Coaches often talk about how special it is to end your season on something other than a loss. In Edmeston, in Roxbury, in Gilboa and Conesville, the boys soccer programs had a twist this year. Their seasons ended not on losses, but with ties and penalty kicks.
As it turned out, the Panthers and the combined Rockets/Wildcats programs did have seasons that were special.
Edmeston and Gilboa-Conesville/Roxbury, the Tri-Valley League and Delaware League champions, respectively, tied for the Section IV Class D title. Edmeston advanced to the Class D state tournament on penalty kicks. The Panthers won a quarterfinal game, and tied in the semifinals against Fillmore on Nov. 15. Fillmore tied Hamilton for the state title the next day.
To honor the success of the two soccer programs, the Daily Star Sports department has chosen Roxbury senior striker Roni Grieco as its 2025 Daily Star Boys Soccer Player of the Year and Edmeston Coach Dan Cheatham as its 2025 Daily Star Boys Soccer Coach of the Year.
Grieco led the area in scoring with 34 goals; he also had 15 assists this season. However, he sounds as proud of his team stats: 16-0-3.
“We didn’t lose a single game this season,” he said.
“It was fantastic,” he continued. “The last couple of years before we merged, it wasn’t great. Coming together has definitely been great.”
Gilboa-Conesville merged with Grieco’s Roxbury Central School for sports two years ago. Soccer Coach Ken Cox, who teaches at Gilboa-Conesville, said Grieco’s work ethic and leadership has helped shape the two programs into one winning group.
“The work ethic is going to be hard to replace,” Cox said. “It is contagious. All the younger kids bought into it and I feel that is what led to our success. We have a lot of young kids, ninth, 10th graders, and Roni and a couple of other kids, a couple of the 11th graders, the younger kids had to step up their game to (keep up). They played hard and I think it had to do with how hard he plays on the field. I think that is where the success came from.”
Grieco’s birth name is Keith, and he said he isn’t sure where Roni came from, but “I can’t remember anyone ever calling me Keith.”
A 17-year-old who wants to study physical therapy in school, Grieco also plays tennis. He plays soccer “pretty much all year long” and is playing travel soccer for a team in Rotterdam. He is going to scouting camps in hope of finding a soccer program at a school that also matches his academic interests.
“He is still hard at work, showing off his skills at these ID camps for college,” Cox said.
Grieco’s younger brother Dominic was a sophomore on the team, part of a solid core Cox said he hopes will build on this year’s success.
“Last year we tied, we were co-Delaware League champs. So, we definitely left some unfinished business out there,” he said. “I am hoping with what we did this year, getting to the section final, that is the unfinished business this year. We were co-champs, that was fine. Now we just have to go win it outright.”
In Edmeston, they are saying something similar, especially considering the Panthers tied the team that tied for a state title.
“We said – and we’re joking, we know it isn’t the case – that instead of co-state champs, we are tri-state champions,” said Cheatham, who is also a social worker at Edmeston Central School. “Obviously, we were right there.”
Cheatham said he shares credit for the award with his players, his assistant coaches and the Edmeston school and athletic department staff. He makes a habit of thanking his seniors, too.
“This group really put us on the map,” he said.
“Our experience was the big thing,” he continued. “From last year to this year, we lost two seniors only. When you return 21 of 23 kids, it makes a huge difference.”
Edmeston finished 14-2-4, winning league, section and region titles and making the Final Four.
Cheatham played and coached at Lansing during a special sports run. He was in the state championship soccer game as a player and an assistant coach. In 2011-12, while Cheatham was an assistant for soccer and baseball, Lansing lost in the boys soccer state title game in November, then won the state title in baseball eight months later.
Now, Cheatham said he can envision his Panthers having similar success, in multiple sports, and on the pitch again next season.
“I don’t think we are going to have too much of a drop off,” he said. “My ethos is if you work hard, the results will follow. That is what this team has done. I think that is what this group will continue to do.”