Wyoming Area will rely on the strength of the center of its defense to lead the boys soccer team while it searches for new scoring options.
The Warriors make the move back to Division 2 of the Wyoming Valley Conference and the Class 2A level for postseason play after spending the previous two-year cycle competing in Division 1 and Class 3A.
Wyoming Area will be led into that transition by strength up the middle with two players from its trio of senior, three-year starters playing side-by-side in the center of the defense.
Aaron Loughney and Collin Skilonger are the veteran center backs.
“They are the focal point of that defense,” second-year Warriors head coach Chris Tomlinson said. “Aaron is one of my returning captains as well.”
The other returning captain is the other third-year starter, Ben Nichol.
Nichol could spend some time at center midfield as well as playing forward. He was an outside midfielder as a sophomore before splitting time at forward and midfield last season.
The Warriors return a total of eight starters from a team that went 2-9-1 for sixth place out of seven in Division 1 and finished 4-14-1 overall.
Hayden Laughman is back in goal while fellow senior Brady Kearns will play defense and midfield.
The other returning starters are sophomores.
Gus Price and Ben Rogish will play midfield and forward this season after being on defense and in the midfield last year. Jonas Kremski will continue to play defense and midfield.
The three graduated starters the Warriors must replace include the top two scorers, Liam Burke and Louis Ciampi, and Trevor Kruszka, who played both goalie and midfield.
“It’s going to be a big challenge replacing 17 or 18 goals from last year and three, four-year starters,” Tomlinson said.
The Warriors will be back in Division 2 along with Berwick, Hanover Area, Holy Redeemer, Lake-Lehman, MMI Prep, Tunkhannock and Wyoming Seminary.
They will pursue a postseason berth in Class 2A where District 2 has 13 teams, including Berwick, Carbondale, Dunmore, Hanover Area, Lake-Lehman, Mid Valley, Montrose, Riverside, Scranton Prep, Tunkhannock and Western Wayne. The top eight make the playoffs along with any others that finish with records of .500 or better.