New Rochelle Boys Varsity Soccer Preview

If the New Rochelle boys' soccer team had a motto it would likely be "Strength in Numbers." The Huguenots return 10 players from last year's squad that finished 12-6-1. Only five of those players, however, were starters.

"We have a number of players back, but none of them were the real go-to men," said associate head coach Elliott Pollack before his team's final scrimmage. "It will be interesting to see who comes out of the pack and decides he wants to be a go-to player."

It's possible that player does not exist, at least not in the traditional sense. New Rochelle may have to rely on a true team effort this season, as no superstar goal scorer has emerged, at least not in the preseason scrimmages.

Juan Munoz was that player last year, but he was ruled academically ineligible in the middle of the season. Munoz does not appear to be a part of the team this year.

Replacing his production will be a group of players. Pollack pointed to senior captains Luis Ayala, Jeremy Moallem, Ricardo Ochoa, and  Roberto Silva as likely contributors.

Pollack, entering his tenth season, and head coach Greg Papadopoulos are blessed with great depth year in and year out, and the 2010 squad is no exception. Observing a recent scrimmage from a vantage point high in the stands, Pollack was able to get a bird's eye view of his team's ball movement.

"When New Rochelle moves the ball, there is enough speed and talent, the other team just couldn't cover the players." Pollack said. "We wound up with some good odd-man rushes."

The problem was, at least in this particular scrimmage, New Rochelle could not convert on those opportunities. With schools like White Plains, North Rockland, and Scarsdale likely to field very good teams this fall, the Huguenots must take advantage of makeable scoring chances.

Scarsdale in particular has been a nemesis recently. The Red Raiders have eliminated New Rochelle from the sectional tournament the past two years, beating the Huguenots three times each season. The last time New Rochelle beat its neighbor to the north was in 2006.

New Ro won't face Scarsdale until September 30. Pollack believed the schedule set up favorably, with early games against Gorton, Bronxville, Woodlands, and Mount Vernon, not traditional soccer powers. This should "give our guys some time to develop chemistry," he said. So far, so good—New Ro is 4-0 to start the season, outscoring its opponents 18-4.

Pollack also thinks the artificial turf—found at New Rochelle as well as many of their opponents' fields—should give the Huguenots an advantage given their team speed.

The Huguenots will need every advantage they can get as they enter the season without a bonafide scoring threat. "We don't have the one player that everyone is going to have to pay a lot of attention to," Pollack said when asked about a potential weakness of his team. "We've had that in the past—a guy who as soon as he comes on the field you hear the other team say, 'We've got to watch out for number six.'

"That player has not shown himself, so I doubt he's there. Having said that, I think there's enough depth, and quality in that depth, that if they play as a unit they can go as far as they want."

Perhaps without a true superstar, New Rochelle is hoping the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.