The Mystic Valley boys’ soccer team had a great season finishing the year with a 13-3-2 overall record, and a first-ever undefeated Commonwealth Athletic Conference regular-season record of 12-0-1. At the end of the year, the team also had many individual accomplishments to celebrate. The biggest award went to Alex Maher who was named co-MVP of the CAC. Five team members were named to the all-star team: Lukas Drahos; Julian Ospina; Ethan Nguyen; Matthew Mail and Soufyane Missbah. The team also celebrated the contributions of six players who will be graduating in the spring: Julian Ospina; Omar Alani; Tommy Callanan; Qais Zeabi; Youssef Asrih and Harun Sinanovic.
Mystic Valley’s Head Coach, Jon Currier, was very proud of the effort put forth by his team all year long and had words of praise for all of his all-stars and seniors:
MVP
Alex Maher is a tremendous talent in the CAC. He has been overall the most consistent and reliable player in all facets of playing his position since his sophomore year. He was rightfully named the MVP as a center defensive back leading the way for Mystic Valley to pitch seven shutouts. With his skills and talent, Alex takes aim to bring Mystic Valley back to the state tournament and pursue playing at the collegiate level then after. Alex’s highlight game was scoring his first two goals at the varsity level from his defense position against Essex Tech.
All Stars:
Lukas Drahos (third year) is one of the fastest strikers on the field game in and game out, Lukas continues to be a leader in points scored each year. This year he finished with 16 goals and 10 assists. He is a constant threat to opposing defenses using his control and speed to establish our offensive attack. Lukas had many season highlights including a four goal game vs Minuteman.
Julian Ospina (3rd year) is a senior forward, with some of the best footwork and control in the CAC. Julian can engineer attacks anywhere on the field. He added 12 goals and six assists this year which matches his season a year ago. His highlight game was scoring both goals on route to beating Lynn Tech 2-1 in an early season match.
Ethan Nguyen (first year) is a junior who stepped up his level of play as the year progressed tallying eight goals and eight assists. He took command as Center midfield adjusting to opposing teams’ formations and asserting himself in the attack. His main highlight was a five game scoring streak led by a two goal performance vs Essex Tech.
Matthew Mail (first year) is a junior who was a serious role player who policed the middle of our offense and defense. Considered an enforcer, Matt is a big body that puts constant pressure on opposing players with his physical play. He tallied four goals and two assists before an ankle injury held him back towards the end of the season. His presence was significantly missed as scoring and team control went down without him in our lineup.
Soufyane Missbah (first year) is a junior and a technical offensive weapon who can play both the middle and right side of the midfield. He had a strong run producing five goals and five assists throughout the season. He brought speed and craftiness to our offensive attacks on a regular game basis.
Seniors
Omar Alani was a sixth year varsity player who was a team captain and Center Back. He was a starter on one of the best defensive fronts the Eagles had in team history.
Tommy Callanan was a fourth year varsity player and team captain. As goalie, he was the starter for 13 shutouts and 22 total wins.
Qais Zeabi was a sixth year player and Midfielder with a lot of technical skill and good vision on the field.
Youssef Asrih was a third year player and Wing Midfielder with good speed and gives us depth at the wing position Harun Sinanovic was a 5th year player who played defense and brought an aggressive and physical mindset game in and game out.