Mascenic making an argument as potential Division IV soccer threat

The surprising Mascenic boys soccer team is on a heater this fall, carrying just one loss into the home stretch of its schedule with a win over improving Wilton-Lyndeborough on Monday, 2-0, the latest feather in the squad’s cap. 

The Vikings won just one game last season but are already 8-1-2 on the year despite replacing a handful of seniors with freshmen immediately thrust into the starting lineup.

“The kids have really just bought into what we wanted to do here for the accountability,” first-year Mascenic head coach Craig Reynolds said. “They work hard at practice, and they’re working hard in games. And we’ve got some good-quality young players.”

Mascenic scored twice in the opening minutes on Monday afternoon, putting WLC on its heels with early goals from Grayson Duval and Drew Rosnov, two of the Vikings’ top players. Rosnov is the Vikings’ only senior and Duval their top goalscorer; along with captain Elijah Blais and keeper Liam Falter, they are the keys to Mascenic’s success. 

“[Rosnov] is an outside back, but he fills it up on defense and pushes himself up to help offensively,” Reynolds said. “He’s got that big boot for free kicks, he’s got a huge throw on the throw-ins. … [Duval] scores a lot. He’s a year-round club soccer player. So he knows the game.”

First-year Warrior head coach Aaron Sanchez knows Duval well, as he’s one of four Viking players who play club soccer for Sanchez’s Hampshire United team.

Sanchez, a former all-conference player at Franklin Pierce, brings some legitimacy to the Warriors and has them playing well despite losing key players to graduation and another handful to simply not coming out for the team. Indeed, WLC’s first go-round with the Vikings was a 6-1 Mascenic victory, while Monday’s contest saw the Vikes score twice before being held to about 60 scoreless minutes.

The Warriors also pulled off a big 1-0 win over Hinsdale at WLC’s homecoming game on Friday night. 

“At the beginning, we struggled a little bit in the first game,” Sanchez said, “because we are a new team with a new coach and new ideas. But during the last weeks, we are closer to the team that we want to be.”

The Warriors have strong players at all levels, with returning center back Vinnie Anzalone anchoring the defense as one of the best defensive players in Division IV. Forward Charlie Mayes is WLC’s best scoring threat; knowing that, Mascenic put Ian Austin on Mayes to man mark him for the entire game, not allowing him to touch the ball save for a couple innocuous midfield possessions. 

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t see him today because the other coach put a mark on him during the entire game,” Sanchez said.

WLC (3-8-1) is currently 17th in the division, able to push itself up against the playoff window from the outside. If the Warriors want to sneak in, they’ll have to pick up some wins in their final four games. Aside from Epping (8-2-1), the Warriors’ remaining opponents are a combined 6-23, so the opportunity is there. WLC is at Newport on Friday.

Mascenic has only the one loss, to undefeated Newmarket, though Reynolds would be the first to tell you the Vikings have a favorable schedule this year. The only teams Mascenic has played all season that currently have a winning record are Sunapee (a 2-2 draw on Sept. 9) and Newmarket (the 5-1 loss from Sept. 14). With undefeated Littleton (10-0-0) at the top of D-IV and North Country juggernauts Gorham (9-2-0) and Lisbon (8-1-20 also ahead of the Vikings in the standings, it seems like Mascenic will eventually run into a mule kick or a North Country buzzsaw.

But they’ve showed promise beyond their schedule; the Vikes were the first team to even score against Newmarket this fall. 

“The schedule has helped us,” Reynolds said. “A little bit of a false prophet, you know? But we’ll see. These kids need this after last year. Last year was so demoralizing. This has been a nice turnaround for us. And they need to to see some wins. That’ll help it for the future. Get a little bit of confidence under their belt. …

“They could come to play because, I tell you, our best soccer that we’re playing is against the better teams. The games against the lower-tier teams that we win, we’re not playing great soccer, but we step up a little bit when we’re playing the better teams. That’s what we hope to keep seeing if and when we make the playoffs.”

Mascenic hosts Holy Family on Friday.