Prep Notes: Phelps, Kiski surge; Top 20 uncommitted prep seniors
The Prep Premier League kicked off with a wild one as Kiski School (Pa.) rallied for a 4-4 draw with Phelps School (Pa.) in the inaugural PPL contest that pitted last year’s Pennsylvania independent schools finalists. Now, two weeks into…
Access all of Prep Soccer
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe Prep Premier League kicked off with a wild one as Kiski School (Pa.) rallied for a 4-4 draw with Phelps School (Pa.) in the inaugural PPL contest that pitted last year’s Pennsylvania independent schools finalists.
Now, two weeks into the season, it appears the tie was a harbinger of things to follow.
So far, five of the six teams that have played league games have at least one tie. The lone outlier is Woodstock Academy (Conn.), which defeated Western Reserve Academy (Ohio), it its lone match. Two programs have yet to start league play.
Phelps School has risen to the top of the eight-team standings with a 1-0-2 record. The first-place position was fodder for some fun ribbing of Phelps coach Evan Prybutok. “It’s only because we’ve played three games,” he said with a laugh. He’s only half-right. It’s also because last year’s Pennsylvania independent runners-up has avoided defeat. Phelps sits on 5 points, just ahead of Kiski School (Pa.) at 4 and Woodstock at 3. There are no league matches until Oct. 7, when Northwood School (N.Y.) hosts a weekend mixer with six league members each playing twice over that weekend.
Phelps’ solid start might come as a bit of a surprise given the graduation of Gatorade State Player of the Year Collins Oduro, who is now at Indiana University. Last year’s squad rode Oduro’s 40-plus goals to a national ranking. This year’s team spreads the wealth offensively but does have one issue — defense. Although Phelps is undefeated, it has allowed six goals in three league matches. “Right now, we’re going to score a lot, but we might give up a lot, too,” Prybutok said.
Lucca Saad, from Brazil, has emerged as an impact player. The central midfielder delivered the pass that led to the goal that gave Phelps a lead and eventual win over Western Reserve. Georgios Kazantzioglou, from Greece, is a left-footed winger who has five goals already this season, including the game-clincher in the 3-1 win over Western Reserve. Sophomore Raymond Junior Diouf, another attacking player, recently arrived from Senegal and is poised to be an immediate goal-scoring threat. Ian Palma, another forward, is a Brazilian who is a threat to score.
Overall, Prybutok has 32 players, and Prybutok has the luxury of going deep into the roster with quality players.
Kiski School defeated Immaculate Heart Central (N.Y.) and tied Phelps to start its PPL schedule. The team is led offensively by Mamadou Tall, a standout sophomore from Senegal who was at Woodstock Academy last year. Tall already has nine goals in the five matches he has played. Another attacking player to watch is senior Adrian Alvarez from Guatemala. Alvarez was injured last fall, and his recovery took away his winter, spring and summer seasons. He just returned to action and is playing on the wing at Kiski.
Santiago Giraldo Valencia, a junior from Colombia, is the team’s top midfielder. At 5-foot-5, he’s small but he’s hard-working and is a creative presence on the field.
In the back, Kiski has third-year player Antonio Correa, a senior from Gautemala, and Juchan Yung, a junior and newcomer from South Korea. Correa was a reserve as a sophomore and worked his way into the starting lineup last year. He scored a goal in the state final win over Phelps School. He’s about to commit to a significant NCAA Division III school, according to coach Jonty Loukes. Yung, meanwhile, has been a complete surprise. He unexpectedly came into Kiski this season and now is a key member of the team’s defense.
PREP TOP 10
To kick off the prep school season, I’m revealing the Prep Top 10 in more narrative form rather than a chart.
Through two weekends of player, there’s no question about it — Woodstock Academy (Conn.) is the No. 1 team. The squad coached by Owen Finberg basically is the remaining pieces from last year’s strong Woodstock team plus all of the South Kent School transfers that Finberg brought with him to Woodstock. The team plays with tempo and precision and will be tough to beat this fall.
