The Pearl River boys varsity soccer team run drills during a practice at the school, Aug. 18, 2015.
Pearl River boys varsity soccer players Craig MacDonald, Aidan Miller, Kevin Doorley, Manuel Arango and Mark Russell are photographed during a practice at the school, Aug. 18, 2015.
Damon O’Keefe, the Pearl River boys varsity soccer coach, encourages his players during a practice at the school, Aug. 18, 2015.
PEARL RIVER Nearly a year later, the wound is still fresh.
A 16-win season ended in an upset loss for the No. 1 seed in the Class A quarterfinals.
A 1-0 loss.
Pearl River’s boys soccer team worked out Tuesday with many goals in mind but one major one is to write a different ending this season.
“It was heartbreaking,” senior midfielder Aidan Miller recalled of last year’s only setback.
The loss, coming after the Pirates’ 2013 section final loss, is fuel for this year’s team.
“A lot of kids are working really, really hard,” junior Craig MacDonald said. “I think we’ll be able to put a lot of goals in net this year.”
Pearl River, which will carry 24 or 25 players, graduated nine, including six starters.
The Pearl River boys varsity soccer team run drills during a practice at the school, Aug. 18, 2015.
The Pirates excelled on defense last year, allowing just six goals. But their entire starting defensive unit was lost to graduation, including Rockland player of the year Vincenzo Galvano, who’s now playing for SUNY-Brockport.
While coach Damon O’Keefe allows that the D is a “work in progress,” he doesn’t seem worried, indicating he has players with ” pretty much the same mental toughness” as those lost.
“I’m not concerned. We’ve had good people come up,” added senior Mark Russell, an outside midfielder, who led the team in scoring last year.
“Manuel Arango, a senior middie and center back, who expects to see more time in the latter position, said, “A focus of our game is shutting teams out. That’s the mentality.”
The Pearl River boys varsity soccer team run drills during a practice at the school, Aug. 18, 2015.
Five players are going out for goal with Dolan Ocasal and Matt Coffey appearing to have the inside edge.
Just one offensive player is gone from a team that’s known for its attack — its 1-0 playoff loss to Eastchester notwithstanding.
“We know each other so well, which improves our ball movement,” said senior center middie Sean Coughlan, who spent part of Tuesday on a training-room exercise bike due to back problems.
Russell, who made All-Section last year after transferring from Albertus Magnus, cited his team’s drive and remarked even its younger players, including the juniors MacDonald and Kevin Doorley, are hungry.
“We’re going to score a lot of goals,” Russell predicted. “We’re a very attacking team and will come after every team.”
“This team is great in almost every way,” MacDonald said. “We have a lot of different kids but we all get along because we all have a common goal.”
That, of course, is winning the section championship.
Twitter: @HaggertyNancy