarez will play a major part in the team's efforts.

“Oscar has shown a lot of dedication throughout the summer, as he has helped organize the captain’s practices,” Potusek said. “He put in a lot of work, he is in great shape. He has put in 100 percent. He is a great leader on the field and off the field.”

On the defense, the Bears will rely on senior Kyle McAlpin, who coach called an "all-around player."

“Being a senior, he brings a little bit more size and strength for us,” Potusek said. “... He’s not afraid to step up and make the big play that has to be made to stop the other team from scoring.”

Senior Connor Kirkpatrick also has shown solid leadership during the summer. His recent practices have been limited because of an injury, but Potusek is hoping that will changed within the next one to two weeks.