Annapolis Panthers

1993 record: 4-8. Coach: Dave Gehrdes.

Top players: Ryan Sears, Sr., F; Roger Alfaro, Sr., HB; Andy Holt, Jr., G; Chris Holt, Jr., D; Ryan Little, Sr., D; Kevin Stroop, Jr., HB; Mike Kolb, Sr., D; Brock Nelson, Jr., D.

Outlook: The Panthers have a lot of experience up front, but little at fullback. Gehrdes welcomes back eight players who started last year, but several have been moved to defense. At least Andy Holt returns in goal, which is a comfort to Gehrdes. Three newcomers who should make an impact are sophomore halfback Justin Daniel, freshman forward Oscar Alfaro and freshman halfback Mario Lara. Senior halfback Sean Rentch returns from last season. Of the eight players who departed, second-team All-Metro defender David Winegrad will be the toughest to replace. His skill and leadership will be sorely missed. Gehrdes hopes his team can avoid another slow start, which has doomed it in the past.

Arundel Wildcats

1993 record: 5-6-1. Coach: Nick Jauschnegg.

Top players: Brian Burden, Sr., G; Jim Woods, Jr., D; Pat Fridley, Jr., D; Josh Turney, Sr., F; Mark Chesla, Sr., D/HB; Tom Newberry, Sr., HB; Tim Farley, Sr., D/HB.

Outlook: Four starters from last season are gone and Jauschnegg has a nice nucleus of players back. He'll carry 26, "the first time I've ever done that." He's moved some players to new positions, so "it might take time, but there's no rush," he said. There's plenty of experience in goal with seniors Burden and Keith Sharp. Among the newcomers is senior halfback Mark Jenkins, a transfer from St. Mary's. "I expect to improve on last year's record, whether that's six wins, or seven or eight," said Jauschnegg, who lost his best defender, Yemi Omotola, to graduation.

Archbishop Spalding Cavaliers

1993 record: 4-11. Coach: Rick Carlson.

Top players: Charles Ross, Sr., F; Matt Weibe, Sr., D; Chad Langville, Sr., D; John Coppola, Sr., MF.

Outlook: Spalding lost six seniors, including four starters, from a team that won four games. Carlson has an excellent nucleus to work with in Ross, Weibe, Langville and Coppola, though three of them will be playing new positions. Ross is moving from midfielder to forward, Weibe from midfielder to sweeper and Coppola from forward to midfielder. All four have started since they were sophomores. The Cavaliers are strong down the middle, weaker on the outside. With just 15 players, Spalding will have to avoid injuries. Otherwise, Carlson said, "This is the strongest starting 11 I've had in my three years here."

Broadneck Bruins 1993 record: 7-5. Coach: Jon Braun.

Top players: Dan Paulsen, Sr., D; Dan Gerbasi, Sr., F; Matt Allen, Sr., D; Jeff Parisi, Sr., D; Cory Ross, Sr., D; Brad Limbacher, So., D; John Williams, So., MF.

Outlook: Broadneck just missed the playoffs last season,

finishing fifth in its region (the top four teams qualified). A lot of quality players have left and "it's a matter of these kids stepping up to fill the roles," Braun said. Two players who started last year as freshmen, Limbacher and Williams, will play key roles. So will senior halfback Sean Ward, a transfer from Texas, and junior striker Todd Betz, up from the junior varsity. Senior Andy Chambless will start in goal. He saw limited playing time last year. Forward Matt Tyler, halfbacks Kirk Adams and Rob Wakefield are among the returning seniors. Unlike last year, there are no established stars. "I think we could be a surprise team," Braun said.

Chesapeake Cougars

1993 record: 8-4-1. Coach: Earl Eckhardt.

Top players: John Smith, Sr., G; Blake Moore, Sr., HB; Rick Hare, Sr., HB/F; Shawn Shannon, Sr., F; Andy Dziuban, Sr., HB; Rob Redmond, Sr., D; Mike Seruto, Sr., D.

Outlook: Many coaches say Chesapeake is a team to watch, and the Cougars are aware of such talk. "We hope to live up to those expectations," said assistant Dave Evanco. "We've got the capability to go a long way." Smith should maintain his status as the top goalkeeper in the county, and Evanco said he envisions Shannon and Hare picking up the scoring slack after graduation took leading goal producer Erik Dahlen. Sophomore newcomer Saul Pollack probably will start at sweeper, as Eckhardt and Evanco try to upgrade the defense. "Teams that finished higher than us last year gave up less goals," Evanco said. "Earl wants to eliminate the high-scoring games."

