Category: UCBAC Boys Soccer
McDonogh's Settleman, C. Milton Wright's Miller and Tully and Eastern Tech's Glaudemans honored by VSN as the best in boys' soccer in 2017, as Players and Coaches of the Year
by Gary Adornato
When you talk Players and Coaches of the Year, you are usually talking elite, highly touted individuals. As VSN announces its 2017 Boys Soccer honorees, we certainly are recognizing individuals who have proved to be elite, but who may also be regarded as underdogs as well.
Casey Settleman of McDonogh School, the 2017 Boys Soccer VSN Offensive Player of the Year, out-shined players who may have gaudier numbers by leading his team to the championship of the MIAA A Conference, among the most elite leagues in the nation.
Ryan Miller of C. Milton Wright fulfilled a long-time dream of winning a state championship with the Mustangs, providing superior play in goal and outstanding senior leadership, earning him the title of 2017 VSN Boys Soccer Defensive Player of the Year.
Miller’s coach, CMW alum Brian Tully, provided the steady leadership in leading his school to its first ever boys’ soccer state champion and he has been named a 2017 VSN Boys Soccer Co-Coach of the Year.
Likewise, Eastern Tech head coach Peter Glaudemans guided his Mavericks to their first-ever state title, completing his 26th year at Tech with his 245th career win, also earning him the title of 2017 VSN Boys Soccer Co-Coach of the Year.
Here are their stories:
CASEY SETTLEMAN
MCDONOGH SCHOOL
VSN BOYS SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
If a player’s value to his team were purely based on the number of goals he scored, McDonogh’s Casey Settleman would rank high, but not at the top of the list in the Baltimore area. However, when you factor in the senior leadership Settleman added to McDonogh School’s run to the MIAA A Conference soccer championship in 2017, Settleman takes a back seat to no one.
In scoring 20 goals and delivering 10 assists last fall, Settleman factored in more than half of his team’s goals in 2017 and has been named the 2017 Varsity Sports Network Boys’ Soccer Offensive Player of the Year.
“Honestly, I am little bit surprised,” said the humble Settleman in accepting his honor. “Everyone knows Ben Stitz from Curley had a ton of goals, but I am happy I was given the award and I’m was happy to lead my team to a championship this year.”
Settleman, who will not play soccer in college, is not your typical 12-month per year club/academy soccer player, but his core strength, speed and instincts around the goal made him a natural goal scorer and the go-to guy for the Eagles in every important situation.
"Casey has always been a terrific athlete and fierce competitor,” said McDonogh coach Brandon Quaranta. “This year, however, he grew into the offensive leader of our team. Not only did Casey take responsibility for being the catalyst on offense but he brought his teammates along with him and held everyone else accountable.
“When you are as productive as he was this season, being involved in over 60% of our team goals, other players will follow. Casey led by example and was equally as important as any reason we won the championship this year."
“I had to lead the team from the front and there was a lot of responsibility on me,” said Settleman who finished his high school career with 32 goals and 18 assists. “I would have never been able to do it without my teammates. I was setup time after time. I am happy to get the award, but I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates.”
Settleman was a member of two championship teams, also winning the MIAA A crown as a sophomore as part of a powerhouse squad which spent much of 2015 as the top ranked team in the country. In 2017, however, the Eagles were picked third in the MIAA in the preseason and grew into a championship squad throughout the season.
“We came into the season ranked behind St. Joe and Curley,” said Settleman, who plans to attend the Ohio State Business School and focus on his education. “We believed we were the best team in the league and we played like we believed that all year. We had a slow start, but we kept practicing and kept grinding and I think we were the best team at the end of the year and deserved the championship.”
RYAN MILLER
C. MILTON WRIGHT HIGH SCHOOL
VSN BOYS SOCCER
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The year 2017 will go down as a special one in the life C. Milton Wright’s Ryan Miller, the 2017 VSN Boys Soccer Defensive Player of the Year.
Miller, one the nation’s top goalkeepers, began the year by winning a USYSA national championship with his Baltimore Celtic club team and, in the fall, Miller helped CMW survive a shootout in the 3A state championship game to win the school’s first-ever state crown.
“From freshman year to senior year, it was a great experience,” said Miller of his high school career. “My teammates I played with were phenomenal and the seniors, my freshman year, gave me a great foundation for how C. Milton Wright plays soccer and how I need to play the game. My coaches had a lot to do with it as well.”
In 2017, Miller started all 19 games and saved 83 shots while recording 11 shutouts. He was a four-year starter and played in 72 games, recording 268 saves, registering 38 shutouts and registering an .833 goals against average.
He also led the the Mustangs to the 3A finals in 2015 and the state semifinals in 2014. Twice, Miller was named Player of the Year in his conference and he was a three-time All-County pick and a two-time All-Metro and All-State selection.
“We got together before the year, all the seniors did” Miller revealed. “We said that we have a really good chance this year and we wanted to do something, in our school, that has never been done before. When we got there (state final), we fought back from being down twice and got to PK’s. Luckily I came up with a save and my teammates finished the ball. All five finished the ball and we just made history.”
The state title was secured when Miller’s teammate Jake Sperlock converted the final PK, setting off of wave emotion for Miller.
“I was watching my buddy Jake Sherlock go up there and finish the ball and when I saw the ball go in, all of the emotions just hit me. It hit me all at once,” said Miller. “All of the hard work in preseason, all of the hard work during the regular season. It was just an amazing feeling.”
According to C. Milton Wright head coach Brian Tully, not only did Miller provide confidence for the team in the back, his presence made the Mustangs better on the offensive end as well.
