3 members of 2009 Boys' Soccer team named collegiate captains

Wilbraham & Monson Academy Boys’ Soccer Coach Gary Cook had a special team in 2009. Four years later, most of the seniors on that team are still doing special things on the soccer field.

Three players from the WMA Class of 2010, who were seniors in the fall of 2009, have been selected as captains for their respective college teams. Two other players are also key members of their teams.

“We’re proud of the guys and we’re happy they’ve stayed in the game and we look forward to them having great final years and staying a part of our tradition,” WMA Coach Gary Cook said. “When I look back on these guys, they’re seniors in college and impact players on their teams. To see how well they’ve done as young men and student athletes . . . the connection that started here and they’re doing that in college. They remain an important piece of our program.”

Casey Marini, Trevor Moran and Drew Pehoviak have all been named captains for the 2013 season. Casey is a two-time captain for his team.

“Casey has had a big impact on our program both on and off the field,” Connecticut College Coach Kenny Murphy said. “He has played regularly since his freshman year and will be a two-time captain of the team. His passion for the game is contagious. He is very popular within the team and will be sorely missed when he graduates.”

Trevor is a remarkable story, making the University of Rhode Island team as a walk-on his freshmen and earning a spot as captain his senior year. “Trevor has been great to work with ever since I took over the URI Men's Soccer program earlier in the year,” URI Coach Gareth Elliott said. “His work ethic and discipline is tremendous both on and off the field. Trevor's leadership is going to be extremely important to our team's success and we have recently named him a captain for the upcoming season. He is the type of player that you want with you in the trenches and has proven to be a great asset to our program during his time at the University of Rhode Island.”

Drew caught the attention of his new coach at Colby-Sawyer College, Craig Wilkinson, right away and was named captain during preseason tryouts. Drew led the team in assists last season.

David Lawrence wasn’t named a captain but he clearly is one of the leaders for Philadelphia University. “David is going to be a key leader this season for the Philadelphia University Rams,” Philadelphia Coach Ptah Myers said. “He has made tremendous strides as a soccer player, from being a freshman substitute to now being a name that is known throughout the league. He has shown his ability to shut down the top forwards and at the same time score big goals for us on set pieces. We are extremely excited to have his leadership help through this journey and hopefully his passion and approach to the game will be an approach that the rest of the team follows.”

Connor DeVivo has done some good things for the University of Massachusetts during his career, and Coach Sam Koch is hoping for great things in 2013. “When Connor is fit and healthy, he’s an All-American,” Coach Koch said. “He can take over a game and physically dominate in the attacking third. He can play both sides of the ball as well as anyone who has played here.”

Other WMA senior soccer players from 2009 who went on to play in college included: Alex Portno (Hofstra University) and Marco Ilao (Bowling Green State University), who both played three years for their college programs; and Brian Sorensen, who competed for one year at Colby-Sawyer.