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BY GREG GULAS
Boardman News Sports
bnews@zoominternet.net
The Boardman Spartans boys’ soccer team is scheduled to open their season August 22 when they play host to Ursuline High School at the BHS Sports Complex, a game that will mark the beginning of their 40th season of varsity competition.
Given the state of the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it’s a game that everyone hopes will take place.
“Boardman was one of the first area schools to welcome high school soccer into their athletic offerings,” stated current head coach Eric Simione, who enters his eighth season at the helm. “As a history teacher, I have always felt that it is important to periodically reflect upon the past.
“Reaching the 40-year milestone seemed like an appropriate time to do so and as a coach, I feel that it is important for our players to understand that they, too, are writing the next chapter in our program’s history.”
In the fall of 1980, the Spartans were coming off an 18-3-1 overall mark, playing as the Boardman High School Soccer Club when they were elevated to varsity status the following fall.
The transition was a seemingly effortless one as they picked up right where they left off the year before, rolling to a 15-1-1 ledger that charter campaign under the tutelage of Dino D’Agostino.
A total of five head coaches have roamed the sidelines for the Spartans since that maiden season, leading the program to a 351-260-95 overall mark in 706 total games played and a highly respectable .564 winning percentage.
“Personally, it is an honor to coach at Boardman High School and to add little pieces to the tradition that has been built over the years,” Simione added. “Last year, we celebrated the team reaching 350 wins and a few years earlier recognized a player for scoring our 100th all-time goal against Austintown Fitch.
“This year, hopefully, this group will be the 40th team to take the field as we try to have something memorable each year for the players to look back on.”
In addition to D’Agostino, who spent nine seasons (1981-89) at the helm and posted a 104-43-20 (.743) overall mark in 167 total games played, the other head coaches include Dave Brenner – six seasons from 1990-95 – who was 62-39-16 (.598) in 117 overall games, John Yosay – six years from 1996-2001 – who went 49-41-15 (.533) in 105 frays, Ahmet Olgun – 11 seasons from 2002-12 – the longest tenured head coach who guided his teams to an 85-79-28 (.516) overall ledger in 192 overall games and Simione, the current head coach who took over the program in 2013 and is 51-58-16 (.472) in 125 games played during his seven seasons at the helm.
With 22 wins the last two seasons – the team is 22-11-4 overall, going 12-4-3 in 2018 and 10-7-1 last season – Simione has guided the program to their most wins in back-to-back seasons since 1997-98 when they went 27-8-3 overall – they were 10-6-2 in 1997 and 17-2-1 in 1998 – under Yosay.
Since becoming a varsity sport, the Spartans have won seven league championships, all in the Steel Valley Conference (1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1997), four district crowns (1991, 1992, 1993 and 1998) and on three occasions advanced to the regional finals – they lost to Walsh Jesuit, 2-0 in 1991; lost to Brecksville, 2-1 in 1992 and again to the Bees in 1993, 6-4 – leaving them one game shy of advancing to the state ‘Final Four.’
Most notable is the fact that the Spartans lost to the eventual state champion Bees on two occasions when they captured back-to-back crowns in 1992 and again in 1993.
In 39 years of competition, the Spartans have produced 11 players that have been named all-state with four earning first-team laurels.
Individually, those earning first-team honors include Dave Garchar (1989), Tony Volpi (1992), Larry Lencyk (1998) and Tommy Fryda, a season ago.
Other all-state honorees include Neal Hogan (1994, second-team), Joe Campesi (2003, honorable mention), T.J. Hosa (2005, honorable mention), D.J. Herman (2008, second-team), Devrim Olgun (2009, second-team), Christian Silvestri (2011, second-team) and Trevor Boggess (2018, second-team).
In addition to earning first-team all-state honors, Volpi was also named Ohio’s Division-I “Player of the Year” along with capturing All-American status.
Volpi, as a player and D’Agostino, as a coach, have both been inducted into the Youngstown District Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Alex Kidd, who served as an assistant coach at BHS and was a coach at Warren JFK High School, is also a YDSCA hall of fame honoree.
