It was supposed to be a soccer game, but by the end of regulation the Manchester Essex boys’ soccer team turned it into a game of “Keep Away.”
The Hornets beat Pentucket by a 4-0 score on September 12 due to their ability to play as a single unit, control the ball for long periods of time and basically run the Panthers ragged.
“Pentucket was exhausted,” explains ME boys soccer coach Rob Bilsbury. “It was a hot, sunny day. They’re trying to keep up and we’re kind of punishing them by playing together, it just opens everything up. It was some of the best soccer I’ve seen in my 25 years of coaching. This team is capable of that.”
That Bilsbury called the effort the team’s best match – even just five games into the season – truly says something. Manchester Essex is 4-1 during the opening quarter of the season, a slate that also includes wins over Hamilton-Wenham, Amesbury and Ipswich. This team has experience (there are 13 seniors back from a team that played in the MIAA tournament) and high-end talent (Sammy Bothwell is one of the best soccer players in the state), which has helped the Hornets get off to a fast start. The real key to the season so far has been the chemistry and cohesion shared among each player up and down the lineup.
“When we are all stretched out the length of the field, that’s when we’re at our worst,” explains Bilsbury. “When we connect our defense to our midfield and our strikers and we possess all the way up the field, that’s when we’re at our best. Every single kid can handle the ball well and play off a smart pass. When everyone is touching it and everyone is part of the possession, we are really tough to play against.”
The connection begins with the back four on defense. Charlie Rubens and Finn Birkeland are the senior leaders who anchor the last line of defense in front of goalkeeper Keegan Brooks, while Owen Olivier-Meehan and sophomore Charlie Athanas have started every varsity match since their respective freshman years.
“Olivier-Meehan and Finn Birkeland from the center back position not only contain and nullify
chances, they are good at initiating our own attack,” says Bilsbury, adding, “Both Charlies support our attack extremely well.”
The ball then inevitably finds its way to the midfield to seniors Charlie Langendorf and Hayden Spencer. Langendorf is a steadying presence in the center of the maelstrom, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s a talented passer. Spencer tirelessly shadows the opposition’s top players each game.
“In the Masco game, he was covering a Div. 1 commit and was super physical with him,” Bilsbury says of Spencer’s play in a closely-contested’ 3-1 loss to Masconomet on September 13. “It was an awesome example of how hard he’s working out there.”
After Spencer puts the clamps on the other team’s top player and Langendorf gets control, the ball can move up to a devastating front line that includes Eastern Massachusetts and Cape Ann League All-League player Sammy Bothwell.
“He needs no introduction,” says Bilsbury. “A devastating finisher, awesome on set pieces and also a workhorse. He can just as easily score himself as well as he can find a teammate to pass to so they can tip it in. We’ve got some good and talented kids aside from Sammy, and he opens the door for other kids.”
Sophomore Imir Mustafa leads the Hornets in assists and is one of those aforementioned talented options on attack who is talented enough to draw as much attention as his older teammate.
“He’s an extremely creative attacking player who takes on guys fearlessly and skillfully,” BIlsbury says of Mustafa. “Like Sammy, he commands a ton of defenders. You can’t stop him with one player, you have to send a second player to hover, and he’s going past them.”
Senior Chase Koeplin and junior Luke Renzi are two more potent options for the Hornets up front. Remzi scored the only goal of the game for either team to help with the win over Ipswich, while Copeland had a crucial goal in the win over Hamilton-Wenham.
“We’re gelling and playing well together,” says Bilsbury. “It’s a nice thing – it’s not just two or three individuals carrying the team, it’s everyone.”
The Hornets were looking to keep the connections alive and the wins coming this week with a big game against North Reading scheduled for September 17, a road game against Rockport on September 19 and a home match against Georgetown on September 24 (4 p.m.).
“We’ve got two really fun tests this week against a really talented bigger school with North Reading, and a team that knows how to play us well in Rockport,” says Bilsbury.
