Just For Kicks
Matt Williams
There are only a handful of high school soccer players that score 100 points over the course of their careers. How many get to pass the century mark twice?
Bishop Fenwick's Doug Garabedian might be the first to ever do it. The senior co-captain had a hand in all three goals Fenwick scored in the first 15 minutes against Austin Prep on Monday to reach 100 points for his career, but lightning wiped away the game — and consequently, the milestone goal and two assists.
"It's not about the points; the points are going to come," said Garabedian. "The frustrating thing was everything was clicking for our team and we had a big lead over a league opponent. It was one of the bigger crowds we'd seen and we wanted to make a statement to the league that we were ready for a good season."
Garabedian, a four-year starter from Salem, will have a chance to officially pass the 100 point mark today, when the Crusaders take on Marblehead. There's only been one other Crusader, Jonathan Hayes, to hit the century mark in boys soccer and Garabedian has an excellent chance to set a school scoring record.
"A lot of people have told me about the meaning of it all but I'm just going out and playing. I didn't even know how many points I had until the season started," said Garabedian. "I'd rather win the Catholic Central League and not score 100 points than not win the league and have the points."
Garabedian comes from an athletic family: His dad, Scott is a Hall of Famer at Salem High and his sister Melissa was a star at Fenwick and currently plays soccer at Merrimack College. Doug has the rare gift of touch and poise with the soccer ball — essentially, he can place it anywhere he wants while getting the timing right to make a play.
"He possesses everything and his first touch is unbelievable," said Fenwick coach Andrew Bub. "He sucks in defenders and that opens up the field for other players, and he has one of the best free kicks I've ever seen."
Garabedian had 13 goals and 15 assists last year in a balanced season. For the CCL all-star, goal scoring is an art form; he's able to take shots that bend by the keeper, taking exactly the right turn at the right time to get to the back of the net.
"A lot of my goals come from outside the 18 (yard box). When the keeper's off his line, I just try to snipe it," said Garabedian. "In general, our team never wants to kick and run. We're always passing and trying to find the right guy. I'm always looking on the wing to find someone and it's pretty much all instinct."
Angelo Maida is Fenwick's other center-mid and a co-captain and he's proven to be immense in the transition game. Ian White has inherited the sweeper spot and gives the Crusaders speed on defense, as does Zach Terenzoni, another senior. The Crusaders got to the Division 3 North semis last year and want to improve on that this fall.
"We have the core of our team back and guys worked really hard this summer. If everything goes our way it should be a good season," said Garabedian.
A number of Fenwick players worked out this summer with Pat Downey of Gridiron Training, and it's showing on the pitch.
"I've noticed in the games this year that you can't knock him off the ball," Bub said. "Doug has added a lot of strength and aggressiveness to his game and that makes him ever more dangerous."
Garabedian, who's fielding offers from a number of Division 2 and 3 colleges, has also honed his skills in the S.F. Vikings club. The first priority of he and his Crusader teammates, though, is the fall season.
"The thing about this team is that above all, they're close. You can't teach team chemistry and they have that," said Bub. "This is one of those teams that as a coach, you'll remember, because they're all so coachable."
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The National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Adidas high school rankings for this week recognize Peabody as the No. 16 team in the country. The Tanners are up from No. 24 in the preseason after handing Acton-Boxboro its first regular season loss in several years last weekend.
The NSCAA/Adidas also sponsors a regional poll and Peabody is ranked No. 3 in Region 1 (New England). Danvers, which knocked off Central Catholic in its opener, is ranked No. 10 in New England.
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The girls program at North Shore Tech continues to grow. In its third year as a varsity team, the Bulldogs are up to the Commonwealth Large division this year and coach Kristin Doherty saw an influx of five new players this year — a significant increase from tryouts in 2009.
"Things are growing and the program is catching people's eyes," said Doherty. "It's a challenge but the fact that we got moved up says a lot about the program. The numbers are very strong in the junior varsity, too."
The Bulldogs have reached the Division 3 North tournament in each of their two season — success that is no doubt fostering the squad's growth.
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The Waring girls ought to have a good shot to repeat as Independent Girls Conference champs. The Beverly private school has the reigning league MVP Celia Balf of Beverly back for her junior season (Balf was MVP as a freshman and sophomore) and also returns leading goal scorer junior Allie Hinrichs.
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Just For Kicks, a column on high school soccer, runs every Wednesday during the fall season in The Salem News. Contact Matt Williams at MWilliams@salemnews.com or 978-338-2669.