No. 2 goes to Combine Academy (N.C.). Combine earned its place with a win over Northwood School, but questions remain if Combine will stay in the rankings. Unlike the Northeast residential academies and the NEPSAC schools, which play in a league, Combine Academy needs a mix of games against club, college and UPSL teams to fill out its fall schedule. But for the time being, Combine’s 2-0 showing at the NXT LVL Soccer Invitational is good enough for No. 2.
Northwood School (N.Y.) checks in at No. 3. Powered by a Syracuse and a Georgetown commit in the attack, Northwood shows signs of challenging Woodstock for the PPL title.
No. 4 goes to Northfield Mount Hermon, the new NEPSAC No. 1-ranked team. NMH edged fellow NEPSAC power Worcester Academy at the NXT LVL event to earn the higher ranking. NMH then played and lost to Northwood on Sunday, but the match had more of a friendly feel. NMH stat many starters but still trailed before the teams heavily went to the bench. Worcester Academy settles in at No. 5 for the time being.
Milton Academy (Mass.) gets the nod at No. 6, just ahead of Berkshire School (Mass.) at No. 7 after the teams tied over the weekend at the NXT LVL event. Kiski School (Pa.) is No. 8. Don’t be misled by the 5-2-2 record. One loss and one tie where with reserve players on the field as those opponents (one that was defeated by Kiski 12-0 last year) did not want to face the school’s first-team lineup. Phelps School (Pa.), which tied Kiski, is No. 9, and Avon Old Farms (Conn.) rounds out the Top 10.
Other teams on the radar include Hoosac School (N.Y.), Phillips Andover (Mass.), Loomis Chaffee (Conn.), High Mowing School (N.H.), Western Reserve Academy (Ohio), Immaculate Heart Central (N.Y.), Rivers School (Mass.), Brooks School (Mass.) and Noble and Greenough School (Mass.).
Top 2024 Uncommitted Prep Players
PrepSoccer will track who we believe are the top uncommitted seniors playing in the Prep School (NEPSAC) or Residential Academy (Prep Premier League/independents). Once a player commits, he will be removed from this list, opening a spot for a new player to be added.Name | School | Position | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Kelvin Da Costa | Woodstock Academy (Conn.) | M | A native of Mozambique, Da Costa create opportunities and is good under pressure |
Noa Perez | Combine Academy (N.C.) | M | Recent arrival in the U.S. from Olympique Marsielle, dominated midfield play at NXT LVL Showcase |
Zach Britton | Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) | LB | On a loaded prep school lineup, Britton might have the most upside for the next level |
Sean Wareru | High Mowing School (N.H.) | M | The native of Kenya distributes well and controls the midfield |
Jordan Shullenberger | Northwood School (N.Y.) | M/F | A box-to-box midfielder who was a goal-scoring machine while at Harwood (Vt.), a local public school |
David Lee | Woodstock Academy (Conn.) | M | The Korea native creates scoring chances and presses well |
Daniel Banks | Worcester Academy (Mass.) | M | Plays at a high level for all 90 minutes. Capable of creating and finishing |
Nicholas Dwamena | Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) | M | Another top prospect from Ghana, Dwamena will be worth watching this fall |
Enoch Duodo | Taft School (Conn.) | F/W | A very dynamic forward who is capable of finishing |
Babacar Diallo | Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) | D | A center back who wins everything in the air, but can play outside back and get forward |
Serio Neto | Northwood School (N.Y.) | DM | A newcomer from Brazil, Neto recently made his Northwood debut and will be worth watching |
Sam Knauf | Northwood School (N.Y.) | F | Knauf has a pair of D1 teammates in the attack, but Knauf is the one finishing plays early in the season |
