By Bill Alden
Although the Hun School boys’ soccer team graduated 11 seniors from a squad that advanced to the 2024 Prep A state final, the cupboard isn’t bare going into this fall.
“The core five or six guys that are back are going to be huge for us, they all got some minutes last year for us,” said Hun head coach Patrick Quirk, who guided the Raiders to a 13-4-2 record last fall. “There is a lot of excitement, there are a lot of talented players.”
In a 3-0 opening day loss to Hopewell Valley last Wednesday, the Raiders learned that its talent needs to be mixed with playing more as a unit.
“Our individual skills are not going to be enough to outwork a team that is super organized,” said Quirk. “They got a PK at the end so I don’t think the score line reflects how the game went. We generated a lot on the first 15-20 minutes. They had a really good goalie, he made some tremendous saves. The key for us is going to be how much can we play together and not having one guy try to take on too much.”
The Hun midfield figures to be a key to its success this fall as it features senior Sasha Mykhalchuk (6 goals, 10 assists in 2024), senior Gonzalo Perez Nunez (3 goals, 3 assists), sophomore Chad Barrett (1 assist), junior Zachary Vallee, and freshman Braeden Kmiec.
“Sasha is looking super strong, he is so good with the ball at his feet,” said Quirk. “Gonzalo is a guy who is a workhorse in the middle. It is non-stop hustle, he gets after every ball. Chad will slide in a little bit in there. We have a new kid, Zachary, who will probably slide in there every once in a while. Braeden has come in and shown that he can compete at a high level.”
At forward, Donovan Hayes (1 assist), junior Armaan Grewal, and sophomore Joseph Choi will be looking to compete hard around the goal.
“Right now the point guy up top has been Donovan, he is really tricky with the ball at his feet and can create a lot,” said Quirk. “He is starting to shoot the ball a little bit more. A new player, Armaan, is going to provide some attacking options up there. Another new player Joseph, will also provide some options up there.”
Senior star Chris Meehan (6 goals) provides experience and skill on the back line.
“Chris has started there for the last three years,” said Quirk. “His soccer IQ is so smart. He has movement off the ball and reads the game so well. On set pieces, he will get goals.”
Along with Meehan, senior Caleb Willner, junior Lucas Choi (4 assists), sophomore Evan Tiwari and Barrett will be seeing action on defense.
“Caleb has worked his way into the starting lineup this year, he has proven to us that he can compete back there,” said Quirk. “He has been a hard tackler, he has good makeup speed. Lucas is a returning guy. Evan is a guy that came up from the JV last year. Chad might get in the mix as well, he can play a little outside back.”
At goalie, junior Yanni Moraitis, a field player last year, and junior Alex Cortez are looking fill the void left by the graduation of three-year starting keeper Diego Pena.
“Yanni and Alex right now are battling it out,” said Quirk, who got nine saves from Moraitis in the loss to HoVal. “Yanni is slightly ahead of Alex in terms of his athleticism. Alex has been training for a couple of years. Nick (assistant coach Nick Savino) is doing a really great job with both of those kids. They are both in the mix.”
Going forward, Quirk believes his squad is primed to battle hard.
“I think coming off of yesterday it is how much can we play together and finding a rhythm with a group that is so talented,” said Quirk, whose team hosts George School (Pa.) on September 11, faced the Delbarton School on September 14 in the Mainline Jamboree at the Westtown School (Pa.) and then hosts the Germantown Academy (Pa,) on September 16. “It is making sure that we share the one ball that is on the field. They showed it to us in preseason that they could do it. It is sticking to that and not trying to take on too much if we do go down.”