Mountain grown: G-Men boys soccer aims high habitually

 BLUEFIELD, Va.  â€"  Being so close to the mountaintop generates huge motivation to climb to the peak again.

That sums up the resolve of a talented group of Graham High School boys soccer players, who will get another early-season rematch against a nemesis, the Giles Spartans, this evening at East River Soccer Complex.

For the last six springs, the G-Men have reached the state quarterfinals in Class 2 soccer. That span includes four district championships, two trips to the regional finals, and even a coveted spot in the final four.

“Our goal, every year, is to get back to the final four,” head coach George Aiello said on Monday. He said his squad “worked extremely hard in the off-season. I think they work extremely hard during the regular season. I think it’s their hard work that has helped them progress to get into the state quarterfinals in each of the past six years.”

“I’m really excited,” the veteran coach said. “This is probably the most skilled (group of) soccer players that I’ve had in my seven years, now, of coaching here. It’s by far the most depth I will have ever had on the bench. I’ve got a lot of great, talented players.”

That includes Drew Baker, 2018 player of the year in the Southwest District and Region D as well as a first-team all-state selection. Defender Conner White made second team all-state.

But it doesn’t stop with returnees from last season’s team. It includes numerous players who have had experience before they even donned a varsity jersey.

“Our freshman class has seven boys in it this year, and all of them have played at a higher level, club soccer,” Aiello said. “A lot of these boys are invested in soccer. They play a lot of soccer in the off-season; they prepare themselves. It’s a sport that they’ve grown up loving.”

“We’ve got a lot of talented freshmen,” he said. “My junior class is loaded, with several players returning that received awards for being on the all-region team and all-district team.”

“Our biggest loss from last year is probably Emil Curto,” Aiello said. Curto, an all-state second-team performer on defense, “was a true competitor, and he was really invested in the soccer program. He gave everything he had,” Aiello said.

A powerful strike force of returnees including Baker, Craig Hrovatic, brothers Alexander and Benjamin White and Joey Dales “accounted for over 60 of our goals last year,” the coach said.

There should be an asterisk beside Dales’ name, since he got hurt during Graham’s successful basketball season that also ended in the state quarterfinal round. Aiello said, “We’re hoping he can make it back, because I think he can make some real contributions to the team.”

The fluid Graham formation constantly swaps midfielders into forward formations. This year, in addition to the five top scorers, the midfield options include a foreign exchange student from France, Malo Freard, and freshmen Carter Nipper and Ben Morgan.

“You want to win the game in the midfield,” Aiello said.

The coach said that in the back third, Graham has “a lot of solid defenders,” beginning with Conner White. The line includes seniors Mark Cleary and Jaden Hearn and sophomore Luke Stowers.

Ian Repass, a junior, was a transfer student into GHS last year and “will be able to play with us this year,” Aiello said. “Freshman Braden Surface will probably pick up some time back there as well.”

Another freshman, Nick Knowles, is this year’s starting goalkeeper, though he missed the first match of the season with the flu, Aiello said. Giles won that game 4-3 in Pearisburg.

The coach said, “Zach Dales stepped up and was willing to go in there (at goalkeeper), and did a fantastic job for us. Zach is a player that I can use anywhere, (but) he’s definitely more valuable on the field than he is in the goal.”

The G-Men’s 2018 postseason quest ended with a 7-0 loss at Giles last June. The Spartans have been the state runner-up in both of the past two springs. Aiello did not hesitate to schedule Giles again, essentially back-to-back, to start this year’s regular season.

He said about the choice of dates, “Most schools like to get those out-of-conference games done early, and not have them during the regular (district) season.”

He said there were extenuating circumstances during the March 14 loss to the Spartans that opened Graham’s season.

“I’m not sure that we really played our best,” Aiello said. In addition to using a substitute goalkeeper, he said, “It was our first time getting outside on grass. The field conditions were not the best. I had several boys who had ‘super-MACC’ (academic team competition) the night before. So I don’t know that we were the best prepared.”

That doesn’t diminish his trust in his team’s potential as the season plays out.

“I like what we have this year,” he said. “I feel pretty confident. Last year, we lost three times to Giles, and they were the state runner-up. We lost twice to Galax, and Galax was the (Class) 1A champion. We lost twice to Virginia High, and they ended up in the final four for 2A soccer as well.”

“I feel pretty confident about what the boys are going to have to offer this year,” he said. “They’re just as excited (as ever). They know the talent they have.

“Obviously, their first goal is to win the district. They want to win the region. They want to make it to the final four â€" and they want to be the first (boys soccer) team at Graham to play in a championship game. And I think they’ve got the talent to do it.”

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