Glen Burnie Gophers

1993 record: 4-6-2. Coach: John Camm.

Top players: Ruban Arizmendi, Sr., F; Tony Hynson, Sr., MF; Scott Mohler, Sr., G; Chuck Crick, Sr., F; Keith Colotta, Jr., D; Jaime Leventry, Jr., MF; Adam Gray, Sr., FB.

Outlook: Camm comes from a winning program, having spent nine years as an assistant at Severna Park. He knows talent when he sees it, and the Gophers have some players worth keeping an eye on, like Arizmendi and Colotta. Arizmendi will need to help fill the scoring void left by Jose Arjona, a second-team All-County forward last season. There are a number of players back from last year, though some didn't see much playing time on the varsity. Camm says the Gophers have looked good in practice, but inexperienced in scrimmages.

Meade Mustangs

1993 record: 7-5. Coach: Mike Dey.

Top players: Brad Nein, Sr., G; John Pozniak, Sr., MF; Curtis Layton, Sr., F; Chris Balko, Jr., F; Brannon Small, Sr., D; Mark Rafter, Sr., MF.

Outlook: Dey lost 15 seniors, so the Mustangs are young. Only a handful of seniors played a substantial amount last season, when Meade barely missed the playoffs. Dey will call on a couple of sophomores, including midfielder Jon Purdy, who already has impressed his coach with his intelligence and skill, and midfielder Nick Smith. Steve White (midfielder/forward), another sophomore, "will be a standout player in a few years," Dey said. Two junior newcomers, John Rosenblatt and Mike Carpenter, will beef up the defense.

North County Knights

1993 record: 12-2. Coach: Mike St. Martin.

Top players: Pete Merrill, Sr., F; Bryan Lupton, Sr., F; Chris Guerrini, Sr., D; Matt Collins, Sr., G; Danny Zavorka, Jr., MF; Sonio Proserpi, So., MF; Wayne Feuerherd, Jr., MF; Bobby Kulp, Jr., D/MF.

Outlook: St. Martin has a tough act to follow in former coach Steve Malone, but that's the least of his worries. With so many talented players lost to graduation, he has a formidable rebuilding task ahead. An area of strength is at forward with Merrill and Lupton. Another newcomer expected to start is sophomore midfielder Shurland Murren. Freshman fullback Chad Farley also is close to earning a starting spot. Experience in goal will help. So will the expected good play of junior fullback Greg Cole, junior midfielder/fullback Steve Thomas and junior stopper Joe Hizon. "We just need to come together and find the right combinations to click," St. Martin said.

Northeast Eagles

1993 record: 2-10. Coach: Sam Tanner.

Top players: Mike Eck, Sr., MF; Roger O'Dea, Sr., F; Christian Canby, Sr., FB; John Blunt, Sr., FB; Brad Eberhardt, Sr., FB; Drew Delsignore, Sr., FB; Chad Pelino, Sr., MF; Pablo Troncoso, Sr., F.

Outlook: Northeast returns nine seniors, with Eck being the strongest overall player and O'Dea -- a converted fullback -- being the best offensive threat. Defense is where the Eagles appear to be strongest, though the goalkeeping is still up for grabs. Tanner must choose between senior Matt Sutton and junior Sean Richardson. A lack of speed has hurt Northeast in the past, but Tanner said this group is quicker and faster. "We'll be OK," he said. "We should do better than last year."

@Old Mill Patriots

1993 record: 9-2-2. Coach: Don Hobbs.

Top players: Kevin Robinson, Sr., F; Steve Shylanski, Sr., G; Eric Voss, Sr., MF; Joe Venturella, Sr., MF; Matt Reed, Sr., MF; Ryan Hannie, So., F; Joe McNally, Jr., D.

Outlook: Hobbs, last year's county Coach of the Year, has to rebuild the defense. He lost six seniors, and two players who were juniors last year elected not to come out. But he has seven players returning who started at different times, including Robinson, who scored nine goals last year and will spearhead the offense, and Shylanski, whom Hobbs believes is one of the top goalkeepers in the county. Hannie, a transfer from Atlanta, is a timely arrival at striker. It will be interesting to watch senior Jason Pinter, who was moved from midfield to defense and will start. He appears to have found his niche.

