Rams looking forward to youth, depth

By JEFF OLIVER

MVI Sports

Matt Snyder’s first year as Ringgold boys soccer coach wasn’t a memorable one.

The Rams went 3-9 and missed the playoffs in Section 3-3A.

And he lost six seniors from that team.

However, Snyder is optimistic going into his second season at the helm.

“Our numbers are getting back up,” Snyder said. “We will have full varsity and JV teams this season, which we did not last year.

“And the players we have back are a year older and they all have good experience.”

The Rams return their leading scorer of a year ago, senior midfielder Shane Seiler (5 goals) and also their second and third top scorers in seniors Tyler Davis and Chance Cappicotta, both defenders.

“We were not a high-powered scoring team by any means a year ago. But all three of those guys figured in a lot of the offense we had,” Snyder said. “They will play key roles this year, too.”

Other returning starters Snyder is counting on are junior forward Zach Alvarez and sophomore midfielder Owen Haywood.

Expected to join the lineup are senior Ben Daskivich (forward) and juniors Eli Callaway (defense), Noah Barno (forward) and Ryan Cole (defense).

Snyder added that he has a big freshman class that he expects to step up and make a difference this season.

“That’s one of our keys to being successful,” he said. “That big freshman class is going to have make some noise … maybe not the whole game, but in situations when it means most.”

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Wednesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.