Additionally, seven players have been honored for their exploits by the BHS Boosters with induction into the Athletics Hall of Fame.
They include Garchar (Class of 1990, 2005 HOF inductee), Volpi (Class of 1993, 2008 HOF inductee), Lencyk (Class of 1999, 2015 HOF inductee), Yosay (Class of 2000, 2016 HOF inductee), Jason Keller (Class of 1993, 2017 HOF inductee), Neal Hogan (Class of 1995, 2019 HOF inductee) and Campesi (Class of 2004, 2020 HOF inductee).
Team-wise, BHS has fared well against local rivals and league foes.
Drawing from the current All-American Conference, Red Tier membership, the Spartans hold an edge against all foes except the Howland Tigers.
Against arch-rival Austintown Fitch, BHS leads the series 26-19-14 while owning a slight 112-107 all-time scoring edge.
They lead Canfield, 19-17-5 in 41 all-time games and have outscored the Cardinals, 91-74.
BHS trails Howland, however, 11-20-6 in 37 games played. The Tigers and Spartans have played multiple close contests, resulting in an 89-79 scoring edge in favor of HHS.
Against the Warren Harding Raiders, the Spartans hold a 20-3-2 overall mark in 25 games played and have authored a 104-24 scoring advantage, which translates into less than a goal allowed per contest.
Against other yearly local opponents, BHS holds an 18-8-4 advantage and a 77-48 edge in goals scored against and the Poland Bulldogs, they lead Cardinal Mooney, 13-7-2 in 22 overall games while outscoring the Cardinals, 81-26 and against this year’s season opening opponent, Ursuline High School, BHS leads, 18-6-3 in 27 overall games with a dominating 113-32 goals margin.
YEARLY SEASON WON-LOSS-TIE RECORD
1981...................15-1-1, Dino D’Agostino
1982...................13-2-1, Dino D’Agostino
1983...................13-5-2, Dino D’Agostino
1984....................7-6-2, Dino D’Agostino
1985...................16-3-2, Dino D’Agostino
1986 ...................7-7-3, Dino D’Agostino
1987....................7-8-3, Dino D’Agostino
1988...................11-6-3, Dino D’Agostino
1989...................15-5-3, Dino D’Agostino
1990....................9-8-1, Dave Brenner
1991...................11-5-6, Dave Brenner
1992....................6-3-2, Dave Brenner
1993...................11-7-3, Dave Brenner
1994...................11-5-2, Dave Brenner
1995...................4-11-2, Dave Brenner
1996...................1-11-4, John Yosay
1997...................10-6-2, John Yosay
1998...................17-2-1, John Yosay
1999....................7-6-3, John Yosay
2000...................4-10-3, John Yosay
2001...................10-6-2, John Yosay
2002................... 6-8-2, Ahmet Olgun
2003...................7-11-0, Ahmet Olgun
2004....................9-5-4, Ahmet Olgun
2005....................8-7-2, Ahmet Olgun
2006....................9-5-3, Ahmet Olgun
2007....................6-8-2, Ahmet Olgun
2008....................7-9-1, Ahmet Olgun
2009...................10-6-2, Ahmet Olgun
2010....................8-7-3, Ahmet Olgun
2011....................8-5-6, Ahmet Olgun
2012....................7-8-3, Ahmet Olgun
2013....................6-8-5, Eric Simione
2014...................10-8-0, Eric Simione
2015....................5-9-3, Eric Simione
2016...................2-13-2, Eric Simione
2017....................6-9-2, Eric Simione
2018...................12-4-3, Eric Simione
2019...................10-7-1, Eric Simione
TOTALS: 351-260-95 / .564 Winning Pct. (706 Games Played)
ALL-TIME COACHING RECORDS:
Dino D’Agostino, 1981-89 / 9-years / 104-43-20 (.743)
Dave Brenner, 1990-95 / 6-years / 62-39-16 (.598)
John Yosay, 1996-2001 / 6-years / 49-41-15 (.533)
Ahmet Olgun, 2002-12 / 11-years / 85-79-28 (.516)
Eric Simione, 2013-present / 7-years / 51-58-16 (.472)
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