First-year Chagrin Falls head coach Brian McKenna didn’t need an introduction to his players or the soccer culture in the community.
McKenna, who spent three year as the head coach at Brooklyn in the mid-1990s, spent the past 17 years as an assistant coach with the Tigers.
With seven returning starters and nine other varsity letter winners, McKenna is excited about his squad’s potential in 2017.
“We feel we have a solid lineup and a schedule that should provide several challenges along the way,” McKenna said. “We believe our defense will be the foundation for us to have success this season.”
The Tigers, who finished 9-8-1 overall last season and 4-2 in the Chagrin Valley Conference, will look to their defense to set the tone this season.
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Senior captain Max Di Lalla returns in the net and has several other returning starters in front of him to keep the goal clean.
Seniors Harrison Covington and Will Nafziger, junior Alex Morris and sophomore Ethan Johnson are projected to start in the defensive third.
Nafziger and Johnson are returning starters.
“The defense should fare well this season,” McKenna said. “We have senior Max Di Lalla in goal, who is very athletic and sees the field quite well. Even though Ethan Johnson is only a sophomore, he is a key on our defensive line. “
Offensively, the Tigers return their leading scorer from a year ago and the top distributor on the team.
Junior Jack Amendola scored a team-high 11 goals and added four assists last fall while junior Aaron Passalacqua led the Tigers with nine assists. He added three goals.
Nafziger, Griffin Lowe and Trevor Stevenson each contributed with three goals last year while Trevor Taussig and Mason Bartlett both found the back of the net twice and Zach Hoover scored one goal.
“We are able to rely on several players who are playmakers including seniors Mason Bartlett, Will Nafziger and junior Aaron Passalacqua,” McKenna said.
The Tigers opened the season with a 3-2 win over Lake Catholic then dropped a 4-3 decision to Rocky River.
