Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier
From left, Pinewood's Kyle Scheppler, Aidan Gray and Mike Weber Sr. in a recent practice.
Town Crier Staff Writer
Pinewood School boys soccer coach Michael Tetzlaff isn't sure how high his team will finish in the standings, but he does guarantee one thing.
"We will not end up last like last year," Tetzlaff said.
And why will Pinewood rise from the depths of the Private Schools Athletic League?
"They want to win more badly this year," said the third-year coach. "The players didn't seem to care last year, they were just out there having fun. But the drive to win is there this year."
Beyond the pride factor, Tetzlaff said his optimism had to do with talent - something this year's team has more of. The talent pool has been drained a bit in recent weeks with injuries to three players, but Tetzlaff isn't hitting the panic button.
"We still have a better team than last year," he said. "We have other players filling in and they're doing a good job."
The biggest loss may be all-league goalkeeper Nick Montague-Breakwell. The junior suffered a knee injury during a non-league game two weeks ago and may miss the rest of the season.
But Tetzlaff said he's been pleased with the performance of back-up goalie Yavuz Ayter.
"He's had some fantastic games so far," Tetzlaff said. "He's a very good athlete."
And it doesn't hurt that Ayter has some solid defenders playing in front of him. This includes sweepers Craig Wildman, David Collins and Ryan Wilson, plus fullbacks Eric Slosberg and Mike Weber.
Offensively, the Panthers are led by forwards Vali Shokrgozar and Zack Nielsen. Sophomore Aldo Ceja and freshman Kyle Scheppler also provide scoring punch, Tetzlaff said. Scheppler had two goals in last Thursday's 8-1 trouncing of Liberty Baptist.
Pinewood also has experience, boasting nine seniors. "We have more maturity and leadership," Tetzlaff said. "And we're bigger and stronger."
Tetzlaff also hopes they're better. He will start finding out this week. Pinewood opened the PSAL season yesterday at Redwood Christian and host Valley Christian at 3:30 p.m. Friday.