Rams Look Forward To Upcoming Year

Thu., March 11, 1999

By Janie McCauley janiem@spokesman.com

GNL soccer

Riverside soccer coach Kevin Moon only knows success.

He has directed the Rams boys team to the 2A playoffs in his two seasons as head coach. He led the girls team to a state title in 1997 and third place in ‘98.

And Moon’s third season with the boys team this spring should be no different. The Rams look to challenge defending state champion Pullman for the Great Northern League title. They were second to the Greyhounds in the GNL a year ago.

Deer Park, meanwhile, has nine of 11 starters back.

And the league will have a new addition as Lakeside has added a boys program this season.

Rams return strength

Riverside has seven starters and 11 lettermen returning from last year’s 7-1-2 team, which lost to Pullman in a playoffs shootout.

“We have very strong (scoring) potential and are extremely solid in the midfield,” Moon said. “We are very big and strong in all positions.”

Leading the way for the Rams is 1998 GNL defensive most valuable player Jason Remington, a senior midfielder. Other returning starters include sophomore forwards Jake Moug and Brett Baker, senior goalkeeper Jereme Nelson, senior defender Sam Fleetwood, junior midfielder Wing Hodgson and junior forward Kevin Hersom.

Moug and Nelson were second-team all-GNL picks in ‘98.

Newcomers expected to contribute are junior midfielder Shawn Hanna, senior defender Kacey Ross, freshman defender Matt Bond, junior defender Eric Wilson, junior defender/forward Eric Pierce, junior midfielder Nathaniel Calamia and junior goalkeeper Logan Krohn.

Riverside will be without junior B.J. Ostby, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee while wakeboarding last summer.

Deer Park’s returners strong

The Stags are in their second season with soccer and have nine letterwinners back, and all are returning starters.

Senior midfielder Joey Roy and junior forward Jay Recchia were first-team all-GNL picks last year, and senior midfielder Spencer Nedved earned second-team honors.

Other returners are junior forwards Clay Ramsden, Ken Pegram and Chris Dowers, junior midfielder Ryan Pilgrim, and sophomores Lucas Langbehn (defender) and Craig Phillips (goalie).

Three newcomers are expected to make an impact.

Senior defender Noah Seagraves and junior midfielder Jesse Stockwell both are experienced players who took last season off. Jared Stark, a junior midfielder, spent last year as an exchange student in Europe.

“I have a positive outlook on our chances of winning more games than last year, and our goal is to make a playoff spot,” coach Rio Three Stars said. “We have an inexperienced team but we have played together another year and know the style and are more comfortable with the system.”

“We’re just looking to come together again as a team,” added assistant Rob Champoux. “And we need to finish games a lot stronger. That was our downfall last year.”

Deer Park hosts Rogers and Medical Lake for a jamboree at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Soccer new at Lakeside

The first-year program has 16 players turning out and is waiting on a few players from the Eagles basketball team, which is competing in the State 2A tournament in Yakima this week, coach Yosef Afenegus said.

“We’ll hopefully get a good start,” said Lakeside athletic director Jim Missel. “This will get more kids involved in sports and help out the other programs, too.”

Afenegus said many of the freshmen and sophomores have club soccer experience, and the juniors and seniors are good athletes who played soccer years ago and have played other sports at Lakeside.

The team’s seniors are forward Mike Mortlock, midfielder Mike Rowse, and defenders Ken Zigler and Derek Soukup. Juniors are forwards Joel Munro and Justin Parker, midfielder Gabe Hensold and defender Jake Turner.

Of the underclassmen, sophomores Andy Prentice (midfielder) and Adam Trefry (defender), and freshmen midfielders Mark Vojtech, Jason Nees and Joel Oscarson all have played club soccer.

Other sophomores are midfielder Matt Griner, defender Shawn Bonham and goalie David Rogers. The other freshmen are goalie Jeff Vazquez, defender Barret Randall-Riordan, midfielder Dustin Brittain and forward Zach Maruca.

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