Gateway boys soccer coach, players say it’s time to win

By: Shawn Annarelli
Friday, August 23, 2019 | 8:28 PM

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Forget that Gateway has won five of its last 22 conference games. Everyone in the boys soccer program believes the balance of power in Section 4-3A will start to tilt in their favor.

The struggles of the last two seasons were growing pains, players said.

“I think our coach just got unlucky when he got here (two years ago),” senior Ben Meshanko said. “He had two sophomores and at least five, maybe six, freshmen starting. It’s been really rough, but we’re upperclassmen and ready to make a difference now.”

With 10 starters returning, Gateway coach Bernie Stiles called it a “new Gateway Gators team.”

“I wouldn’t trade a man on this squad for anyone,” Stiles said. “We’ve been through a lot, and it’s time for winning now.”

Leaps in athleticism, skill and maturity of the team’s returning players has affirmed Stiles’ confidence, which he said he had even when the Gators lost most of their games.

“The hard thing to tell a team when they’re losing a lot is that they are good,” Stiles said. “Four of our first five games last year were against legitimate top-five teams, two of them in our section. That set up a bad record and the perception that they’re not good, which isn’t the case.”

Gateway’s midfield will likely be the team’s greatest strength due to continuity.

Senior co-captain Aral Muftuoglo will be the centerpiece in the midfield, where he has built a reputation for cleaning up mistakes and making smart decisions with the ball to transition into the offensive zone.

“I think the key for us is our teamwork,” Muftuoglo said. “If we have each other’s backs at all times and work as one unit, we’ll win a lot of games.”

The Gators’ top three scorers will return this season.

Meshanko led the team with eight goals last fall, and juniors Alex Gutierrez and Chris Snyder complimented him as secondary scoring threats.

“Everyone is going into this season with a much better mentality,” Meshanko said. “We’re excited to improve a lot upon previous years. We have a completely different mindset to make a huge difference in the program.”

The team’s quality of play has taken a noticeable jump over the summer, according to Stiles.

The only way it will translate to the field is if everyone plays with the confidence that they can be competitive against any opponent.

“It sounds so simple, but they have to believe they belong,” Stiles said. “There’s four aspects to soccer, and these guys have the technical, tactical and physical parts. It’s the psychological part that they need to show they have… I think they’re ready to roll. All I hear the guys talk about is ‘let’s get to the games,’ which I hadn’t heard in a while. There’s no fear in them.”

Tags: Gateway