After losing seven senior All-Stars, boys turn to Michael Rowley for leadership

Local Sports

Discussion

COMMENTING ON STORIES:

Welcome to our story comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including the unpopular ones. We only ask that you keep your conversations clean, civil and on the topic of the story you are commenting on.

Coinciding with our websites redesign, we launched our new story comments feature through Disqus.

Disqus gives users the ability to log into our story comments feature so that they may be able to track their conversations, receive emails when their comments get a reply or to even have your comments update onto your Facebook or Twitter accounts.

For the time being, our story comments feature will continue to have the ability to post comments anonymously. We reserve the right to require registration in the future using your name and verified email address.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified at the newspaper’s discretion for a number of different reasons. Please follow our Online Rules of Conduct at all times.

RULES OF CONDUCT:

We reserve the right to remove comments that are unacceptable, to wit:

1. False and inacurate statements.
2. Personal attacks. Explicit name-calling.
3. Harassing, harmful, vulgar, obscene and defamatory language.
4. Threatening statements or statements that suggest violence.
5. Hate speech of any kind.
6. Intolerant comments on religion, race, age, gender, sexual preference or disabilities.
7. Accusations of criminal activity.
8. Content that is harmful to children and minors in any way.
9. References to any type of sexual activity and other private matters.
10. Random and inflammatory statements that are off topic.
11. Advertising of any kind.
12. Typing in all caps.

WE ENCOURAGE REASONABLE AND COURTEOUS COMMENTS THAT:

1. Create conversation on issues of interest and concern to fellow readers and local community members.
2. Express opinions and contrarian views.
3. Stimulate debate with respectful language.
4. Stay within the boundaries of these rules.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE ACCESS FOR:

1. Violating any of these Online Rules of Conduct.
2. Deliberately disrupting discussions with repetitive messages, meaningless messages or spam.
3. Misrepresentation of identity or impersonating another user.

WE WELCOME:

1. Flagging violations of these rules that you observe to our attention.

MONITORING:

We monitor comments regularly Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Approval of comments outside of this time will be sporadic.

comments powered by Disqus

September 13, 2012

After losing seven senior All-Stars, boys turn to Michael Rowley for leadership

Greg Klein CONTRIBUTING WRITER The Cooperstown Crier Thu Sep 13, 2012, 08:02 PM EDT

COOPERSTOWN — hen you lose seven of your eight All-Stars to graduation, as Cooperstown boys soccer coach Frank Miosek did this season, you might find it hard to be positive about the 2012 season.

Unless, the lone returning All-Star was Michael Rowley, The Daily Star 2011 Player of the Year, and the Redskins unquestioned senior leader.

Even if the Redskins aren’t the favorites to make a return trip to the Section Three finals this season, or go undefeated in the regular season, with Rowley playing somewhere on the field, there is reason for optimism for Miosek.

“We have so many young, talented players on this team,” Miosek said. “It will do them good to play with Michael for a season.”

Where exactly Rowley will play on the field is an open question with multiple answers likely to be tried over the season. However where ever Rowley plays — and however opposing defenses play him — Miosek said it won’t hamper his player.

“I don’t think it will be a problem for him,” Miosek said. “He is used to being able to create from anywhere on the field. If anything, it will be a challenge for me, as a coach, to make a decision where to play him.

“If I have to, I will drop him back to fullback and let him create from there. Then we can let the other team waste a player marking him,” he continued.

Still, the Redskins will have to replace a lot of talent. Jay Davine, with 13 goals and 14 assists, also made The Daily Star first team All-Star team, and several other players certainly could have been included. Goalie Kevin Huggins set a team record for shutouts last season, and his entire defense — All-Star defenders Ben Bauer, Wes Lippitt, Harrison Clinton and Sam Bowen — graduated with him.

Sophomore Kevin Frevele is the top candidate to replace Huggins, and has started the season in goal. Seniors Matt Frevele, Ethan Bliss and Steven Schultz should step in on defense.

Still, Cooperstown will have to replace a lot of goal scorers. In addition to Davine, it lost All-Star Will Derouin, who added 12 goals.

Seniors Liam Heneghan and Liam Dolan, and junior Park Summers all proved they can put the ball into the net last year, but all will have to play a bigger role this season.

Miosek is also high on his underclassmen. “We’re got four or five players coming up that are going to be really good,” he said. “They are going to help us a lot this season.”

In 2012, Cooperstown boys will play in Center State Conference Division III, which includes Hamilton, Mt. Markham, Saquoit and Waterville, a switch that Miosek said allows the Redskins to “renew old rivalries.” The Redskins will also return to the Chic Walshe Tournament in Davenport, which they won in overtime last season against South Kortright.

Like the Rams, the Redskins won’t be a favorite this season, in Davenport, the CSC or the section. However with Rowley leading the way, the team will try to pull a traditional play out of Miosek’s playbook: take a few losses early on, grow as a team and as young players, and peak in time for the tournament.

“We look forward to competing for the league championship and doing well in section play again,” Miosek said.

The Redskins started the season last Thursday with a 3-2 loss at Section Three Class C champ Clinton. Rowley and eighth-grader Max Clinton had the goals for Cooperstown.

On Monday, Cooperstown got its first win of the season, beating Mount Markham 3-1 in league play. Heneghan scored two goals and Summers had the other score.

The Redskins hosted Morrisville-Eaton Wednesday after deadline and travel to Waterville on Friday.