KICKING OFF: Hun School boys’ soccer goalie Diego Pena clears the ball in a 2022 game. Senior Pena is primed to produce a big final campaign in his third season as starter for the Raiders. Hun kicks off its 2024 season by playing at Hopewell Valley on September 7 and hosting Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (Pa.) on September 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Pat Quirk likes the vibe he is seeing around his Hun School boys’ soccer team as it has gone through its preseason training.

“Guys are excited, it is a really great group of kids that are super connected,” said Hun head coach Quirk who guided the Raiders to a 9-9-1 record last fall on the way to the Prep A state semifinals. “They are very supportive of each other. It is a good returning group who because of injuries last year, most of them saw a significant amount of time.”

Hun boasts some exciting players at forward in senior Toba Olaleye (3 goals, 3 assists in 2023), senior Luke Donahue (5 goals), senior Luciano Verduci (3 goals, 2 assists), and senior Hayden Gronczewski.

“Toba has come back a lot stronger and very physical, he has been getting dangerous,” said Quirk, whose squad will get its 2024 campaign underway by playing at Hopewell Valley on September 7 and hosting Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (Pa.) on September 10.

“Luke gets dangerous in any set piece, he is a great athlete. Luciano is trying to fill his brother’s footsteps (former Hun standout Max). Hayden is going to play a little but up there; he is pretty feisty and wants to score too.”

The Hun midfield has been bolstered by the addition of two feisty player from overseas, Gonzalo Perez Nunez, a native of Madrid, Spain, and Sasha Mykhalchuk, who hails from Kyiv, Ukraine.

“Gonzalo has quick feet, he makes some very dangerous runs,” said Quirk. “He creates space for other guys, he plays quickly. He has been playing with Max Frost (1 goal, 1 assist) and Marius So (1 assist) who both return from last year. Sasha plays out on the wing. He is a strong, fast player. There are times when he just puts his head down and wants to dribble.”

Quirk has some other strong options at midfield in junior Donovan Hayes (1 goals, 1 assist), junior Christian Wolfe (1 assist), and freshman Chad Barrett.

“Donovan has gotten a lot of playing time, he is a super tricky player out there,” said Quirk, who will also be using sophomore Lucas Choi in the midfield.

“Christian got some playing time last year, he has been playing a little bit in the midfield. Chad has really impressed us. Eventually he will get some time, he will be really good in the future and he is good right now.”

The quartet of senior Bradford Barnes (1 assist), junior Chris Meehan (1 assist), senior Austin Rollins (1 goal), and junior Noah Silvestre (4 goals) will be spearheading the back line for Hun.

“We return Bradford as a center back and Chris,” said Quirk, whose defensive unit will include senior Alexander Betru and junior Caleb Willner. “It feels like Chris has been with us for 10 years. He has started at center back since his first game as a freshman. He and Bradford are working at center back and doing really well. Austin is an outside back, he gets very dangerous from that position. Noah is a very technical player, he is also going to get dangerous from outside back.”

Senior goalie Diego Pena (79 saves in 2023), who has competed for the Dominican Republic U-17 national program, is primed to do really well in his final campaign with the program.

“Returning Diego is a huge plus for us, he has been a leader for the last three years,” said Quirk, whose backup goalie will be post-graduate Max McCarty, who previously played at Rumson-Fair Haven. “His leadership and vocalness in the back has improved so much. With the athleticism that he has, he plays like a sweeper keeper. We have no problem playing to his feet because we know his distribution is great.”

In Quirk’s view, the team’s positive chemistry could translate into wins this fall.

“Obviously staying healthy is important; I think sharing the ball and moving it is going to be our key to success,” said Quirk. “We don’t have a Joey [Bucchere] or a Connor [Frykholm] that can take over a game but we have a lot of solid pieces. The kids seem excited to be with each other and excited to support each other. I think that is really important. Other than practicing, they have been hanging out a bunch on campus, getting to know each other. That’s been good.”