Like every school, both sides saw plenty of turnover. However, with championship winning teams it becomes more difficult to replicate lost talent.

Maple Grove suffers a big blow from graduation and will have to find players to fill the shoes of 2021 Post-Journal/OBSERVER Player of the Year Nick Golando and Post-Journal/OBSERVER All-Star Adam Marsh.

“Players of that quality are so rare and you don’t replace them,” Maple Grove Head Coach Cara Abbey said about losing Golando and Marsh. “You can never replace somebody like those two guys. They were captains on my team. … By the end of the season I subbed them out only if they absolutely needed it, (because) those guys won us games. You never actually replace guys like that, you just make new guys like that and that’s exactly what we’re doing right now.”

Fredonia was hit just as hard by graduation, graduating 2021 Post-Journal/OBSERVER All-Stars, leading scorer Juan Matias and defensive captain Michael Berg. Matias scored a team-high 15 goals to go along with four assists, while Berg held down the back line that surrendered just 10 goals on the year and earned himself the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association West Division co-Defensive Player of the Year.

Fredonia boys soccer head coach Jim Rush explains a drill to his players at a practice on Thursday at Fredonia High School. OBSERVER Photos by Christian Storms

“That was a good senior group,” Fredonia head coach Jim Rush said about the 2021 graduating class. “They were apart of a team that did very well and they leave a lasting mark on the program. But we have kids who waited their turn last year and are talented. We have to see early on where they’ll fit into the puzzle.”

Unlike Fredonia, Maple Grove does bring back its leading scorer, junior Eli Moore. Moore, a 2021 Post-Journal/OBSERVER All-Star, was an offensive dynamo for the Red Dragons last year as a sophomore and looks to only get better this year.

“Eli is super important to our success,” Abbey said about Moore’s play. “Guys like Eli, when you get one, you take good care of him. He can carry a lot of the weight on his shoulders for scoring goals. You can’t win if you can’t score and Eli is one of those guys I ask to put up big numbers.”

In Fredonia, the task of replacing Matias’ production will be a difficult one that not one person will likely be able to do. However, the Hillbillies will have a strong group of players to work together to replicate that kind of offensive production.

“Juan was just an awesome player. He did a lot of standout things,” Rush said. “This year, we’ll probably have to get scoring from a lot of people. I look at Josh Reynolds, Sal Tabone, Kam Mages and Carson Cain. Those are guys who got some opportunity last year and now they take the step up as people who will be looked upon to produce.”

Fredonia defender Sam Murphy, left, executes a pass, as Calder Annear looks on during a drill on Thursday.

While losing guaranteed production offensively from Matias, Fredonia does bring back one of the top goalkeepers in the area in senior Trevor Persch. Persch, a 2021 Post-Journal/OBSERVER All-Star, posted 62 saves last season, allowed 10 goals all year, while keeping six clean sheets, including one in the championship game against Allegany-Limestone where he made six saves.

“He’s one of the top keepers locally,” Rush said. “He puts in the work, he does very well. He’ll stay after practice to do the extra work, (and) is always looking to get better. He’s very hard on himself, he never wants to give up a goal and that’s what you want from a keeper.”

Maple Grove will not be able to just rely on scoring from Moore to get another banner. Player leadership will be very important as younger players look to be pieces of a championship puzzle. The two new captains of the Red Dragons are Cam Crist, who will be unable to play this fall because of injury, and Sam Eimiller.

“Although I’d much, much rather have him on the field … he’s going to fall into a student/assistant coach role and I’m excited for that,” Abbey said about the injured Crist. “We can still use Cam’s leadership, experience and his vision in just a different way.”

Eimiller will take the field as the captain and can serve as a “swiss-army knife” for the Red Dragons, as he possesses plenty of experience at many different positions.

Fredonia's Calder Annear hits a pass during practice on Thursday.

“Sam Eimiller has played multiple positions over the course of his four-year career on varsity,” Abbey noted of Eimiller’s versatility and importance to the squad. “He started at forward, then I moved him to midfield and he was excellent there. Now he is filling in for Cam Crist in that center-back role and that’s just the type of guy Sam is. He’s willing to do any job asked of him. That’s part of the reason he’s a captain. He just exhibits good, selfless service to whatever the team needs.”

Both team’s will face a tough schedule on the way to the goal of winning a sectional championship.

“Our league is tough,” Rush said about CCAA Division 1 West. “Allegany-Limestone is consistently in the sectional conversation, Southwestern is always good … Jamestown, Dunkirk and Olean make it a really tough league. All of the games are going to be tough.”

Maple Grove and everyone else look at the tough hurdle of playing the Buffalo Public Schools this year.

“Probably one of the biggest challenges is that the Buffalo Public Schools are playing again,” Abbey stated. “Last year they didn’t play because of COVID. This year we have Riverside and Lafayette back in Class C. With those two schools, you never know quite what you’re facing, but they’re usually very talented. We played Riverside in a quarterfinal and they took us to overtime a couple of years ago.”

Maple Grove head coach Cara Abbey talks to her team during a break in practice at Maple Grove High School. Abbey and the Red Dragons are coming off consecutive Section VI championships and will be looking for a three-peat. P-J photos by Christian Storms

Fredonia will start off the season playing in the Frontier tournament next weekend, with a game on Sept. 3 against Cheektowaga.

Maple Grove’s season will begin on the road against Fredonia the following week, Sept. 9 at Fredonia State.

Maple Grove Captain Sam Eimiller strikes a ball during a drill on Thursday at Maple Grove High School.