Here's a brief recap and ranking for all 39 boys soccer teams in The Express-Times region. We're holding off on naming the final No. 1 ranked team until our soccer package is unveiled on Dec. 7 which includes naming a player and coach of the year as well as a first and second all-area team along with honorable mention selections.
The three potential top-ranked teams – Emmaus. Moravian Academy and Parkland -- are listed in alphabetical order before the No. 4 ranked team, Delaware Valley.
Emmaus (19-4-1)
–Defeated Stroudsburg 1-0 to win its 13th District 11 title. Lost to Council Rock North 3-2 in two overtimes in PIAA first round. Coach John Cari is 111-39-13 in seven years at Emmaus with five LVC and three district crowns. Went 13-0-1 in LVC regular season. In 18 of past 21 years have played in either a conference or district title game while winning 22 championshipsl. Senior Pat Groh led a balanced offensive attack with 13 goals and eight assists. Lost 5-0 to Conestoga Valley, 2-1 to State College, 3-2 to Easton and 3-2 to CRN. Allowed six goals in its other 20 games.
Moravian Academy (21-2)
– Defeated Southern Lehigh 1-0 for its third Colonial League championship and Saucon Valley 6-2 for its second District 11-AA title and fifth overall. Coach Bob Hartman is 162-54-6 in 10 seasons with three league and three district titles. Joined Lions 1993 and 2006 squads as only ones to win league and district championship in same season. George Tsirukis (26 goals, nine assists), Eddie Painter (16-9), Alec Talsania (10-14) and Ryan Brown (12-11) led a high octane offense. Lost 5-1 to Holy Ghost Prep in PIAA first round game.
Parkland (17-5)
– Defeated Easton three times including a 5-0 thumping to win its fourth Lehigh Valley Conference title and seventh conference title overall under first year coach Patrick Birns. Ended Red Rovers season with a 3-1 triumph in district quarters by scoring all three goals in final 12 minutes after falling behind. Had won 12 straight district semifinal games before falling 1-0 to Emmaus. Juniors Collin McConnell (15 goals, three assists) and Nick Hutchinson (8-12) led Trojans in scoring. Only had three seniors on roster.
4.
Delaware Valley (17-2-1)
– Back-to-back school record 17-win seasons was diminished a bit when Terriers fell 2-1 at home to Holmdel in two overtimes in the Central Jersey Group 2 semifinals. Del Val had reached its first ever sectional final last season and expected to win its first championship this season. Did cop first ever county title when it beat Newton 3-0 in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex tournament championship game. Won its second Skyland Conference Raritan Division title in a row, going 18-0 along the way. Ranked among top 20 teams in state for first time ever in October and as high as 15th before losing to Holmdel. Senior Dan Weldon scored 46 career goals, two short of the school record. Terriers set school record for goals in a season (66) and longest winning streak (13) and unbeaten streak (16-0-1). Has had three winnings season in last four years under Dave Kirschenmann after program had eight in its first 36 seasons. Seniors who started at least the last two seasons included Karl Stephan, Matt Blanke, Erik Kempinski, Calvin Granger, Kyle Conklin, Jacob Stoner and Weldon.
5.
Hunterdon Central (11-9-1)
– Playing in the same Skyland Conference Delaware Division as Bridgewater and Pingry, two of the best programs in New Jersey, isn't easy but the Red Devils held their own, beating North Hunterdon twice to finish ranked ahead of the Lions. Throw in programs like Hillsborough and Montgomery and you have an extremely strong nine-team division. Upset by Newton 3-2 in overtime in HWS semifinals.
6.
North Hunterdon (12-8-1)
– Took Pingry to overtime before losing 2-1 and played Bridgewater tight in the North 2 Group 4 semifinals for second straight season before falling 1-0 on a goal with 2:30 remaining. Lost to Delaware Valley in HWS semifinals in a shootout that went to three extra rounds before being settled, 7-6. Beset by injuries from beginning of season to end but nonetheless won two states games, 2-1 over East Orange and 1-0 over Westfield. Senior forward Lino Suriano led the Lions with 14 goals.
7.
