U15 Gunners Complete Undefeated Season

Severna Park’s U15 Gunners wrapped up an undefeated campaign on the lush grass at Covenant Park with a 1-0 victory over SAC. Matt Stevens won a PK for the team with less than two minutes remaining and Hannes Rogers neatly tucked it into the corner of the net to secure the victory. The result was well-deserved as Mike Bartosiewicz, Tim Nelson and Joe Stadlin had their efforts denied by the post and crossbar earlier in the game.

The Gunners were shorthanded as starting goalie Tommy Reiber and emergency backup Chad Gehring were both injured. Ryan Jeffries volunteered to play in goal and he calmly delivered a shutout.

“We knew we would be shorthanded for the game,” said Coach Ken Stadlin. “We started with nine so we talked about what it would take to shorten the game and keep them off the scoreboard until we got 11 players on the field.” When Nelson arrived from a baseball game and Stadlin returned from a Super Y League game in New Jersey, the Gunners finally had even numbers on the field.

The defensive effort was led by Daniel Lozano, John Randolph, Jake Dunoyer and Kevin Johnson. Mike Lozano won balls all over the field from his midfield position. With defensive MVP Chad Gehring out and Jeffries stuck in goal, this group put in a determined effort for 80 minutes. The shutout was the team’s fourth in the eight-game season.

“We had a professional coach out early in the season to help teach us the principles of the flat-back four defense, and this served us well throughout the season,” said Stadlin. “We had a solid plan and intelligent players who were willing to work hard. The guys figured out that it’s a lot easier to win games when you don’t give up goals.”

The offensive effort during the course of the season was led by Martin Kristian, Kyle Albach, Kourtney McClain, Matt Stevens, Rogers, Stadlin and Brennan Hardesty. The offensive MVP was Hardesty as he consistently outraced people to the ball and buried his opportunities.

“Brennan ran track this spring and started getting serious about pole-vaulting,” said Stadlin. “We didn’t see him much at practice but both his speed and his finishing got better as the season wore on. We joked that our coaching made the difference, but he really did it on his own.”

Assistant coach Scott Hardesty summed up this season best when he said, “We pulled together kids from Severna Park, Chesapeake and South River. They have skills and they are intelligent and creative players. You will be reading about these soccer players in the papers for the next three years. We are looking forward to buying our tickets and watching them play high school ball this fall!”