Panthers back at it with young squad

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The past couple of years have been decent for the Johnston boys’ soccer team, as it has made the Division III playoffs twice but bowed out in the preliminary round each year.

Each of those seasons, the Panthers had a go-to player in Kervin Hernandez, who is now graduated. Besides Hernandez, 10 others graduated as well, leaving Johnston with lower numbers than usual and a lot of unknowns.

There is some experience on the Panthers’ roster, but it’s light. Repeating the performances of the last two years might be in play or it might not – Johnston just has to see how its revamped team shakes out.

“I’m just taking it a day at a time,” said head coach Dan Mazzulla. “I’m really pleased with their effort in itself.”

Hernandez was the team’s leading goal scorer a year ago and was one of the top players in all of D-III. Largely because of his play, Johnston went 4-8-3 and was competitive in a number of the games it lost.

It ended up losing to Cranston East 3-2 in the postseason, and that East team made it all the way to the D-III semifinals.

Pushing one of the top teams in the division to the brink in the postseason highlighted the strides that Johnston had made. Trying to get this year’s young team up to that speed is the challenge in front of Mazzulla.

“My numbers, unfortunately, are lower than they’ve been in the past,” Mazzulla said. “I graduated 11 seniors from last year. I’ve got very little experience.”

Johnston’s three most experienced players are serving as captains, in seniors Brian Campanelli and Aaron LaRose and junior Kyle Lavoie.

Senior Mariano Nasisi is also back in the fold after playing some his junior year.

“He’s a senior now, so up until this point he’s working hard,” Mazzulla said. “I’m expecting some things from him.”

Senior Brian Medeiros is another player who should see some time, as well as juniors Cris Cadenas, Jesse Urizar, Robert Jamar Marsella, Abraham Cortez, Oscar Marin and Nick Spinella. Sophomores Anthony Cabral and Eddy DiLorenzo are also in the fold.

There are a few other things that are yet to be determined, as Mazzulla sorts through the more than 25 players that have come out for the team.

Freshmen Zachary DiMartino and Henry Alvarez are two other players who will see playing time and should have an immediate impact.

One luxury Johnston has is returning its goalkeeper. Sophomore Devon Atkinson played his entire freshman season between the pipes for the Panthers and should do the same once a gain.

“He does a nice job,” Mazzulla said. “He’s got a year under his belt.”

Atkinson and the defense in front of him will likely have to excel this season for Johnston to stay close in a lot of games, as the offense may take some time to develop.

With the gradation of Hernandez and no proven scorer on the roster at the moment, goals may be scarce.

“I don’t know where the goals are going to come from,” Mazzulla said. “I don’t have anybody that’s going to be a goal scorer.”

Johnston will get a good look at its newly shaped roster today, when it competes in an Injury Fund game at Cranston Stadium against Division II Prout at 4:30 p.m.

The Panthers will have over a week off from games after that until they open their regular season on Friday, Sept. 5 at Tiverton at 4 p.m.

In the meantime they’ll work in preparation for whatever the season brings.

“It’s going to be interesting,” Mazzulla said. “The kids are working very hard, to their credit. I’m very pleased with their effort.”

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