Palisades (15-6-1)
– Brothers Bobby and Max Kroschwitz led Pirates to their best season in 15 years, beating perennial district AA power Southern Lehigh 3-2 in the quarterfinals with Bobby K scoring all three Pirate goals including the game-winner with 15:47 remaining. Lost to Moravian Academy 2-1 in overtime in Colonial League semifinals, after reaching playoffs as a wild card, and 3-1 to the Lions in district semifinals. Bobby K, a senior, finished season with 37 goals and 17 assists and Max, a junior, had 16 goals and 26 assists, the second most assists in a season ever by a Colonial League player. Bobby's 82 career goals ties for 15th best all-time among region players and his 205 career points is 18th best.
8.
Liberty (15-5-1)
– Hurricanes started strong which propelled them to the Lehigh Valley Conference East Division title. Senior forward Richard Guedes, named the LVC MVP by its coaches, finished with 17 goals and five assists. Beat Southern Lehigh 3-1 early in season on way to 9-1 start. Lost to Parkland 1-0 in LVC semifinals and 1-0 to Emmaus in district quarterfinals. Sophomore Tresor Butoyi finished with 16 points while juniors Sean McIntyre and Mohammed Bah and senior Tim Kane chipped in with 14 apiece.
9.
Easton (13-9)
– Came on strong at the end of the season, as so many of Tim Hall's previous dozen Red Rover squads have, winning final four LVC games to nail down wild card berth. Senior Gabe Robinson led surge with eight of his 12 goals in a five game span. Robinson scored the first two goals in a 3-2 upset of Emmaus in the LVC semifinals. Senior Andrew Wolfe was one of best defenders in LVC last two seasons. Hall announced his intention to coach the girls team next season when they begin playing in the same fall season as the boys. Hall finished his 13 seasons with the boys with a 166-103-16 record. The Rovers, who will play their 50th season of boys soccer next year, won their only conference (2004) and District 11 (2010) titles under Hall.
10.
Southern Lehigh (12-4-4)
– Spartans handed Moravian Academy its only regular season loss, 2-0, but fell to the Lions 1-0 in the Colonial League championship game. Palisades prevented Solehi from reaching its 17th District 11-AA semifinal in 21 years with a 3-2 upset victory in the quarterfinals. Solehi had been 43-3-4 against the Pirates in its previous 50 meetings. Senior Seth Loew led the Spartans with 19 goals and 48 points.
11.
Allen (10-8-2)
– Beat Northampton 4-1 in District 11-AAA first round to finish one spot in front of the Konkrete Kids. Allen finished with first winning record since going 16-5-2 in 2006. Jose Matute led Canaries with 13 goals. Allen is 339-364-64 in its 44 years of boys soccer with one league (1970, Eastern Scholastic Soccer League) and one District 11 (1981) championship.
12.
Northampton (11-7-1)
– Had destiny, and a chance at its first conference playoff appearance, in its hands before losing 1-0 to Easton in next to last game of regular season. Handed Emmaus only LVC regular season blemish with 1-1 tie and beat Parkland 3-0 shortly afterward before running into an Easton team it is now 4-18 against since 1999. Beat Nazareth 2-1 in overtime to finish regular season before an uninspiring 4-1 loss to Allen in first round of districts. Northampton finished with its seventh winning season in its 28 year history, its first back-to-back winning seasons in 18 years and its 11 wins tied for the third most in season in school history. Senior goaltender Jordan Vitkauskas and defenders Tyler Davis, a junior, and seniors Eric Possimato and Michael Wanamaker led the defensive-minded K-Kids.
13.
Nazareth (10-7-3)
– Hung around in the LVC wild card race right down to the final week after beating Easton 2-0 on Sept. 30. Beat Colonial League upstart Bangor 4-1 in District 11-AAA first round game to improve to 9-0 all-time against the Slaters. Lost to Mountain Valley Conference champion Pocono Mountain East in shootout in quarterfinals after playing to scoreless tie through120 minutes. Completed sixth winning season in last eight years. Senior Max Schneider was named first team all-conference.
14.
Saucon Valley (14-4-3)
– Defense was priority concern number one and with senior Sam Poli, a center back, and goalie Nate Robinson leading the way the Panthers were again a league and district contender under sixth year coach Mel Moyer III. Beat NDGP 1-0 in overtime in district quarterfinals on a goal by junior Nate Schriffert. Reached first PIAA tournament, thanks to a district favorable draw, after losing 6-2 to Moravian Academy in the district final. Lost 4-0 to Lancaster Mennonite in PIAA first round. Saucon has never finished with a losing record in Moyer's tenure (83-29-10) after finishing above .500 in only one of its previous 26 seasons.
