BY CAM CROUCH (’19)

The Granville Boys’ Soccer team has had plenty of positives and very few negatives in their 2017 campaign.

They finished the regular season with a record of 12 wins, 3 losses and a tie, as the team was ranked 11th in the state in Division II, and received a #3 seed in the playoffs.

The core of the success points directly to the senior leadership of the club.

Ryan Birgeneau and Luke Pappas are currently leading the team in goals, as Christian Sams mans the back line along with Kevin Miller and a true speedster in Mathew Rosinski. Tyler Schroeder is holding his own defending the net after returning from a hip injury.

“The seniors this year have shown very good leadership qualities, and this will help us with the remainder of the season to come,” Christian Sams said. “In the playoffs, there is going to have moments where the seniors are going to have to step up and lead by example. It will be a great opportunity to show everyone what we are made of.”

With huge wins against New Albany, Chillicothe and Watkins, they have proven that they can go toe to toe with high quality Division I opponents.

One of the teams closest losses was when they lost to Bexley after being up 2-0, but fell 4-3 in a heartbreaking loss. They hope to see this team again in the tournament, as they seek revenge against them.

They received a bye due to their very high seeding in the tournament, and have already posted two tournament wins against Horizon Science Academy, who they beat 8-1 and Bloom-Carroll, who they beat 3-1. Their next tournament game is a rematch against Columbus Academy, who is a very strong soccer program. It should be a very close match, as the Aces won the first match-up 3-1.

The team looks to make it past the District Semi-Finals, as their season ended last year in an upset against Columbus Beechcroft. The team lost 4-1, as this left a very sour taste in everyone’s mouth.

“The goal is to make it to the District Finals, but we are going to take it one match at a time. Everything is falling into place, and we feel that we have the fire power to make a deep run,” Luke Pappas said.

The team is battle-tested and have the experience to achieve their goals.