The past two boys soccer seasons were dominated by a pair of seemingly untouchable juggernauts, but the 2025 slate appears to be a competitive one.
Mountain Ridge was the area champion last season, finishing 17-1 after a state semifinal loss. The Miners graduated 13 seniors off that squad yet will still feature a talented set of returners.
After a year of transition following its 18-1 Class 1A runner-up campaign in 2023, Allegany brings back nearly all of its production and has been tabbed as the area favorite.
The Miners are No. 2 in the first area poll with 19 points, followed by Fort Hill (13), Frankfort (nine) and Calvary (seven). Southern, fresh off its best campaign in school history (12-3), received two votes.
Each of the three Allegany County squads return a dynamic offensive threat in Liam Hamilton (Fort Hill), Eli Cooper (Mountain Ridge) and Chris Manherz (Allegany), while Calvary returns the area’s top scorer, Sammy Scritchfield, in what figures to be a tight Player of the Year race.
Here’s what else to expect this fall across the area boys soccer landscape:
Allegany
Head coach: Blake Geatz
Last year’s record: 8-6-1
Key losses: Michael Cannon
Key returners: Noah Simmons (6 goals, 7 assists), Chris Manherz (14 goals), Eoin Mowbray (80 saves)
Coach’s quote: “Super excited for the fall season. We have a fantastic group of young men who have proven to me already that they are ready to compete. This year’s team is hungrier than ever before, from the seniors to the freshmen. They have shown their willingness to learn and adapt from day one of summer conditioning and are bought in and fired up. We expect to compete with each team in our conference and make a run for the area and state titles.”
Bishop Walsh
Head coach: Zach Kocak
Last year’s record: 4-13
Key losses: David Dinola (19 goals), Ofek Cohen-Inbar (6 assists)
Key returners: Jackson Miller (16 goals, 8 assists), Carson Hamelin (13 assists), Michael Caporale, Enoch Zheng, Anthony Shorto, Karl Vogtman, Mani Vahedi
Coach’s quote: “A lot of teams may be counting us out based on last year’s record, but this group is primed and ready to surprise people. We have a core of returning starters who have grown tremendously, and I expect big things this season. They’re resilient, they’ve bought in to our ‘All in.’ motto, and they’re ready to go toe-to-toe with anyone. Leading the way is Jackson Miller, whose outstanding leadership on and off the field has set the standard for the rest of the team. The energy is contagious. This is a hungry team with something to prove.”
Calvary
Head coach: Dave Ziler
Last year’s record: 16-6-1
Key losses: Riley O’Brien (10 goals, 7 assists), Brady Morgan
Key returners: Sammy Scritchfield (35 goals, 11 assists), Elijah Ziler (7 goals, 5 assists), Silas Leith, Gerald Mihailovich, Chais Murphy, Jake McGray, Blake Dwire, Jake Zewatsky, Luke Kamauf
Coach’s quote: “Last year we finished the regular season 15-3-1 after starting 7-0. Although last year was successful we came up short in the finals of both the Mason-Dixon Christian Conference Championship and NCSAA (National Christian School Athletic Association) National Championship. This year we hope to redeem ourselves and make a run at both titles.
“Our men have battled a lot of adversity and challenges to get to this season. They have trained hard and we expect that the perseverance they have learned and their training will allow CCA to be a top contender in our area, conference and nation.”
Fort Hill
Head coach: Zach Steckman
Last year’s record: 6-8-1
Key losses: Lucas Evans (4 assists), Leland Garcia (110 saves)
Key returners: Liam Hamilton (18 goals, 13 assists), Jacob Bone (4 assists), Sam Spencer (8 goals), Korbin McKenzie, Anthony Palumbo, Hunter Raines, Jake Rice, John Reinhardt, Luke Joseph
Coach’s quote: “The boys have been working extremely hard during this off season. We are really looking forward to kicking off our season in the Mountain Ridge tournament next weekend.
