The motto of “unfinished business” rang around the first practice session for the St. John’s Prep soccer team. It’s been ringing in their heads for the past nine months — and it was ringing in the ears of longtime coach Dave Crowell in offseason meetings with his captains.
The highest seed remaining entering the Division 1 semifinals last year as the fourth seed, St. John’s Prep fell short of expectations, bowing out to No. 8 St. John’s (Shrewsbury).
Behind an experienced core in which star players return at every position, the Eagles are ranked first in the Globe’s first Top 20 poll of the season.
“Whether it’s been in captains’ practices or just hanging out with them outside of soccer, we know what’s at stake,” senior captain Finn McCabe said. “We know it’s our last go at it.”
UMass-bound senior Garrison Murphy leads the line up top. Possibly the most complete forward Crowell has coached, Murphy missed most of last season but returned from injury to spark the semifinal run. His impact across a full season projects to be immense — as a sophomore, he led the Eagles with 14 goals.
“He can play at a pace that a lot of kids this age just can’t,” Crowell said. “He’s big, he’s fast, he’s got the physical attributes, but what makes him stand out is he’s poised and composed in front of goal. He’s the complete package.”
In the back, James Minoris a returning Globe All-Scholastic selection at center back. Now a senior captain, he leads a crew that recorded nine clean sheets last fall.
The Eagles return goalie Matt Droggitis, an All-State selection and three-year starter. Crowell said the Eagles always start with defense first; they have the talent at the back to keep teams off the scoresheet.
More than anything, they learned from the state tournament a year ago and are entering the new season with a heightened focus.
“From a tactical perspective, little mistakes are everything, and they could happen at any time,” Minor said. “We’ve just got to be focused every single second of the game.”
McCabe helms a midfield group that he feels continuously improves just by practicing against each other every day. A valuable engine in the center of the pitch, McCabe is yet another returning Catholic Conference All-Star.
“It starts here in practice,” McCabe said. “All the reps, all the conditioning. We’re ready to go.”
Just five underclassmen earned spots on that 23-player all-star team a season ago — three came from the Eagles. Their returning crop is one of the state’s best.
Another returnee? Ryan King, who netted the winner over Concord-Carlisle in the D1 quarterfinal.
The Catholic Conference produced three state semifinalists a year ago, Prep, St. John’s (Shrewsbury), and Xaverian. BC High will be in the mix under new coach Mark Whitehouse, who replaced the retiring Billy Ryan, an Eastern Mass. Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Famer.
The field across Division 1 is – unsurprisingly – loaded once again. Apart from the Catholic Conference contenders, expect stalwarts Concord-Carlisle and Needham to be right back in the mix. Newton South and Lowell made big strides as programs last fall, an and Middlesex League powers like Lexington will be in the conversation.
How do the Eagles separate from the pack? A shared winning mentality.
“Everyone has the one goal in their head: to get to the state championship and win,” Murphy said. “That goes around everyone in the team. Everyone’s pushing to get there.”
Corner kicks
▪ At Newton North, the buzz around the program is soaring as the Tigers begin defense of their Division 1 title, which they captured as the 31st seed.
“People are still asking me how we did it,” coach Roy Dow said.
Curiously, that didn’t lead to greater numbers at tryouts; in fact, fewer players tried out this fall than last. And though the Tigers graduated 15 seniors (seven starters), they’re returning 10 players, including senior captains Peter Reale and Giga Bat-Erdene Junior winger Lorenzo Grimaldi and junior center back Owen Knapp will be key contributors.
“We don’t really talk about it,” Dow said, when asked how this group can follow up last year’s title. “The picture you’d paint is kind of unfair, to compare a team to what we did last fall.”
The Tigers allowed just three goals in last season’s Division 1 tournament. It’ll be a similar formula in 2025.
“Going into the year, our expectation is to be super difficult to play against,” said Dow.
▪ The biggest rule change approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) for the new season involves bench decorum. Now, head coaches can be cautioned for the conduct of players or team personnel in the bench area.
In all, six rules were approved by NFHS, including adding that no team or staff member other than the team captain can speak to officials during halftime or before extra time, unless summoned by the official.
Correspondent Sam Robb O’Hagan contributed to this story.
Mike Puzzanghera can be reached at michael.puzzanghera@globe.com. Follow him on X @mpuzzanghera.