Preseason Top 10 and MVP: Mid-Penn Boys Soccer
The boys soccer season is starting to get into its swing in the Mid-Penn, but it’s not to late to preview the top ten teams heading into the 2024 season.
Preseason Mid-Penn MVP: Ty Kirchhoff, Camp Hill
It’s not fair to call Kirchhoff the Robin to the Batman of Cole Nelson last season, because Ty Kirchhoff was better than a sidekick. The incoming senior put up a 30-goal, 12-assist season including six goals in PIAA postseason play, including the equalizer in the second half of the PIAA final against Quaker Valley, a game that Camp Hill went on to win off a double overtime header from Richard Lutkins. Kirchhoff also scored his 100th career goal during the regular season during a meeting with Boiling Springs on September 30. Kirchhoff enters a season where he gets even more chances to score often and rack up goals and medals for Camp Hill.
1. Cumberland Valley Eagles
Two seasons ago, Cumberland Valley was entered into an early playoff “battle of the CVs” against Conestoga Valley. It was a three-seed Cumberland Valley team hosting the 14th-seed Buckskins from Conestoga Valley. Still, it didn’t matter as the teams played evenly through 80, then two overtimes, before the ultimate loss in PK’s in the District III first round. Last year, a much different story as Cumberland Valley took control throughout the District tournament as the second overall seed in 4A, and beat top-ranked Manheim Township at Eagle View stadium for the District gold. Cumberland Valley then hosted again in the state tournament, earning home-field advantage against District 1’s sixth-place team, CB South. After a 1-1 score throughout regulation and two overtimes, it was right back to PK’s for Cumberland Valley in the playoffs, a PK shootout that CB South won, 3-2. Don’t be fooled, though, by CB South’s sixth-place finish in District 1. The Titans from Bucks County went to visit Eagle View again in the playoffs, playing for a state title against one of the state’s best teams (also from District 1), Conestoga. Looking ahead to this season, Cumberland Valley returns two key pieces in Lax Radosavljevic and Chayse Snyder for the 2024 season, beginning on August 26 with a visit to Chambersburg. Then, CV gets into non-divisional play and did not schedule lightly, playing Northeastern on August 29, a N’Eastern team that went 16-4-2 last season. On August 31, the Eagles visit Emmaus from District 11, the D-11 champs from last season that went 19-3-1. One of their three losses last season: Cumberland Valley, in their season opener.
2. Camp Hill Lions
On this list last season, Camp Hill was in a soft ten spot that very well could have been replaced by another team. The Lions lost in the District III playoffs to Lancaster Mennonite in 2022, their first year playing up in class 2A. There were a lot of question marks entering last season, and they put an exclamation mark on those questions. With the addition of Italian foreign exchange student Lorenzo Lici and senior leaders stepping up, Camp Hill made a deep run into the postseason to ultimately win the state championship on November 17 against WPIAL powerhouse Quaker Valley. The Lions also needed to beat Northwestern Lehigh, one of the top teams in the state, to get through the quarterfinals, which came just two games after a devastating defeat to Fleetwood in the District III final. So, a District silver but a PIAA gold in 2023. Now, the Lions enter the season back in Class 1A, undoubtedly an easier schedule when it comes time for playoffs. Ty Kirchhoff, the preseason Mid-Penn MVP, will be a huge name to watch throughout the season replacing now Bridgewater scorer Cole Nelson, but Camp Hill has to replace a lot in 2024. Ian Gamber gears up for a breakthrough year on defense, replacing Richard Lutkins, Camp Hill’s lockdown defender who scored the PIAA-winning goal. Lucas McElwee is the new man in the net, replacing Mac Sarff, who’s now at West Chester. McElwee saw time in his sophomore season when Camp Hill struggled in the regular season and made ongoing changes. Then, in the field, it’ll be a big responsibility for Quinn Decavalcante, Rhys Good, and Miller Nelson to add goals and assists to win big games. Not to forget Ethan Shamash, who had a breakthrough year on the Camp Hill wing, using his signature speed to blow past defenders.
3. Hershey Trojans
The Trojans are always going to be close to the top of the list, coming off of a PIAA Championship in 2022 and a state quarterfinal finish in 2023. This year, the team is missing Hannes Budde, the star goalkeeper for Hershey who is now a freshman at Washington College in Maryland. To add to that, the Trojans won’t have Hannes’ brother, Niklas, who played his first two years at Hershey and is now playing for an academy team in Berlin, Germany, where the Budde family has major ties. It’ll be a major season for Brett Moyer, who put in ten goals and eight assists last year in an assisting role to Budde. Hershey started in dominating fashion, with a 5-0 win over Greencastle heading into their meeting with McDevitt on Monday. They’ll see McDevitt twice this season with Mid-Penn realignment, which also put Northern in the Trojans’ division as well.
