Podcast: Previewing the 2025 NEPSAC season

We previewed the 2025 NEPSAC season on 'The Goal' podcast. (Courtesy photo)

On the latest episode of New England Soccer Journal’s “The Goal” podcast, we previewed the 2025 New England prep school season.

The NEPSAC regular season begins in full force next week, on both the boys and girls side of things. Programs have been hard at work preparing for a two-month sprint to the playoffs in mid-November.

Matt Langone, Mike Zhe and Matt Doherty discussed the teams and players to know heading into the new campaign, as well as some storylines to keep an eye on.

Here are some highlights from our discussion:

On the power structure of Class A girls:

Zhe: “My order, you got Buckingham Brown & Nichols, which everyone regards as the team to beat in the ISL and often beyond that. Defending Class A champion Worcester Academy has been to the postseason every year and I expect them to be there again. Loomis Chaffee, my pick this year in the Founders league. They got some really dynamic players, they’ve been a contender in their league, they’ve been a contender in Class A. Could this be the year that they make the breakthrough?”

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On the team to beat in Class A boys:

Langone: “I was torn about picking a No. 1 this year. I went with Taft as my No. 1, the defending champs. I think Taft is gonna be exceptional this year, but the team that I’m really looking at coming in is Berkshire, just the amount of talent they have. A new coach, we’ve had on the podcast in Kelvin Martinez, who’s (formerly) a Northwood School guy. Comes over to Berkshire, there’s a ton of talent there already — four Division 1 commits in that Berkshire program right now, and there’s probably going to be more.”

On an under-the-radar contender in girls Class A:

Zhe: “Don’t know if I’d call them a dark horse, but a team I think is really intriguing is Philips Andover. And they check in at No. 5 in our preseason rankings. They had a terrific season last year — ended a playoff drought, got into the tournament. Graduated some very talented players, but they have some good players back. Wylie Roossien, a striker, is going to North Carolina. A very good player.”

On a team to beat in Class B boys:

Langone: “B is going to be interesting. I think St. George’s, another ISL team, is a team that people have looked to that could make a leap. They got a great player in Nicholas Alberga, a midfielder and a big-time playmaker in the ISL. Since Shay Quintin has taken over that program, they’ve kind of taken a few steps every year. Last year, they won 13 games, they got to the Class B semifinals, lost to Suffield. I expect them to be there again. An interesting thing to keep an eye on is Vermont Academy, which won the last two Class C championships, they’ve moved up to Class B this year.”

The full podcast can be accessed below and is available on all major platforms. If you enjoy it, please leave a rating and a review.