Naugatuck
2021 results: 11-7-2, NVL semifinalist, lost in Class LL second round
Key players: Pedro Crivella (Sr., All-Iron), Arthur Baldon deOliveria (Sr.), Dhruv Nimmagadda (Sr.), Dan Anderson (Jr.), Aden Cruz (Jr.), Andy Nguyen (Jr.), Alex Oliveria (Jr.)
Key losses: Ahmed Aljamal (All-State, All-NVL), Simon Diaz (All-NVL), Manny Silva (All-Iron), Ryan Kenelly, Julio Perez, Louis Zarella
Outlook: Coach Ryan Kinne stepped down after six years on the sidelines and Jose Sendra takes over the reigns. Having Crivella, the team’s leading scorer, back bodes well for the offense. There is a lot of competition at the top of the league with Holy Cross, Woodland and Watertown providing some tough competition.
“The team is coming together well,” said Sendra. “The seniors are providing solid leadership. We may struggle at the beginning as the team tries to find and learn their roles.”
Season starts: Sept. 9 at St. Paul, 4 p.m.
Woodland
2021 results: 15-2-3, NVL Copper champion, NVL semifinalist, lost in Class M second round
Key players: Alex Farr (Sr. capt., All-Copper), Kimani Clovis (Sr.), Aldin Jahja (Jr.), Connor Cull (Jr.), Tanner Barrows (So.)
Key losses: Christian Hotchkiss (M), Sean Hussey (D, All-NVL), D.J. Mulligan (G, All-Copper), Sean Swanson (D, All-Copper), Nate Swercewski
Outlook: The Hawks lost a big part of the defense due to graduation but return a little bit of firepower on offense. Repeating as Copper Division champs and returning to the NVL tourney as a semifinalist is not out of the question but it will be a steep challenge for the black and gold after graduating 14 players.
“Our numbers are low,” said Woodland coach Kenan Collins. “But we have some solid junior players in Robert Giampetruzzi, Matt Villano, John Sizer and Liam Muricchio. We also have a new starting keeper in sophomore Brayden Raudenbush and you can tell that another sophomore (Tanner) Barrows has put in a lot of work.”
Season starts: Sept. 10 at Watertown, 10 a.m.
