Of the 17 Stevenson players listed as seniors, 11 were major contributors to the program's 16-5 record in 2015. And one player may be the toughest to replace.
Connor Curro spent four years as one of the Mustangs' top short-stick defensive midfielders, and he graduated with 203 ground balls and 53 caused turnovers. This past spring, the Lutherville resident and St. Paul's graduate recorded 55 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers, and also posted career highs in goals (four) and assists (six) en route to being named a third-team All-American for the second year in a row.
Sophomore John Berthcsi and freshman Tyler Russo are poised to join junior Dylan Muti as starting short-stick defensive midfielders next season. But coach Paul Cantabene admitted that he is not expecting either player to match what Curro produced.
"There's no question that he's going to be the hardest kid for us to replace," Cantabene said. "He did so much for us playing the D-middie position, being able to play against some teams' best middies. And he was so smart off the ball, helping us clear the ball. He's definitely one of our biggest losses."
Berthcsi registered 10 ground balls and four caused turnovers in 2015, while Russo compiled eight ground balls and two caused turnovers. They could learn from a mentor like Muti, who has collected 77 ground balls and 25 caused turnovers in three seasons.
Cantabene said Berthcsi, Russo and their Stevenson teammates may all rely on Muti to settle that position on defense.
"We're going to need him to be good at that position," Cantabene said. "He's been pretty good at the D-middie position, and we're going to need him to continue to do that. Dylan's got to step up and play like a senior. John Berthcsi has to step and play like an upperclassman. Tyler Russo has to step up and play like an upperclassmen. So they're going to have to step up their games in order to replace Connor."