“Ryan is a special player, both in talent level and his work rate,” said Tully. “He tended to the goal for us for four years and created a stability in the back that allowed us to be more adventurous in our attack. His leadership and passion has been invaluable and contagious, as he holds himself to the highest standard and is as critical of himself as he can be demanding of others.”
Miller also reflected in his national championship.
“The national championship for Celtic was phenomenal,” said Miller of the club team coached by Archbishop Curley’s Barry Stitz and featuring a roster of elite high school players from throughout Maryland. “We had a feeling at the beginning of the year that we had a good chance of winning it. The team I played with, my backs, my forwards were all phenomenal and we made a great run.”
Miller is now completing his final season wit Celtic and has signed to play his college soccer at St. John’s University in the Big East Conference, where he may match-up against his brother Colin, also a highly-decorated CMW alum, who is the starting goalkeeper at Providence University.
BRIAN TULLY
C. MILTON WRIGHT HIGH SCHOOL
VSN BOYS SOCCER
CO-COACH OF THE YEAR
C. Milton Wright head coach Brian Tully is not a man who seeks the spotlight, but when your team has the success that his Mustangs have consistently generated in recent years, the spotlight will find you.
In 2017, Tully’s Mustangs made history, winning the school’s first ever boys’ soccer state championship, as they posted a 14-3-2 mark in capturing the 3A state title and finishing No. 2 in the final VSN Boys’ Soccer Top 20.
“It was a great group of guys. We had a selfless senior class that from day one had goals and brought the younger guys along with them,” said Tully. “They set the expectation early on and they brought that energy with them every day to practice. Throughout the year they had the goal in mind of what they wanted at the end of the year and that propelled them throughout the season. It was fun to be a part of it.”
The state title was extra-special for Tully because he is a 2003 graduate of C. Milton Wright, where he played for his current assistants Brian Gunter and Rob Bailey.
“It was a cool experience. I had the opportunity as a player to reach the state semifinals once and to be able to come back as a coach is great,” said Tully, who has led CMW to four regional titles and two appearances in the 3A state finals in just five years as head coach. “I have two other coaches on staff who are former players at the school and were coaches of mine when I was a player. So, we really do look at the program as a continuation of a family atmosphere.
“We’re graduates of the school and we’re back involved because we want to come back and give the kids the experiences we had. It’s awesome for the school community, for the kids, to be able to put that first banner up in the gym.”
Tully explained why his program challenges itself by playing not only the top public school programs, but the best private schools as well.
“First, we’re blessed with having high talent right now. We have a lot of high level players that came in with a strong foundation and skill set. They are guys that compliment each other really well, in terms of positionally and style of play.
“A lot of it is to try and shift the philosophy and we started scheduling these games more routinely every year. That’s what we wanted our expectations to be. We wanted to get to a state title, but we wanted to elevate the program to compete with the best in the state on a regular basis. We expect that we’re going to see teams in the regular season as strong, if not stronger, than what we’ll see in our post-season run.”
PETER GLAUDEMANS
EASTERN TECH HIGH SCHOOL
VSN BOYS SOCCER
CO-COACH PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Eastern Tech boys’ soccer coach Peter Glaudemans does not easily reveal his emotions. Win or lose, he tries to keep an even keel and prefers to focus on effort and team unity, rather than wins or losses.
Yet, Glaudemans has led his Mavericks to victory 245 times in his 26 year tenure at the school, with the sweetest of those being number 245, a 2-0 win over River Hill in the 2017 1A state championship game, producing the first boys’ soccer state title in school history. The Mavericks also finished 19-1, winning their last 18 games, earning Glaudemans recognition as the 2017 VSN Boys’ Soccer Co-Coach of the Year.
“It was really exciting. I am particularly pleased for the boys,” said Glaudemans. “They work so hard and so well for each other every day and I am so happy that the boys were able to finish things off in a nice way.”
According to Glaudemans, it is the even keel approach that allowed his 2016 squad to reach its full potential.
“We’ve worked very hard at establishing a culture that we just go out and do the best job that we can each and every day,” he said. “We learned to relax a little bit and by doing so they began to trust their teammates more and more. By the time you get to the 12th, 13th, 14th week of the season, you have this team culture that says we can face any adversity and I think that showed up quite nicely in the post-season.”
In his tenure a Tech, Galudemans’ teams have won severn regional titles, but if you were to believe him, he has just been along for the ride.
“It may seem a little bit of a cliche, but the reality is that I just happen to be the person that guides the ship,” he said. “The boys fill the sails each and every day and all I have to do is put a steady hand on the tiller and guide the ship through the rough waters, sometimes, and sometimes through the smooth waters. The credit really does go to the boys.”
Glaudeman’s also gave tremendous credit to his assistant coach Andy Corbett and the administration at Eastern Tech.
“First and foremost, Andy Corbett is absolutely phenomenal. He’s been with us for seven years here. He was the JV guy for a year or two prior to that. He is just a tremendous blend with me. We work together effectively. Sometimes we don’t agree but we respect each other’s decisions. He’s phenomenal to work with.
“Top to bottom, the athletic director is supportive of all the athletic programs and the administrative team, through thick and thin, stands by all of the coaches. Essentially, this school is a school by culture, where as a lot of trust is put on kids in the classroom, on the athletic fields and all extra-curricular activities. I think in the long run that culture has paid off for the school on many different levels.”
When pressed, Glaudemans finally expressed some of the personal joy he experienced in the aftermath of the state title game.
“It was a blur. It was so rewarding. It was, wow, we finally did it. There were so many emotions going, watching the joy of the boys, watching the joy of the parents and fans, just soaking it all in.
“As a member of the state committee I have been at all of the state championship games for, I don’t know how many years. I’ve seen it from a distance and close by. It’s always been other teams. To happen to have that recognition placed on our team, it was a special opportunity.”
