Hometown Soccer Players Prepare For Annapolis Blues Season

One of the Annapolis Blues’ new players is Zach Cielewich, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound goalie, who plays year-round for the U17 Baltimore Armour and attends Severna Park High School.

Photos courtesy of Fincham Photography

One of the Annapolis Blues’ new players is Zach Cielewich, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound goalie, who plays year-round for the U17 Baltimore Armour and attends Severna Park High School.

Photos courtesy of Fincham Photography

Gabby Wisbeck finished her freshman year in November at Syracuse, where she earned a spot on the ACC all-academic team with a 3.9 grade point average.

Posted Thursday, May 1, 2025 11:12 am

Other Anne Arundel Blues

Zach Cielewich, Mikey Johnson and Gabby Wisbeck are not the only Severna Park, Arnold and Millersville athletes taking their talents to the Annapolis Blues.

On the boys’ side, Broadneck High School graduate Tyler Gabarra will join the team as a midfielder.

The girls team will have the talents of former Archbishop Spalding defender and Severna Park resident Megan Garmey (High Point University), former Severna Park High School defender Ava Schultz (the College of William and Mary) and Spalding defender Olivia Nardone (UMBC) from Millersville.

By Tom Worgo

Soccer consumes Zach Cielewich and he’s involved in the sport every day, whether it’s games, practicing or watching video.

In recent months, the attention from colleges has overwhelmed Cielewich at times. He’s been recruited by about 40 colleges and hears from schools daily. He visited one top-25 Division I program in Georgetown, and two other ranked teams, Dayton and Virginia, have aggressively pursued him.

Cielewich, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound goalie, plays year-round for the U17 Baltimore Armour in Major League Soccer. That involves traveling with the Armour around the country, including to Florida and California.

“It’s the highest level of youth soccer in the country,” explained Cielewich, a Severna Park resident.

Baltimore Armour is a MLS Next club, which means Cielewich is prohibited from playing high school ball.

He was allowed to earn a spot on a professional soccer team – the semi-pro Annapolis Blues - which play at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

It’s an impressive accomplishment, considering Cielewich is 16 and a Severna Park High School junior who carries a 4.2 weighted grade point average. The Blues play in the United States Soccer League, which is mostly made up of Division I players who are in their 20s.

“I am sure it’s pretty uncommon,” Blues coach Colin Herriot said of high-school aged players competing in the league. “We believe if you are good enough, you are old enough, you can play. We think he has so much potential and is going to have great success in college.”

Cielewich will suit up for the Blues for nearly three weeks of practice in May before their first game on May 24 against the host Charlottesville Blues.

He should be focused, energized and full of confidence heading into the season. Cielewich has helped the Armour to a 19-5-4 record over the past six months or so by recording 16 shutouts and posting a .075 goals against average per game.

He also spent 10 days in April competing in the Generation Adidas Cup at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, representing the D.C. United Academy team.

Cielewich’s squad faced teams from Brazil and England during their seven games.

He will play a few more games for the Armour before Blues’ practices start.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play for the Blues,” Cielewich said. “I’ve had season tickets the past two years. I saw 10,000 people in the stands. I loved the environment, and I wanted to be part of it.”

Blues’ General Manager Fred Matthes is excited to have Cielewich on his team.

“He has really built his skills up,” Matthes said. “He has played a lot in Europe with his traveling teams that go over there and play. He has developed his technical skills, and he will do fine for us.”

It’s clear the Blues like having local players on the team. Mikey Johnson, a Broadneck graduate, will join Cielewich on the squad. Johnson plays men’s soccer at the University of Delaware. He is coming off a solid season with the Blue Hens, ranking third on the team in scoring with 14 points (five goals, four assists).

Severna Park resident Gabby Wisbeck thought a lot about preparing herself for the day her soccer career ends. She figured it would be her senior year at Syracuse University in 2027.

Then along came the opportunity to play for the first-year Annapolis Blues women’s semi-pro soccer team, making her think she could continue the sport well into her 20s. The 18-year-old Wisbeck finished her freshman year in November at Syracuse, where she earned a spot on the ACC all-academic team with a 3.9 grade point average.

The Archbishop Spalding graduate can’t wait for the Blues’ season to start in mid-May. The 5-foot-6 Wisbeck plays midfield.

“I know what’s out there for me with soccer after college,” Wisbeck said. “I always knew I wanted to play soccer in college, but I never thought outside of that bubble. The Blues have opened another path for me to go down.”

Wisbeck gets excited talking about playing at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, which is about 10 miles from where she lives. Making the experience more enjoyable is the fact that her high school coach, Ashly Kennedy, is running the team.

On top of that, a bunch of her high school teammates will be on the roster.

“I am just so excited to play for this team,” Wisbeck said. “It’s surreal. To do it is just beyond words. It was always a dream, but as women, you are not really expecting to do these kinds of things. It has always been more like a men’s thing. But times are changing.”

And Wisbeck is loving it.