The New Egypt High School boys soccer team, which is coming off its best season ever at 18-2-1, is looking to continue a winning trend over the last three seasons under Coach Sam Palumbo as returning players continue workouts that began in May and will take the Warriors to the official start of practice on Aug. 21.

Seven starters graduated from the 2009 team that won the Burlington County Scholastic League Patriot Division championship for the second time in three years. New Egypt made its farthest advance into the postseason, losing in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group I state tournament sectional semifinals, 1-0, to Palmyra.

The Warriors defeated Palmyra twice during the regular season.

“We are doing a lot of rebuilding,

New

but we have four kids back who played a lot,” said Palumbo, whose players will compete in a Mercer County Community College team camp in West Windsor in early August. “We are absolutely rebuilding, but our basic needs will be replaced.”

Last fall’s memorable campaign followed seasons in which the Warriors went 12-6-1 and 14-4.

The Warriors will open the 2010 season on Sept. 9 against Bordentown and have the challenge of playing their first five games on the road against the likes of local rival Riverside and division runner-up Holy Cross, which handed them their other loss last season, 1-0.

Adam Lipay, who will be a senior this fall, was the second leading scorer on the team last season with 10 goals and is part of the four-player senior nucleus to which Palumbo referred.

“Last year we played the long ball, and this year we are controlling the ball more to the midfield and the forwards,” said Lipay. “We are looking pretty good with impressive young guys. A lot of guys are hungry for winning and that’s what we’ll do. We are dedicated to winning.”

Other key returnees are midfielder Kyle Lammerding, who scored seven goals, including four game-winning goals; Pat Seiler, who pushed up from stopper to put in seven goals; and Kyle Turner, whom Palumbo said is the fastest and most athletic player on the team. Turner was a center halfback last season, but may be moved to the middle of the defense.

“We’ll do a lot of rebuilding but play a new style. Instead of being aggressive like last year, we’ll be more intricate in passing and the small guys will move up. It won’t be just set pieces for pretty goals,” said Seiler, who started as a middle defender for the German Americans under-18s out of Yardville that finished first in MAPS (Mid- Atlantic Premier Soccer) out of 55 teams.

All four players will look to fill the void left by the graduation of goalkeeper Dave Wenskoski, who had 12 shutouts but will pursue a track and field career at Shippensburg

University as a distance runner, and Ron Valdner, a four-year starter who played sweeper while earning all-division and all-area recognition last season.

Also gone are the Bette brothers, Mike and Chris, and Rob Brown, who scored 12 goals in

New Egypt’s first five games before

his season was cut short by injuries

Egypt

sustained in an auto

accident. Brown had scored 28 goals in his junior year. All three players are headed to college careers at Albright University.

But there are other players back and a promising group of seven freshmen with extensive experience on New Egypt’s club team who could bolster the rebuilding and have raised the confidence in the team by Palumbo and his brother, John, who is back as assistant coach. Glen Knigge is back coaching the junior varsity.

“I like their intelligence,” said Palumbo. “They understand what I want. We’ll have some struggles against more athletic teams and stronger ones because we will be fairly young. But we can slow the ball down and have good vision in the midfield.”

And Seiler said the players, from the veterans to the new players up from the junior varsity, show some grit.

“Coach Palumbo said we need to score effort goals, that’s the key, hard work all the way to the net,” said Seiler. “That’s New Egypt soccer.”

That quality of astute vision of the field is embodied by Adam Coyle, who will be a sophomore.

Kyle Ingenbrandt, who will be a senior, was the junior varsity goalie who was called up to play in net for three varsity games. He shut out two opponents.

“I know he can be a solid contributor,” said Palumbo. “He is excellent coming out and cutting angles.”

Dan Cheverini, who will be a senior, played about 20 to 25 minutes a game on defense last season. Jesse Rabbit, a rising senior, saw spot action on defense last fall and is back to make a contribution in 2010.