Hilltop Happenings

With a strong group of senior returners along with eight returning underclassmen, head varsity soccer coach Rich Powell has good cause for optimism. Of course, optimism is second-nature to the upbeat Powell, and this is a program that has not tasted post-season play in more than a decade. Still, with one season under his belt, Powell has the program headed in the right direction and has a corps of players who have already learned his system and bought in.

“My aim,” Powell explains,” is to continue to change the culture of Salisbury’s soccer program and to enforce the values of the School through our program, aim high, and focus on our goals and achievements. We have a young and exciting team,” he continues. “We have a great returning class, and the chemistry was fantastic this pre-season. Our aim is to start strong and build off the start, pushing each week to improve and win games. The boys’ goals as a team are to have an overall winning record this season and to aim for the playoffs.”

Will this be the Knight team to break the long playoff drought? Riddled with injuries, last year’s team struggled to a 5-10-1 finish, not exactly a harbinger for great things to come. Four-year starter Thomas Yegbor, a product of Ghana’s elite Right to Dream Soccer Academy, missed most of the season, while starting goalkeeper and fellow senior Wes Cobb has had a long road back from a broken leg that ended his 2018 season prematurely. Much is expected from both players – and both appear ready to answer the call and to make their final season on the Hilltop memorable.

In addition to Yegbor, a brilliant finisher in the attacking third, and Cobb, as tenacious as they come in the net, Powell has three other senior starters back: midfielder Seth Gelwarg along with defenders Patrick McIntosh and Aydan MacDonald. Yegbor, Gelwarg, and McIntosh will serve as the team’s tri-captains. Certainly, down the middle, the Knights appear well-manned with players who will provide experience, skills, and leadership.

Opponents expecting to find easier going in the outside areas of the pitch will encounter younger players who will have to step up their games to handle the action coming their way. If they prove up to that task, the team’s lofty goals could well come within reach. Powell’s eight returning underclassmen include a particularly strong group of midfielders in Jannik Ast, Cam Culton, Caleb May, and Jake Metcalf. Matthew Benham and Torey Fisher return on the backline, while Phil O’Neill and Alex Salvatore will contribute to the attack. Two newcomers expected to make an immediate impact are midfielder Hedi Abderrahim and defender HyungJun Kim.

Powell also has the benefit of a strong brain-trust in returning assistant Scot Beattie and newcomer to the coaching staff Dixon Hargrove. “I feel the program is on the right path,” asserts Powell. “We have a fantastic and exciting coaching staff that will really help the boys to compete for the season.”

While Salisbury is a long way from reaching the level of an elite program such as nearby Berkshire School, a national powerhouse with multiple championship rings to reflect the accomplishments of the past decade, the Knights hope to hold their own – and maybe pull off a surprise or two – against other upper-tier, Western New England teams such as Avon Old Farms, Loomis-Chaffee, and Trinity Pawling.

-Sports Information Director Procter Smith ​​​​​​​