By Rob Potter
NARROWSBURG — December 20, 2005 – The Sullivan West boys’ varsity soccer team recently celebrated its 2005 season with a team dinner.
Players, coaches, parents and siblings enjoyed a buffet dinner on Sunday, December 11 at the Tusten Town Hall in Narrowsburg.
Kathy Reynolds, mother of senior Jonathan Reynolds, prepared many of the buffet items and several other parents baked a number of desserts.
Each of the team’s seven seniors – Kevin Brewer, Chris Franke, Joe Layman, David Lundgren, Will O’Brien, Brandon Redmond and Jonathon Reynolds – received a soccer ball trophy from their parents.
Following dinner, Coach Debbie Owen spoke about the Bulldogs’ 2005 season. She noted that the squad compiled a 9-9-2 record and that one of the season’s highlights was an overtime win over Highland in the Section IX Class B tournament.
She also announced that an out-of-county daily newspaper had named two Bulldogs, Jonathon Reynolds and Kevin Brewer, to its all-star team, which included players in Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties. Reynolds was chosen for the second team, while Brewer was picked for the third team.
She also thanked several people who helped the soccer team this autumn. Included in that group were Jack Stienstra, who was the team’s bus driver for away matches; Jane Burcroft, who operated the scoreboard at home matches; scorekeepers Dawn Houghtaling and Cindy Bernhardt; local newspapers for covering the Bulldogs’ matches; and Gloria Gain for videotaping the games.
Owen also noted the contributions to the school’s soccer program by former SW varsity coach Joe Ebeling, who spent three seasons guiding the Bulldog players.
She encouraged the team members to thank their parents for all of the rides to and from practices and games and for supporting their sons through the wins, losses and ties of the recently completed season.
In addition to thanking assistant coach Ron Bernhardt for his knowledge and dedication, Owen praised all of her players. She noted the squad consisted of a nice mix of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.
“This team is a family,” Owen said. “The older kids welcomed the freshmen with open arms.”
Owen called each class of players to the center of the room to be recognized as a group. She offered some positive comments for each player, praising their efforts this past season and/or noting that they should have an even better season next autumn.
For instance, Owen noted that Redmond “deserved a lot of credit” for his dedication to the team by finding his own rides to practices and games.
Owen complimented Lundgren and O’Brien for their hustle and hard work this season.
She noted that Layman was “one of the brilliant keepers in Section IX” and that he averaged eight saves per game this autumn.
Franke “displayed sheer intensity” on the soccer field, Owen said.
“Kevin Brewer is going to be hard to replace,” she said. “He always played with a lot of energy.”
Brewer scored 12 goals and recorded 10 assists for the Bulldogs this season.
Reynolds led the team with 18 goals. He also had 10 assists, which tied Brewer for the lead in that category.
“Jonathon can do amazing things with the soccer ball,” Owen said. “As Coach Bernhardt says, his shot is like a laser.”
Near the end of the evening, Franke thanked all of the parents and coaches on behalf of his fellow seniors. He especially praised Owen.
“She’s like a mother, she’s like a best friend,” Franke said.
The members of the 2005 SW boys’ varsity soccer team included: Justin Armstrong, Ross Bernhardt, Kevin Brewer, Todd Calvet, Kevin Cappiello, Kevin Correa, Joseph Drobysh, Mitch Ellmauer, Jesse Fadis, Rich Feeney, Chris Franke, Steve Gaebel, Kienan Garn, Logan Grishaber, Joe Layman, David Lundgren, Eric Minton, Will O’Brien, Garret Owen, Gaston Owen, Kevin Pinkel, Brandon Redmond, Jonathon Reynolds, Colin Seidl, Harold Smith and Vincent Spruill.