4. Central Dauphin Rams
In the same bracket that saw the Cumberland Valley loss to Conestoga Valley, Central Dauphin saw a trophy. Their senior duo of Carter Fitzgerald and Kyle Hoyt got the job done in 2022. After an 11-6-1 regular season, the Rams were given an eighth seed in the District III playoffs, and were shut out at home against Wilson in a tight, 1-0, final. Tommy Barrick was the Rams’ keeper last season, now a freshman playing volleyball at Saint Vincent College. Now, the Rams will go through their third goalie change in as many years, but return Lukas Bomgardner on the defensive side. CD waits until August 28 to begin the season with a Carlisle meeting before a tough three-game lineup afterward, with State College, Cumberland Valley, and Mechanicsburg in a row.
5. State College Little Lions
Just three teams in PIAA District 6 4A to compete with for State College up north, but they’ll shift their attention to Mid-Penn competition in the Commonwealth division. In terms of Districts, SC earned a first-round bye with the top seed out of three total. Central Mountain and Altoona battled, putting Central Mountain in the championship after a 1-0 win, only to be met by an 8-0 smackdown from the Little Lions to win the District final. Sporting a 14-1-4 record, State College went into the PIAA tournament hosting North Allegheny, who handed them a 1-0 loss to finish the season in the PIAA first round. The Little Lions lose their keeper, Luke Torbic from last season along with their leading scorer, Will Kogelmann. SC’s strength is depth, and they’ll need it in early September with a back-to-back of Central Dauphin and Cumberland Valley, before meeting Lewisburg in non-conference play, a tough team to schedule going up against state powerhouse status.
6. Chambersburg Trojans
I would say this is the final Commonwealth team out of a list that has been dominated by the conference thus far, but Mechanicsburg moved over to the division on the Mid-Penn realignment in the offseason. Chambersburg, State College, and Central Dauphin aren’t necessarily “interchangeable”, but they’re close. Michael Cespedes was a huge senior presence for the Trojans last season, so it will hurt to not have him on the squad this season. Chambersburg will have a test of all tests to begin the season, playing my top overall team in Cumberland Valley on August 26. After that, it’s another preseason-ranked team in Mechanicsburg and last year’s District III 4A runner-up Manheim Township. If the Trojans can come out of those three games 2-1, I’d consider that a huge success.
7. Northern Polar Bears
Garrett White is the big loss for this Northern team, as PennLive’s player of the year as a junior and another 15-goal season in 15 games last year. To make matters more impressive, seven of those 15 goals were game-winners. His younger brother, Logan, is a key returner now for the Polar Bears. Northern will have to navigate a new division as well this year, moving from the Colonial to the Keystone, and playing with McDevitt, Hershey, and Lower Dauphin, much tougher competition than Northern is used to. Northern begins the season on August 26 with Palmyra with McDevitt to follow on August 28.
8. Lower Dauphin Falcons
If there’s one thing LD can do, it’s prepare for a season. Ethan Amici will be big this year for the Falcons, after a huge freshman season, and should easily top his statistics from last season. The Falcons ran into crosstown foe Hershey in the District III 3A quarterfinals and were shutout 4-0. It was a tough Hershey team to run into, who advanced to 18-0 with that QF win. If LD happened to be on the bottom half of that 3A bracket, where #10 seed Lampeter-Strasburg was able to advance to the semis, I think the Falcons would’ve seen a lot more success and would be talked up more going into 2024. Lower Dauphin started the year on August 24 with a 6-0 win over Twin Valley, and they’ll be tested with a trip to Palmyra on August 28.
9. Palmyra Cougars
Palmyra lost a bunch in graduation after last season, so this isn’t a typical Palmyra team that competes with Hershey in Keystone division standings through the regular season. Julian Meley, the Cougars’ goalkeeper, limited offenses to just 12 goals last year and recorded ten shutouts before being upset by the aforementioned #10 seed Lampeter-Strasburg in the first round of District III 3A playoffs, a heartbreaking 2-1 loss. Palmyra moved up to 4A this season, a tough challenge for a team that lost a lot and didn’t make a deep playoff run last season. The Cougars lost their first game, 3-0, to Conrad Weiser and take on a trip to Northern on August 26.
10. East Penn Panthers
East Penn returns a pair of veterans, Steel Bayer and Brogan Barlup, who will be huge on and off the field for the Panthers. Barlup, a defender, was a Mid-Penn Capital first-team selection and Bayer was the Capital Division MVP. This came after a 15-goal, nine-assist junior season as a utility type of player. East Penn’s first big test comes against Camp Hill on September 3, a team that they competed with all season last year on the field and in Capital division standings.