15.
Bangor (12-4-4)
– Another program that has played its best soccer in recent seasons after years of trying to gain respectability. Dominated extremely weak Colonial League North Division but also played well as a whole against stronger South teams. Won a school record nine straight games and scored a school record 61 goals this season. The Slaters best defender, senior Jonah Ruggiero, set single season school records with 20 goals and 45 points because he was also their best offensive player. Classmate Ben Hagan set the school career assist record with 31.
16.
Phillipsburg (7-12)
– Beat Notre Dame of Green Pond 4-1 on Oct. 8 on goals by Parker Bay, Keegan Anderson, Matt Martins and Cody Thomas so the Stateliners have to be ranked ahead of the Crusaders. Lost to another Colonial League member in Saucon Valley, 2-1, in overtime in a good showing. Best win was 3-2 over a Somerville team that finished 10-9-1 to mark one of the few times it's ever beaten a team that finished with a winning record. Finished with 29th losing record in 31-year history. Was handed a NJSIAA berth in order to fill out 16-team sectional bracket. Earned its only state berth in 1988.
17.
Notre Dame GP (11-6-1)
– Had its moments, highlighted by a 2-2 tie against Southern Lehigh in regular season finale, that denied the Spartans the top seed in league playoffs. Held Moravian Academy in check in a 1-0 loss in regular season. Completed third straight winning season for first time in 14-year history despite beating just two teams, Northern Lehigh and Tamaqua, that finished with winning records. Its 80 goals scored was second most in school history. Senior Nick Aquilina ended career with a school record 48 goals and 113 points. Sophomore Gio Mowrey led Notre Dame with 16 goals and 38 points this season.
18.
Hackettstown (10-9-1)
– Sounds like coach Gary Thomas, who won his 300th career game this season, will be back for his 28th season next year. The Tigers, who have qualified for the NJSIAA playoffs in 29 of the past 32 seasons, lost to 2-0 to West Essex in the first round. Senior back Tyler Kessell was only Tiger named to the Northwest Jersey Conference Freedom Division first-team all-star team.
19.
North Warren (12-7)
– The Patriots closed out their 22-year association with the Skyland Conference on a successful note to reverse two straight losing seasons. North Warren will join Hackettstown in the Northwest Jersey Freedom Division next season. Lost to Mountain Lakes 3-0 in first round of states. Senior Shaun Daly scored 10 goals with eight assists to finish his career with 31 goals and 16 assists. Kevin Strout scored both goals in the Patriots biggest win of the season, 2-1, over Gill-St. Barnard's.
20.
Northwestern (9-9-1)
– The Tigers defeated Central Catholic 3-0 in a season opening tournament so that puts them ahead of the Vikings in a tight decision. Also defeated upstart Northern Lehigh twice by one goal both times. Qualified for its 10th straight district berth, losing 3-2 to Pine Grove in the first round.
21.
Central Catholic (9-11)
– Defeated Northern Lehigh 2-1 in first round of district play so the Vikings have to finish ahead of the Bulldogs. Beat Allen twice this season which enabled them to finish 7-7 in LVC and qualify for districts. Lost 4-1 to Moravian Academy in district quarterfinals. Matt Wagner led the Vikings with eight goals including the game-winner against Nolehi. Vikings have finished with winning record once, 12-10 in 2007, in last six seasons.
22.
Northern Lehigh (10-9)
– Enjoyed first winning season in 10-year history behind seniors Channing Shiffert (28 goals, 9 assists) and Jimmy Bilger (10-10) and freshman Zeb Shiffert (10-12). Scored a school record 68 goals to almost double previous best output (37). Program recorded two shutouts in previous 169 games before coming up with five in a seven game span. Channing Shiffert finished career with school records for goals (61), assists (31) and points (153) and Bilger finished second all time (30-25-85) in scoring.
23.
Voorhees (5-7)
– Played the least amount of games in a season in the programs 37-year history, having both games against Delaware Valley postponed and then canceled because the Terriers had already clinched the division title. Still seeking its first winning season since 2006 squad set school record for wins in a season while finishing 15-6-1. Have recorded six winnings seasons overall.
