The Minutemen are hoping to continue their recent winning ways in 2017.
Washington Township High School boys soccer has the chance to continue building a strong legacy in 2017.
The Minutemen enter the season as the three-time defending South Jersey Group IV champions and have won the NJSIAA Group IV state championship in two of the past three seasons.
However, Washington Township isn’t looking ahead to a possible title defense. They’re instead focused on the regular season and playing at a high level on a consistent basis.
“We need confidence right out of the gate so we can find our rhythm and start playing the way we want to play,” senior midfielder Jason Arakelian said. “Last year, we were playing OK, we were winning games, and then we started falling off.”
Last season, the Minutemen hit a major slump in October, losing six of their last seven games prior to the South Jersey Group IV playoffs. Senior back Will McCusker said a major focus on the team is to take things one game at a time and use the preseason as a building block for a strong regular season.
“We’re using this preseason to get in the shape we need to be in in order to get through the season,” McCusker said.
The Minutemen have most of their 2016 starting lineup returning in 2017. McCusker and fellow senior Ed Rainey are expected to lead an experienced backfield for Washington Township, while Arakelian is expected to be a force on both sides of the ball.
Having most of the starting lineup back is a big plus for Washington Township. Arakelian talked of how most of the starters have experience playing in championship soccer matches and he feels that will make a difference during the team’s big games.
“We’re older and we’re more experienced now,” he said. “That will help us out a lot, especially when we’re playing some of the better teams in our conference.”
All three players realize the importance of building strong chemistry with the underclassmen entering the season. Arakelian talked about how the program’s success in recent years has been in part due to the successful integration of younger players onto the team.
“You just have to bring a lot of energy, especially in the preseason,” Arakelian said. “You just have to get the guys introduced to the program. It’s a lot of work and we really just want to create the best energy.”
“There’s no intimidation factor,” Rainey said about bringing in the younger players. “We want them to get comfortable with the program.”
Washington Township’s recent success creates high expectations for the team each season. McCusker said the new players realize the legacy previous teams have left, and the younger players are motivated to continue the program’s success.
“We want to set that bar high so we can keep exceeding that bar,” he said.
Rainey said hard work and dedication are two things the team preaches to its younger players the most in preseason. He feels a strong preseason and work ethic in practice will lead to wins in the regular season.
“We wouldn’t have had the success we had without putting in the hard work behind the scenes before we get to the games,” Rainey said.
UPDATE: The Minutemen were 1–1 entering a non-conference game with Williamstown High School on Sept. 16. Washington Twp. dropped its season opener to Shawnee High School before defeating Eastern Regional High School on Thursday.
