By Quinn Donovan and Mike Doherty
One year after an unbelievable ride to the Division 1 State Championship that included a victory in the Central Mass Championship, the Rangers have their sights set on finishing what they started last season. With a slew of key players returning, including six senior captains, B-Soc is optimistic about having the chance to repeat their success.
Returning players include: senior captains Thomas Vondervellen, Tyler Stott, brothers Chris and Greg Amador, Rian Barrett, and Matt Morin among other contributors who will look to return the team to the height of last year. Vondervellen remarks that “last season’s success has given us confidence about the talent we have this year and we’re motivated to continue to dominate Central Mass… we want to finish what we couldn’t last year and win the state title but we know it will be a long road. We just need to focus week by week in order to play at the level we want to be.”
Unlike many successful teams of the past, the boys will have the rare opportunity to immediately continue their run with the help of many returning stars holding a wealth of experience. With an unprecedented number of upperclassmen to just a handful of underclassmen to begin the year, they will rely heavily on their ability to finish out games and simply being used to the bright stage.
The third ranked Rangers certainly looked prepared to defend their CMass title in the season opener as they earned a win with a 4-0 shutout over No. 4 Shrewsbury. Greg Amador tallied two goals while Vondervellen and junior Jake Hughes also scored and Matt Morin held the Colonials scoreless in net.
Defender Chris Amador hopes the team can continue to improve on both offense and defense throughout year, saying “there’s always room to improve on our scoring abilities and we’ve looked pretty good defensively so far. Matt’s a great goalie and we just have to make sure to limit the opportunities our opponents get on him.”
Amador and Stott will anchor the defense along with senior Dylan Connors and junior Dan Bugaev while Vondervellen, Barrett, Greg Amador, and Hughes figure to be key offensive pieces in a well balanced attack.
Coming off their historic run through the State Tournament, the squad knows each opponent will be circling their matchup on the schedule and the Rangers are eager to live up to the hype.