24.
Belvidere (8-12-1)
– Late season surge helped County Seaters to third best win total in 20-year history. Compete in one of best small school divisions in state in Skyland Conference Valley Division. Four-game win streak to close regular season ties for second longest in school history. Brandon Gallagher led Seaters with nine goals while Bryan Mason is one of most underappreciated backs in the region.
25.
Salisbury (8-11)
– Closed season with eight losses in final nine games, beating only Freedom 2-1, after starting season 7-3. But a lot of those losses were close including one goal decisions to Saucon Valley, Brandywine Heights, Southern Lehigh, Allen, and Moravian Academy. Junior Sean Adams scored 17 goals to lead a Salisbury team that finished below .500 for the first time since 2000 (7-10-2).
26.
Whitehall (5-13)
– The Zephyrs were hit the hardest by the migration to MSL developmental teams by region players but still managed to beat a good Northampton team 1-0 early in the season.
27.
Freedom (4-13-1)
– Finished with most losses in school's 45-year history but still managed to beat and tie Bethlehem Catholic in two meetings to improve to 28-3-4 against the Golden Hawks since 1990.
28.
Bethlehem Catholic (2-14-2)
– Beat Upper Perkiomen 2-0 and Whitehall 2-1 and tied Dieruff and Freedom to finish with lowest number of wins in a season since going 1-15 in 1997. Have produced just two winning seasons in last 21 years, 10-8-2 in 2009 and 13-10-1 in 2007.
29.
Dieruff (2-14-1)
– The Huskies are 8-140-4 in 10 seasons of LVC play. Dieruff beat Pen Argyl 4-1 in its season opener and Lehighton 4-0 in its season finale.
30.
Catasauqua (6-11)
– The Rough Riders finished with its third straight non-winning record and its least amount of wins in a season since going 4-15 in 1993. Only three other Catty teams ended a season with less victories in its 25-year history.
31.
Warren Hills (1-17)
– The Blue Streaks hammered Hudson Catholic 7-0 for its only win of the season on Oct 4. They scored eight goals in their 17 losses including three in a one-goal loss to Belvidere. Warren Hills has recorded just six winning seasons in 34 seasons .
32.
Pen Argyl (4-13)
– The Green Knights beat Wilson, Faith Christian of Roseto, Notre Dame ES and Palmerton and tied Pocono Mountain West while finishing with its third straight losing season since going 14-9 and 11-8-1 in 2007 and 2008 respectively.
33.
Lehigh Valley Christian (11-4-1)
– Beat Wilson 2-1 so they have to be ranked ahead of the Warriors. Bobby Vanduzer led team with 15 goals and 36 points and Visal Lay added 10 goals.
34.
Wilson (2-16)
– The Warriors defeated the only two teams it is ranked ahead of among Colonial League teams, 3-0 over NDES and 2-1 over Palmerton. Wilson has had eight winning seasons in its 56-year history, its last when it went 12-7-2 in 2006.
35.
Palmerton (3-15)
– The Blue Bombers have never finished with a winning record overall or in league play in 17 tries, making its only district appearance in 2000 after going 9-9-2 overall before losing to Central Catholic.
36.
Faith Christian of Roseto (20-7-1)
– Is the only Pennsylvania team that competes in New Jersey based Metro Christian Athletic Association. Beat Warren Tech so they have to be ranked ahead of Knights. Junior Michael Dutt scored 40 goals this season and has 78 in his career. Senior Joel Snyder scored 19 goals with 14 assists to finish career with 48 goals, 36 assists and 132 points.
37.
Warren Tech
-- Defeated South Hunterdon 4-1 so they have to be ranked ahead of the Eagles, who also played the Knights to a 1-1 tie.
38.
South Hunterdon (1-18-1)
– First year program defeated a school named Noor-ul- iman 4-0 on Oct. 10 for its first victory in school history. Invited to play in NJSIAA playoffs which shows what a joke it is to consider an invite anything near an accomplishment. Scored two goals in its 18 losses.
39.
Notre Dame ES (0-17)
– This program won four straight Colonial League Division titles from 1996 to 1999 and two more as recently as 2005 and 2006. The Spartans also won District 11 Class A titles in 2003 and 2004 before taking a turn for the worse beginning in 2009. Scored one goal in 17 games this season.