St. Mary's Saints

1993 record: 2-14. Coach: Jamie McNealey.

Top players: John Cannelli, Sr., D; Justin Wells, So., FB; Justin Bowman, Sr., G; Steve Picarde, Sr., F; John Firth, Sr., F; Zack Fallon, Sr., HB; Chris Criswell, Jr., HB.

Outlook: St. Mary's suffered some "demoralizing" losses last year, McNealey said, and he is working to instill a positive attitude. Forget last season, he has told his players. Two transfers from Mount St. Joseph, junior halfbacks Brian and Marcus LaChapelle, will bring a fresh outlook. So will junior forward Brad Topper, the JV captain last year, and sophomore forward Malcolm Granado, a transfer from Archbishop Carroll. Having lost his leading scorer, Chris Cannella, to injury, McNealey is hoping "four guys will score 10 goals each." Senior forward Chris Wiseman, the fastest player on the team, could be one of them. McNealey also lost his goalkeeper from last year, but said Bowman will assure that the Saints "don't miss a beat."

Severn Admirals

1993 record: 4-14. Coach: Marc Osterberger.

Top players: Alex Rouse, Sr., F; Chris Fuller, Sr., D; Eugene Youn, Sr., D; Brian Zaks, Jr., G; Matt Wright, Fr., D; Court Creeden, So., D.

Outlook: The Admirals have seven seniors, led by starters Rouse, Fuller and Youn. Fuller will play stopper and Youn will be a fullback. The return of Zaks, who missed last season with an injury, makes Severn a better team. The defense has an interesting mix of veterans and youth, the latter being sweeper Creeden and fullback Wright. Among the returning seniors are fullback Blake Nolan, midfielder Brandt Fifer, midfielder Garrett Mitchell and fullback Carlos Alarcan. Juniors Erik Olsen (midfielder), Jeb Bender (midfielder) and Ben Marchant (forward) also return. Severna Park Falcons

1993 record: 13-3. Coach: Don Gregg.

Top players: Kelly Harris, Sr., MF; Rick Sporrer, Sr., MF; Scott Vane, Jr., F; John Rich, Sr., D; John Holleran, Sr., D; J. T. Carhart, Sr., MF; Chris Rippel, Sr., G; Mike Daugard, Sr., MF/D.

Outlook: The good news is that Harris, a second-team All-County pick last year, is back. The bad news is that he couldn't bring more of last year's team with him. Gregg lost some tremendous talent, but he did add a good one in senior forward Jimmy Himes, a transfer from Annapolis Area Christian School who will start for the Falcons. Another potentially key addition is senior forward Josh Groseclose, who played as a freshman and sophomore but missed last season. "We have a pretty good team," Gregg said. "We need to improve our defense. We're good up front and in the midfield." The Falcons also have two above-average goalkeepers, including junior Evan Henry.

Southern Bulldogs

1993 record: 1-11. Coach: Tim Lauer.

Top players: Sean Carroll, Sr., F; Danny Day, Sr., HB; Lee Derrick, Sr., D; Brad Leahy, Sr., HB; Jim Mensah, So., F; Scott Rooney, So., FB.

Outlook: Southern's offense was a shambles last year. The Bulldogs, who didn't field a team the previous year, scored in only two games, and Lauer knows that area must improve. He said he thinks it will. The Bulldogs lost just two seniors from last season and return 12 players, "though we're still a relatively young team," Lauer said. Derrick, a sweeper, and Leahy are the team's best college prospects. And Lauer calls Mensah "one of the most skilled players in the county." He and Rooney started last year as freshmen. This year's freshman phenom may be halfback Josh Booth, who most likely will start.

South River Seahawks

1993 record: 4-9. Coach: Greg Carroll.

Top players: John Tedder, Sr., F; Bob Davis, Jr., HB; Pat Walsh, Sr., FB; Tim Finnelle, Sr., FB; David Summey, Jr., F; John Spies, Jr., HB; Chris Case, Jr., FB.

Outlook: Carroll has just four starters back: Tedder, Davis, Walsh and Finnelle, though Summey, Spies and Case saw considerable action. Of the large group of newcomers, junior forward Frabricio Soares is the surest bet to start. Walsh will anchor a good defense, which includes senior goalie Sean Finnelle. And the halfback position will be sound once everyone is healthy, though the unit is minus second-team All-County pick Jeff Schrumm. South River will need to do a better job of putting the ball in the net this year.