Hoosac Reinforces No. 2 Ranking as Taft Remains No. 1 in Prep Soccer Top 15

NEPSAC B teams start moving up in the rankings with Brooks School at 8, and Middlesex School, Vermont Academy, Suffield Academy, Mount St. Charles and St. George's all in the Top 15

Taft School and Hoosac School are in a tight battle for No. 1 in the Prep Soccer Top 15. | Michael Aldridge

In recent years, Hoosac School has won with defense. This year, it’s the offense — and that firepower came in handy last week as the No. 2 Owls rallied for a 3-2 victory over No. 4 Northwood School in a matchup of High School On SI Prep Top 15 national soccer title contenders.

Thomas St. Denis scored the game-winning goal in the 84th minute, giving Hoosac its first victory over Northwood since both programs emerged as national elite programs in recent years. Northwood raced to a 2-0 lead and appeared headed for a rankings-altering victory before Hoosac stormed back. Instead, the result leaves this week’s Top 5 unchanged for the third straight week.

Hoosac, perfect through five matches, is getting goals in bunches from throughout its lineup. In fact, 13 different players have recorded at least one goal or assist.

Middlesex School and Suffield Academy, both unbeaten, moved into the rankings after strong results. Middlesex scored a late equalizer against nationally ranked Milton Academy, while Suffield knocked off recently ranked Hotchkiss School.

Now, on with the rankings (through Oct. 4 matches):

1. Taft School [Conn.], 6-0-0

League: NEPSAC-A

Notes: Alex Calabro scored on an assist from Kade Ladner as Taft School extended its undefeated run to 39 matches with a 1-0 victory over Phillips Andover. Lehigh commit Reed Orben secured his fourth shutout of the season. Earlier in the week, Taft defeated Deerfield 5-1. Next up for Taft is a showdown with No. 14 Suffield Academy on Saturday.

2. Hoosac School [N.Y.], 5-0-0

League: Prep Premier League

Notes: Thomas St. Denis scored twice, and Will Curtis scored as Hoosac rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 win over Northwood School in a clash of prep powers. St. Denis broke the 2-2 deadlock with the game-winning goal in the 84th minute. Hoosac has a busy week with three league matches in six days, starting Oct. 6.

3. Woodstock Academy [Conn.], 3-0-1

League: Prep Premier League

Notes: Woodstock Academy was idle last week as its scheduled match with Darrow School was postponed. Woodstock returns to action this weekend against High Mowing School and Kiski School in a pair of league matches.

4. Northwood School [N.Y.], 3-2-2

League: Independent

Notes: Will German and Mati Settles staked Northwood to an early 2-0 lead, but the team could not hold in a 3-2 loss to Hoosac School in a clash of prep school powers on Saturday. Northwood next faces South Kent this coming Saturday.

5. Masters Academy International [Mass.], 5-1-1

League: Prep Premier League

Notes: Masters shut out St. Thomas More and South Kent School over the weekend by a combined 8-0 margin. Lase Akindele scored both goals against St. Thomas More. Andrew Scott had two against South Kent. Masters faces PPL foes Spire Academy and Western Reserve this weekend.

6. Northfield Mount Hermon [Mass.], 4-1-1

League: NEPSAC-A

Notes: Efe Iyahen scored three goals and had an assist this past week as Northfield Mount Hermon defeated Bridgton Academy 3-0 and St. Paul's School 4-0. NMH plays host to Berkshire School on Wednesday, which is always an intense matchup.

7. Loomis Chaffee School [Conn.], 6-1-0

League: NEPSAC-A

Notes: Loomis ran its win streak to six matches with wins over Trinity-Pawling and Berkshire School. Over the past six matches, Loomis has allowed only one goal. Loomis has a parir of challenging matches with Worcester Academy and Phillips Exeter this week.

8. Brooks School [Mass.], 7-0-0

League: NEPSAC-B

Notes: Brooks perfect run continued through a third week. The Class B frontrunner has seven straight shutouts to start the season. Brooks faces Top 15-ranked Middlesex School this week, the team's first match against a ranked opponent.

9. Choate Rosemary Hall [Conn.], 4-0-2

League: NEPSAC-A

Notes: Eden Tung scored the game-winner as Choate edged Phillips Exeter 3-2 to remain undefeated. This week, Choate faces Trinity-Pawling and Phillips Andover.

10. Milton Academy [Mass.], 3-0-3

League: NEPSAC-A

Notes: After defeating Thayer Academy 4-0 in a midweek match, Milton was held to a 1-1 tie by Middlesex School. Ethan Fine scored Milton's goal, assisted by Ben Pierog. Interestingly, Milton’s first six matches have followed the same pattern: a shutout victory followed by a 1-1 tie.

11. Middlesex School [Mass.], 4-0-2

League: NEPSAC-B

Notes: Middlesex showed its 1-1 tie last week against a strong Western Reserve Academy was no fluke by playing another 1-1 draw this week against a Prep Top 10 program Milton Academy. Middlesex salvaged the draw with a goal by Noah Helfgott in the 88th minute.

12. Pennington School [N.J.], 4-3-0

League: Mid-Atlantic Prep League

Notes: Gus Shapiro scored three goals, and Rutgers commit Matthew Addai had two goals and two assists as Pennington cruised past Blair Academy 6-0 last week.

13. Vermont Academy [Vt.], 6-0-0

League: NEPSAC-B

Notes: Alex Frangarillo, Marcos Gomez, Sarp Arda scored the goals as Vermont Academy capped a two-win week with a 3-1 win over a solid Williston Northampton team.

14. Suffield Academy [Conn.], 4-0-2

League: NEPSAC-B

Notes: Abdul Mohammed, a sophomore, scored the lone goal as Suffield upended Hotchkiss School, 1-0, to earn a spot in this week's Top 15. Suffield played down a man for 70 minutes following an early red card. Suffield faces top-ranked Taft School this week.

15t. Mount St. Charles [R.I.], 4-0-2

League: NEPSAC-B

Notes: Mount St. Charles defeated St. Andrew's and Brewster Academy last week, both by 4-1 margins. The only blemishes on Mount St. Charles' record are ties with Suffield Academy and St. George's, keeping these teams grouped close together in the rankings.

15t. St. George's School [R.I.], 5-0-3

League: NEPSAC-B

Notes: Kaisei Korytoski scored twice in St. George's 3-0 win over Noble & Greenough and netted three in an 8-3 decision over Governor's School. The uncommitted senior has 10 goals and five assists through seven matches.

OTHERS UNDER CONSIDERATION (in alphabetical order): Avon Old Farms [Conn.], Belmont Hill School [Mass.], Berkshire School [Mass.], Deerfield School [Mass.], Hotchkiss School [Conn.], Phillips Andover [Mass.], Western Reserve Academy [Ohio], Williston Northampton [Mass.], Worcester Academy [Mass.]