Thomas Angelone | BB&N (Mass.) | F | He has had a great career at BB&N and has made the event standout list all three years at NXT LVL |
Chase Jackson | Millbrook School (N.Y.) | W | Although he scored a goal at NXT LVL he seems better suited to create chances, which he often did |
Daniel Kankam | Immaculate Heart Central (N.Y.) | F/CAM | A very direct player who makes good runs |
Daniel Toirac | Western Reserve Academy (Ohio) | F | He is returning from injury and starting to play quality minutes |
Anthony Ruscito | Milton Academy (Mass.) | F/D | His versatility will come in handy in gtting him to the next level, be it it a local DI or high D3 program |
Adrian Alvarez | Kiski School (Pa.) | M | His finishing ability has lifted Kiski School to a Top 5 Prep School national ranking |
Hendrix Mota | Woodstock Academy (Conn.) | F | Attacking player, who can play as AM, wing or F, has emerged as a scoring threat late in the season. He is a native of Canada |
Max Maneke | Woodstock Academy (Conn.) | RB | A native of France is starting to get some Division I looks |
PPL & NEPSAC Commitments
The following are the verbal commitments from the Prep Premier League and NEPSAC programs.Name | School | Year | Position | Commitment |
NCAA Division I | ||||
Christian Haikal | Worcester Academy (Mass.) | 2024 | M | Providence |
Garrett Holman | Phillips Andover (Mass.) | 2024 | CB | Syracuse |
Milton Jones | Berkshire School (Mass.) | 2024 | M | North Carolina |
Gavin Krauss | Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) | 2024 | M | Colgate |
Dean Linden | Worcester Academy (Mass.) | 2024 | GK | UMass |
Cabot McLaren | Kimball Union Academy (N.H.) | 2024 | F | New Hampshire |
Sachiel Ming | Northwood School (N.Y.) | 2024 | W/CAM | Syracuse |
Tinashe Muhlauri | Avon Old Farms (Conn.) | 2024 | M | Merrimack |
Oppong Raphael Owusu | Kimball Union Academy (N.H.) | 2024 | D/M | Dartmouth |
Mitchell Baker | Northwood School (N.Y.) | 2025 | F | Georgetown |
NCAA Division III | ||||
Addison Bergin | Woodstock Academy (Conn.) | 2024 | CB | Tufts |
Griffin Bone | Rivers School (Mass.) | 2024 | CB | Tufts |
Leon Broady | Northwood School (N.Y.) | 2024 | GK | Middlebury |
Benjamin Brown | Hotchkiss School (Conn.) | 2024 | D | Williams College |
Jon D’Amour | Worcester Academy (Mass.) | 2024 | M | Haverford |
Arthur Dos Santos | Rivers School (Mass.) | 2024 | F | Bowdoin |
Ignacio Hahn | Woodstock Academy (Conn.) | 2024 | F | Hamilton |
Keagan Harder | Rivers School (Mass.) | 2024 | M | Middlebury |
Charles Johnson | Rivers School (Mass.) | 2024 | CB | Middlebury |
Tyler Jones | BB&N (Mass.) | 2024 | D | Haverford |
Ollie McNamara | BB&N (Mass.) | 2024 | GK | Haverford |
Teddy Nemec | St. George’s (Mass.) | 2024 | F | Babson |
Alec Pentikis | Woodstock Academy (Conn.) | 2024 | F/W | Colby College |
Jonathan Perez | Hopkins School (Conn.) | 2024 | GK | Bowdoin |
Adam Prince | Rivers School (Mass.) | 2024 | M | Bowdoin |
Charlie Riegel | Suffield Academy (Conn.) | 2024 | CDM/LB | Connecticut College |
Dieder Wagner | Phillips Exeter (N.H.) | 2024 | CB/RB | Trinity College |
2023 Prep Premier League
Standings for the Prep Premier League, featuring many of the top residential/prep programs.GP | W | L | T | GF | GF | PTS | |
Kiski School | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 14 |
Woodstock Academy | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 13 |
Northwood School | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 10 | 12 |
Phelps School | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 17 | 9 |
Hoosac School | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
Immaculate Heart Central | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 18 | 3 |
High Mowing School | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
Western Reserve Academy | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 2 |