Dedham Boy's Soccer Looks to Tourney This Year

The Dedham High School soccer team is out to prove, under the tutelage of longtime Dedham High coach Paul Podolski, that this year’s team is out to compete with the powerhouses of the Bay State League.

After, this season expects to be a year of redemption as 11 players return to hopefully help coach Podolski’s squad reach the MIAA Division 2 tournament.

The Marauders will have to defeat Bay State rival Norwood and Milton in order to secure a spot under the “Sullivan Rule,” which allows teams to qualify by winning half their games against teams in the same division or less. The majority of Dedham’s schedule is against Division 1 opponents.

But senior captain Mike McFarland has high hopes for his veteran-laden squad.

“We are looking to make the tournament this year,” said McFarland, who anchors the front line for Dedham. “We got to beat Milton and they are going to be tough this year.”

In order to compete this year, the Marauders will need the services of both Colby Flis and Santiago Alvarez, both missing time this preseason due to injury and personal reasons, respectively.

Flis is a formidable defender on the back line who is nursing an ankle injury, but coach Podolski hopes the senior captain can return to action in a few weeks. While Alvarez, a balanced attacker on the front line, adds a scoring punch that the Marauders can’t live without this season.

“We are still trying to experiment with positions and players playing out of position, “ said Podolski following his preseason match against Sharon last week. “We don’t have a defined role out of our players, we are switching positions.”

After dropping the first preseason match to Whitman-Hanson 1-0, the Marauders took on a possession-oriented Sharon team that controlled the ball from the backline and kept Dedham’s scoring opportunities limited.

“We saw some good things,” said Podolski after his team dropped the match to Sharon, 2-1. “It wasn’t all bad.”

One bright spot for Podolski’s squad is the emerging play of Alivin Di and freshman Ioannis Siokas, both players should provide a spark for Dedham throughout the year.

In net, Dedham will be in sure hands as senior Ben Walsh adds some important size and a strong set of hands to a position that will be key in keeping the Marauders in games verse powers like Needham and Wellesley this year – the team’s first two opponents.

“We will be in most games this year,” said Podolski

“We competed pretty well,” said McFarland of the preseason, “we just have to get our passing down.”

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