Philadelphia Area High School Standouts - Boys

The high school soccer season starts at different times for different programs in the Philadelphia area but with South Jersey and Delaware schools both kicking off their seasons last week it's a good time to take a look at players who have impressed. This isn't an exhaustive list - there are far too many games for that - but a sampling of what I've encountered in my travels. Contact me at matthew.r.ralph@gmail.com with performances I missed.    Stars often shine brightest in derby matches and for West Chester Henderson in their 4-1 win over West Chester Rustin there wasn't a brighter star than Stewart. In a game that was tighter than the final scoreline suggests, Stewart was nearly impenetrable in the back winning balls in the air, blocking shots and using his size to knock players off the ball. His headed goal was an exclamation point on a great night.     Lum has shown why he's one of the top returning high school players in the First State with his start to the 2024 season. The crafty playmaker has a goal and six assists in the first two matches.     Haverford graduated a lot from last year so they are going to need seniors like Aloi to step up and lead and that's exactly what Aloi did in a 2-1 win over Shipley, delivering both goals and displaying a defensive work rate to battle a very talented Shipley side.     Cooper has been a workhorse early in the season for Shawnee up top. He had a hat trick to open the season and was involved in both goals in a 2-2 draw with Washington Township. He's not a flashy No. 9 but his hard work and good service from teammates like seniors Connor Winters and Sean McFadden has put him in good positions in front of goal.     Alston has been on an absolute tear to start the season with six goals in Caravel's first two games. The senior is known more for baseball but has a chance to make a name for himself in soccer if he keeps scoring goals.     Field's return to high school soccer for his senior year has been a boost to a Lower Merion program looking to return to the upper echelon of local soccer. The Delaware commit's left foot and ability to pass from deep has been a weapon both in open play and on dead balls for the Aces.     Holy Ghost has a deep roster of young skilled players but it was Matthew who stood out most to me in a recent win at Devon Prep. His pace with the ball, technical skill and IQ opened up passing lanes and chances for his teammates and his presence was felt throughout the match whether he was playing out wide or more centrally.     Saves can often change games as much as goals can and that's more or less what happened when Arrison made a huge stop to deny Rustin a second half lead. With the score still tied 1-1 Henderson went and grabbed a winner, riding on the momentum of a strong performance in goal from Arrison.     While Devon Prep struggled at times in their game against Holy Ghost, Hostetter was a bright spot in the back and in the final third on set pieces for the Tide and has attributes and time to develop those as just a sophomore.     Goalkeeper distribution is a skill that is often only talked about when it doesn't go well, but Marco Giancroce really impressed me with his feet in Episcopal Academy recent game against Roman Catholic. His distribution helped launch several attacks going the other way as the Churchmen were chasing the game down 2-0. They were able to find a pair of goals and win it with a PK in overtime.

The high school soccer season starts at different times for different programs in the Philadelphia area but with South Jersey and Delaware schools both kicking off their seasons last week it's a good time to take a look at players who have impressed. This isn't an exhaustive list - there are far too many games for that - but a sampling of what I've encountered in my travels. Contact me at matthew.r.ralph@gmail.com with performances I missed.