Burlington Central shoots for new heights

When asked to describe the strength of this year's Burlington Central boys soccer side, center back Zach Jochum smiled and answered as quickly and confidently as a spelling bee contestant given the word "cat."

"Everything. Every single thing," the senior quad-captain said of the Rockets' strong suits. "We do not have a weakness on this team."

Central, co-champion of the Big Northern Conference's East Division in 2009, graduated five starters from a team that finished 14-6-2 overall and 8-1-1 in league play. The 2010 Rockets, stocked with talent from all four grade levels, not only want to win the outright BN-E title this season but also blaze a postseason trail heretofore uncharted by previous Central sides.

"It would mean a lot to go down in school history as the first team to win a regional title, to be the first team to cross that boundary and finally make it to a sectional," senior captain Kyle Reopelle said. "I think it would be a big deal for all of us together as a team."

Though the team goals remain similar to those in past seasons, coach Mike Gecan's attack strategy has done a 180. Based on the talent level of this particular club, the coach with a record of 52-45-9 in six seasons is asking his players to put opposing defenses into permanent backpedal mode.

"We're going to more of an attacking style, whereas we used to have more of a defensive style," Gecan said. "We're scoring a lot more. We're giving up maybe a goal or two a game, but we're attacking, getting into it and having a little more fun.

"It's definitely more entertaining to see a game this year, in my opinion, because we're always going at them. We're not hunkering back at any point. We just continue to go, switching it from inside to outside."

It's easy to understand why Gecan thinks his team can dictate tempo with returning talent like Reopelle and Alexis Camarena. Reopelle, the team's steadying force as a defensive midfielder, is a four-year starter who last season was named all-BNC, all-sectional and All-Area after leading the Rockets with 8 assists.

Camarena, an all-BNC and All-Area returnee, is an attacking center mid who led the team with 13 goals and added 7 assists. Senior center midfielder Alejandro Nava and senior central forward Erick Uribe join them in the attack.

The outside midfield positions are manned by captain Chris Gousios and talented freshman Grant Stoneman, who enters high school with polished skills after training with the Campton United soccer organization. Gousious, a junior, enters his third varsity season after further honing his skills with his Fox Valley Strikers club team. He said the lessons Gecan imparts to his players go far beyond Xs and Os.

"Not only does he teach us soccer, but he wants to develop us as people as well," Gousios said. "He relates a lot of what we learn in soccer to life, like always being on time. In fact, being early is really what being on time means. His style is if you're going to do something, be great at it."

That's not the only lesson the Rockets have learned from their mentor. Style counts, too.

"We play very classy," Jochum said. "We don't foul a lot and we don't retaliate if somebody fouls us. He tells us to keep our heads, be calm, be cool. He not only helps us on the field but in life."

In support behind Reopelle are central defenders Jochum and sophomore captain Bryce Warner. Experienced senior outside defenders Brandon Cesaroni and Paul Jerger were expected back in the lineup this week after nursing minor early season injuries.

"When they fully recover we could have one of the best defenses in the conference and potentially in the regional," said Warner, who cracked the starting lineup last year as a freshman. "We have a lot of good players, so it's pretty exciting. We're pretty confident, but we don't want to get overconfident or cocky. But we think we could go pretty far. This season will definitely be better than last year."

The Rockets graduated starting goalkeeper Alex Pieper, but the position is in capable hands with either senior Matthew Dahlberg or junior Riley Jensen.

"It's the most well-balanced team I've had," Gecan said. "Across the board they're very consistent. There aren't many weak spots, and where we think we could use a little improvement there are already juniors cracking the lineup. The sooner they catch up and get comfortable, the stronger and stronger we'll be.

"It's looking really good right now."