“To God Be the Glory and Go Big Red.”
Frankfort
Head coach: Jason Vaughan
Last year’s record: 12-4-2
Key losses: Hayden Whetsel (21 goals), Caden Vaughan, Conner Corwell
Key returners: Liam Orndorff (14 goals, 8 assists), Alyn Weaver, Noah Weaver
Coach’s quote: “This year we are looking to build on another strong season. Last year we ended the season at the WVSSAC sectional semifinals. With the new regional alignments in West Virginia, we are looking to go deep into the regional playoffs and hoping for a birth into the state tournament. While we lost nine seniors last year, this year we are led by four experienced seniors and talented junior and sophomore classes.
“We will be underestimated by a lot of teams because of the number of seniors we lost last year, but I have confidence in our young squad to perform at a high level that will result in another positive and successful year for the Frankfort High School boys soccer program.”
Hampshire
Head coach: Robbie Hott
Last year’s record: 6-11-1
Key losses: Trenton Timbrook (19 goals), Carter Pyles
Key returners: Jack Frazer, Ben Riggleman, Brayden Hott
Coach’s quote: “We are a young rebuilding team, but with their grit and determination we will get better and better as the season progresses.”
Keyser
Head coach: Chris Altobello
Last year’s record: 2-17-2
Key losses: Davin Richardson, Chase House
Key returners: Jarrod McElwain (13 goals), Evan McDowell, Kaleb Escobar, Maaziah Fertig
Coach’s quote: “This year’s team is led by four seniors who have been part of the program for the past four years, bringing both leadership and experience to the field. The team also faces the challenge of competing in a new class in West Virginia, which will test their ability to adapt and rise to new levels of competition.
“Throughout the summer, the players dedicated themselves to improving their fitness and sharpening their technical skills, laying the foundation for a strong season. We have expectations for a successful year — one in which the team not only competes hard but also finds greater success on the field than in recent seasons.”
Mountain Ridge
Head coach: Tim Nightengale
Last year’s record: 17-1
Key losses: Charlie Simpson (2024 Player of the Year/18 goals, 5 assists), Tyler Cook (2024 Co-Defensive Player of the Year/7 goals), Aiden Pirolozzi (2024 Co-Defensive Player of the Year), Ashton Reuschel (50 goals, 6 goals against)
Key returners: John Delaney, AJ Lauder, Trenton Diamond (4 goals, 7 assists), Elijah Cooper (18 goals, 4 assists), Austin Simpson
Coach’s quote: “We have high expectations for the ‘25 team. We have a strong core returning who have been working hard during the preseason and are blending well with our newcomers. We are excited to have our Shootout tourney to open our season and we’ll work throughout the season to compete every game.”
Northern (canceled season)
Head coach: Jenn Upole
Last year’s record: 3-9-1
Key losses: Wyatt Hull (2024 Goalkeeper of the Year)
Coach’s quote: “The boys would really like the opportunity to play this fall, but our numbers are so low. There is a lot of talent, dedication and desire within this group of boys that have pushed forward. It’s giving them a new meaning of team.”
Southern
Head coach: Camden Nichols
Last year’s record: 12-3
Key losses: Ben Lohr (2024 Offensive Player of the Year/18 goals, 4 assists), JM Holland, Nathaniel Argabrite, Dominic Burgess, Kade Savage (5 assists), Tommy Scott (8 goals, 6 assists), Jared Haskiell (35 saves)
Key returners: Shane Sisler, Grant Sweitzer (4 assists), Cameron Wright, Charlie Buchanon (4 assists), Sean Eiswert
Coach’s quote: “Our expectations are simple — we want to compete for a region title every year. The old Southern is gone. With the work we’ve put in as a group through the offseason and summer, we believe we have the ability to compete at the highest level. That only comes with desire and tenacity. That is our DNA.
“We have a lot to prove with last year being the best in program history, and I hope we are up to the challenge of showing everyone our program is here to stay.”