This time around, Larkin's goal is state

It was a long wet walk to the sidelines of a drenched Millennium Field for Larkin junior midfielder Steven Drew after a heartbreaking 2-1 sectional final loss to the Maine South boys soccer team, concluding his 2006 season.

As he watched 15 of his senior teammates make that walk one final time, he had a difficult decision to make.

Stick around and compete next year as a senior without those guys that he spent the bulk of his high school time bonding with and working with, or call it quits on a fairly high note to graduate early?

The leadership of veteran coach Ken Hall had gotten him to this point, so who better to ask.

Now, a season later, Drew returns to the Larkin soccer field as a team co-captain to talk about how that conversation went.

"When I went to coach Hall to explain my dilemma, he made the decision easy," Drew said.

"Coach said, 'What if I told you that we can be even better next year?'

"I didn't believe him at first, but here I am, and I am very excited about this season."

Typically, in the world of high school soccer, graduating 15 players means one thing -- time to rebuild.

For the Royals, Hall expects quite the opposite.

Larkin welcomes back five players from last year's roster, including four starters who, according to Hall, return as much better players.

Fernando Alvarez is among those returnees, and is slated to play sweeper for the Royals.

"Fernando, if he's not the best defender in the state, he is among the top three," said Hall. "He is fundamentally as sound as they come and also has tremendous decision making abilities."

Also back are strong forwards Raul Sandoval (junior) and David Rodriguez (senior co-captain).

"Offensively, we should score more goals this year than last year hands down," Hall said. "Raul is consistent, and David has been unbelievable. He is a completely different player since summer ball."

And of course Drew, who Hall says does it all in the midfield.

Yes. That does leave six or seven blank spots on the field.

That is until you add a group of juniors to the mix, a group which finished 16-1-2 at the sophomore level last year while allowing just 3 goals all season.

"Defense was our backbone last year," said Hall. "And our defense will be tight this year too.

"I see a lot of players pushing others for starting time every day, which is a good thing, but I'll tell you what I don't see here -- and that is a weakness."

Among the new faces are midfielders Danny Hinterlong, Carson McFadden and Raziel Famarribi as well as freshman defender Mitch Tyton, who will look to carry on the good name of last year's phenom Larkin keeper, and older brother Alex.

"Of all the teams I've ever played on, this is one of the best," said Drew. "The sportsmanship, camaraderie, the talent and the team chemistry are incredible."

Drew admits coming together as a team was a process, but one which the Royals underwent during the off-season.

"We've really got it all worked out," he said. "We are all working together and we are all focused on the same goal -- getting to state."

A feat last year's roster narrowly escaped.

"If this team faced off with last year's team, this team would win," said Hall. "This is the better team.

"We're twice as quick this year as we were last year. We have speed all over the field."

All things considered, the biggest strength for Larkin will actually be depth.

"I have 20 guys here that I have complete confidence in," Hall explained. "I've never coached a team with this much depth.

"We've got guys on the bench here who would start and be successful on any other team.

"I don't know that I've ever had twenty more coachable players than I have here now."

With a 4-1 Game 1 victory over Glenbard West under the belt already, the Royals hope to keep it going.

"I'm so impressed with how well we played our first game," Drew said.

"We like to say that our first game is our worst game so to come out with a 4-1 win is huge. I'm really looking forward to seeing what this team can do."

And while it is early, Drew no longer doubts Hall's prediction.

"I definitely think this year's team could beat last year's team," Drew said. "I am so glad to be back. I only hope that I can teach these younger guys what I've learned over the past few years."

Said Hall: "Everybody here is on the same exact page. We have one goal and one focus, and that is to win."

While Larkin will bid for a shot at the Upstate Eight Conference title, expect tight matches conference wide.

With the bulk of last year's roster returning, including 12 seniors, Burlington Central could contend for the Big Northern East title. As always, Hampshire will be chasing the same prize. While they lost a lot, the Whip-Purs do welcome back a group that has played together for some time and will be looking to prove something to spectators area-wide in the weeks ahead.

After a 10-0 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division finish in 2006 (14-3-1 overall), Cary-Grove will look to repeat taking things one game at a time. However, Crystal Lake South, Jacobs and Dundee-Crown could all be difficult opponents and might just contend as well.

D-C welcomes back power forward, senior Christian Meza who nabbed a hat trick in just the second game of the year after finishing the 2006 season with an area-high and program high 31 goals.

On the other side of things, Prairie Ridge finished second overall in the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division last season at 8-2 and welcomes back some key players from that roster. Perhaps, they can contend for a title despite being in the midst of a rebuilding season.