ON THE BALL: Hun School boys’ soccer player Alex Semler chases down the ball in a game last season. Senior defender Semler has been a mainstay on the back line for the Raiders since his freshman season. Hun gets its 2015 season underway this week by playing at Morristown-Beard on September 15 and at the Life Center Academy on September 18. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

For the Hun School boys’ soccer team, the 2015 season couldn’t come soon enough.

After enduring a tough 4-14-1 campaign last fall, Hun is excited to have a fresh start.

“We are starting from scratch again and I think they have really bought into that,” said Hun head coach Pat Quirk, whose team gets its 2015 season underway this week by playing at Morristown-Beard on September 15 and at the Life Center Academy on September 18.

“They are ready to go on the practice field. It is all competition; it is all trying to make the guy next to them better.”

The Raiders aren’t starting from scratch, though, when it comes to experience as the squad features a large core of returners.

“We have got a lot of pieces that work well together; we are putting them together and kind of moving guys around,” said Quirk, noting that team only graduated one player, Tucker Stevenson, from its 2014 starting lineup.

“I feel like we have more depth this year. This senior class is a strong class, three of them have been on the team since their freshman year, M.J. Cobb, Alex Semler and Devin Ducharme. The junior class has gotten much stronger and better.”

Hun is moving one of its stronger players, Cobb, up the field to help offensive production where he will be paired with newcomer Michael Campbell.

“M.J. Cobb has always played outside back for us and we stuck him at forward for scrimmages,” said Quirk.

“He scored a goal in the Allentown scrimmage and he is starting to get more comfortable in that position. He plays like an outside wing guy, he is fast and he is strong on the ball. We have a new sophomore Michael Campbell, who plays club and is going to do well.”

Junior Pat Nally figures to do well at the top of the Hun midfield. “I think Pat is going to step up pretty big this year,” asserted Quirk.

“We have been toying with the idea of having him play up top but he likes the ball at his feet so in the end he will probably stay in the middle and be a distributor and still score off of that.”

The rest of the midfield features a nice mix of veterans and newcomers.

“We have Connor Hufer back and we also have a PG named Ricardo Picon who has come in and is playing a little bit there along with junior Gunnar Schellscheidt and a new junior Jake O’Dowd,” added Quirk. “Those guys are rotating right now, trying to figure out who plays best with each other.”

Quirk likes the way his defensive unit is playing together. “Right now, it is Semler and Chris Andrews, as center backs,” said Quirk.

“James Nicholas, a junior, has been there in the back and then we have two sophomores that we have been rotating in and out, Louis Bishop and Tobi Sonaike, who is new to the team. Having experienced guys in the middle is always key to your defense. They have been teaching the younger guys. They are going to be good at the end. It is coming together; we are excited.”

At goalie, junior Logan Leppo has been looking good, benefitting from experience he gained in 2014.

“Logan got tossed into the fire at the start of last year; he has worked incredibly hard in the offseason,” added Quirk.

“He worked on his reaction skills; he can get to pretty much anything in the goal. He is being more of a vocal leader in the back. The guys are trusting him.”

In Quirk’s view, the players need be vocal and trust each other all over the field to get back on the winning track.

“I think our communication is huge for us and then playing as a team,” said Quirk. “Defending as a unit, that is our theme for the year. We have to hunt together; in order for us to be successful we need to have each other’s back.”