Season Preview: Boys Soccer Embracing Youth Movement
David Creed •
Rich Brannigan II is entering his 26th season as the head coach of the varsity boys soccer team and has established it as one of the winningest programs the island has to offer. This fall, he will have some star talent returning led by junior striker Stoyan Popov along with other experienced veterans. But Brannigan has noticed and seen the young talent during the preseason that has him possibly embracing more minutes for his younger players with eye towards tournament time and beyond.
"I'm really excited about the season," Brannigan said. "We have a nice core of players coming back that have very good experience, even some of our young kids. From the senior class we have some influence. Junior class, we have a nice chunk of influence. Sophomore influence, bringing some freshmen in for experience. It'll be fun to try to build it.”
Brannigan described his team as “fragile” from the standpoint of injuries and health of players, which leads into the depth that is still working to establish itself.
“If we’re going to be down a starting player or two here and there during the season whether it is week one or later on, the challenge is going to be whether we have the experience to fill in those spots,” Brannigan said.
Parker Furtado returns and he will be the Whaler’s keeper in his junior season. After being thrust into the spotlight last year following an unfortunate injury to captain and senior goalie Alex Ivilov, Furtado earned plenty of varsity playing time. He should benefit from that valuable experience he gained and the foundation he built as a sophomore.
"Parker is a quick learner," Brannigan said. "He got plenty of minutes last year as a sophomore. He worked hard all offseason whether it was playing hockey and then you know focusing on alternate things and then doing some soccer specific training and camps. He's a motivated student athlete and he wants to succeed and he finds ways to do that with a positive attitude.
Along with Popov who finished as the team’s leading scorer last fall with 21 goals, Nantucket returns some of their best offensive players from last season including senior Calvin Guevara, junior Aldo Lemus Castro, and sophomore Raakin Brannigan.
In the back end, Edvin Valentukevicius returns as a senior captain after assuming the role of junior captain last fall. Brannigan said when Valentukevicius is healthy, few in the area are better in his role.
"If Edvin is healthy and at center back, he is the best center back in the Cape and Islands,” Brannigan said.
The Whalers will begin their season on the road Thursday, September 10th against the Falmouth Clippers at 3:30 p.m. You can view their full schedule here.