Foxes tune up for season with summer league title win

Fox Lane boys soccer team poses with its championship trophy after winning the summer league title. Leo Crisostomo Garcia returns for his third year as a starter on defense. Coach Mike Tomassi is excited heading into his fifth season leading the Foxes. Senior Drew Bagley returns in goal for the Foxes. (Jim MacLeanPhotos)

By JIM MACLEAN

After advancing to the Section 1 finals last season, the Fox Lane boys varsity soccer team knows they are no longer the underdogs and everyone will be gunning for them this season.

However, the Foxes sent a message in summer league action, that they are ready for the challenge. Fox Lane tuned up for the upcoming season by winning the Ossining summer league championship, and then took on the winner of the Rockland Summer League and won that title too, proving they are ready to challenge for a Section 1 title once again this fall.

They say defense wins championships, and that was certainly true in the summer league action as Fox Lane recorded four shutouts in five playoff games to claim the two titles. Fox Lane cruised to two shutout victories to advance to the semifinals where the Foxes scored a 1-0 win over host Ossining, and the Foxes then defeated John Jay of East Fishkill 1-0 in the finals to win the title. The Foxes then defeated Rockland champ Clarkstown South to claim the dual-title.

A pretty impressive showing, highlighting what should be a strong defense for the Foxes with senior Drew Bagley back in goal and four returning starters on defense in front of him, led by three-year varsity starter Leo Crisostomo Garcia, along with Ryan Joseph, Hannes Fernqvist and Owen McIntyre.

“Those are my guys, it’s always great working with them in front of me, they always clean up,” Bagley said of his defense. “Our success in the off season shows how hard we’ve been working, and now we hope to carry it over to the season. Looking back four years and you wouldn’t believe this is the same program. We’ve taken steps every off-season, every practice, one practice at a time working hard to get where we are. We’re very excited, a great preseason, a great run to the sectional finals last year and we’re looking to do the same this year and hopefully take it home.”

Defense is not the only reason for optimism at Fox Lane as the Foxes showed during the summer league action that they have plenty of options on offense to score goals with returning starters Fredy Contreras and Gavin Morales leading the way.

The summer league performance was another sign of how far the program has come since coach Mike Tomassi took over the program. And he says the work in the summer league is a big part of why the Foxes were able to turn it around.

“We started doing it three years ago and our success over the last two seasons directly correlates to our playing together over the summer,” explained Fox Lane coach Mike Tomassi. “I took over a team that won no games, went 0-14, and I knew this school district had potential. The kids have been working really hard and we’re super excited for this year. After last year, we know nothing is going to be handed to us. We’re not sneaking up on anybody, but we bring back a lot of guys who can really play. We’re not shying away from it; every year our goal is to get to the finals and compete for a championship and we have the talent to do it and guys that are motivated to get back there. We just have to show up and keep working hard every day.

Fox Lane lost super star midfielder Kenny Mejia Lopez to graduation, but the Foxes showed their depth in the summer league with several talented players ready to step up and help fill the role to control the midfield.

Another sign of how far the program has come is the interest overall with almost 100 players signed up for tryouts. Fox Lane is adding a second junior varsity team this season due to the demand, with plenty of competition to make the roster for the three teams competing for the Foxes this fall. Tomassi says he will probably keep about 25 players on the varsity roster.

It all adds up to a promising fall for Fox Lane, and the senior class is hoping to make it a grand finale.

“We feel very confident, a good core of guys, our senior year and our hard work in the off-season winning both summer league titles is leading us into the season and we want a championship,” admitted Joseph. “This is our moment. We’re very proud of how far we’ve come, what we accomplished last year, and the goal is one step further and I can’t ask for a better group of guys to do it with.”