After a fairly normal offseason by recent standards, the 2022 boys soccer season is set to begin Aug. 15 as one of the first Olympic sports to kick off the 2022-23 school year.
The 2021 fall season was a highly-competitive campaign in Chatham County, as three local teams – Jordan-Matthews, Northwood and Woods Charter – all made the state playoffs in their respective classifications.
The top team in the county last year was Jordan-Matthews, which amassed a 20-1-1 overall record and won the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference title before eventually falling to Greene Central in the fourth round of the 1A Tournament. The Jets kick off their 2022 season Aug. 16 at home against Research Triangle.
Jordan-Matthews graduated senior captains Cristian Cruz, Brian Hernandez and Alexis Ibarra over the offseason, but there is still plenty of talent returning for the Jets. At striker, senior Zander Ocampo returns after scoring 39 goals, tallying seven assists and winning Mid-Carolina 1A/2A Conference Player of the Year honors in 2021. Also back for Jordan-Matthews are senior goalkeeper Ricardo Rocha and senior midfielder Juan Hernandez Soto.
“We have some good vocal players, players who want to speak,” said Jordan-Matthews head coach Paul Cuadros. “Sometimes players are leaders but they don’t know how to do that verbally. I think we’ll have two players that people listen to and who are vocal on and off the field. But there are some question marks we need to answer, and we’ll find out this week what those questions are going to be and who’s going to step up and fill these roles.”
Also a member of the Mid-Carolina Conference, Seaforth is looking to rebound after going 2-13 in its first season as a varsity program last fall. Head coach Giovanni Vianni and his players will try to right the ship beginning Aug. 18 at home against Southern Wake Academy.
Among the top returners for the Hawks this fall are sophomores Julian Bozzolo and Blake Price, who combined for 13 goals in 2021. Seaforth didn’t lose any players to graduation over the offseason.
In the Central Tar Heel 1A Conference, the Woods Charter boys will try to build on last season’s 10-9 campaign that saw them win the conference with a 9-1 league record after overcoming an 0-7 start. The Wolves open the 2022 season Aug. 22 at home against Leadership Academy.
Woods Charter brings back most of its top players from last season, including junior Motasem Mamoun (11 goals, one assist), senior Vanner Weakley (six goals, one assist), senior Ethan Heatherington (four goals, four assists) and senior goalkeeper Coyt Neagle (2.81 goals against average).
At the opposite end of the conference, Chatham Charter returns to the field after a disappointing 0-18 campaign in 2021. The Knights’ last win as a team came Oct. 14, 2019 at home against River Mill.
Chatham Charter begins the 2022 campaign at home Aug. 17 against Leadership Academy. The Knights’ top returning field player is sophomore Ryan Jones, who totaled nine goals and three assists as a freshman in 2021.
At the 3A level, the Northwood boys soccer team will try to put together its fourth straight winning season under head coach Martin Slavin. Last fall, the Chargers finished third in the Central 3A Conference with an overall record of 11-10-1 and a conference mark of 8-3-1 before losing to Harnett Central in the first round of the state playoffs.
The Chargers will have quite a bit to replace in terms of production, as last year’s top scorer – Ayden Turner – is gone after notching 14 goals and totaling eight assists for the team last season. Also no longer with the team are Walker Johnson (six goals, seven assists) and Bryan Ramirez (five goals, four assists).
Among those expected to step up in their place are senior Jose Barajas (seven goals, two assists) and senior Benjamin Schoolcraft (three goals, eight assists). In net, senior goalkeeper Jay Callis returns after averaging 5.9 saves per game and boasting a 1.28 goals against average as a junior in 2021.
Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.