Boehm and Barry earn Soccer Six honors
Freshman goalkeeper Joseph Boehm and sophomore midfielder Ritchie Barry, two critical members of the St. Joe’s men’s soccer youthful core, have led the the Hawks to a 6-3 start while earning citywide recognition for their play.
Boehm and Barry were named the Philadelphia Soccer Six Rookie and Player of the week, respectively, for the week of Sept. 9 through Sept. 15.
Barry scored two of his three goals during that span and currently ranks third on the team in both goals and points. Barry is also an essential part of the Hawks’ fast paced offensive attack, as he leads the team in total shots.
“Once I got my first goal, my confidence level grew,” Barry said. “For me it’s just making the right team play because the better the team does, the more chances you individually get.”
Barry, who was the only freshman last year to start all 18 matches, returns with experience and a resumé to back it up. Last year, he garnered a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team as well as the Philadelphia Soccer Six All-Rookie team. He also received a Philadelphia Soccer Six Rookie of the Week honor. As a sophomore, however, Barry has a new perspective and notices a completely different energy in this team.
“I feel like we’ve hit the ground running this year,” Barry said. “I think we’ve taken all the learning experiences from last year, fixed all of our mistakes and our confidence is growing with each game. We’re learning about ourselves and we really want to do something special this year.”
Boehm on the other hand, a native of Colleyville, Texas, headlines a freshman class that is already making an impact for the Hawks. Boehm was poised to step up right away. He has started in goal for all nine of the Hawks’ matches. For Boehm, having senior captain Eddie McCusker and redshirt junior captain Mike Fornaro in front of him on defense have helped take some of the weight off of his shoulders.
“They are both very great leaders,” Boehm said. “They have mentored me and really given me confidence back there. It allows me to feel at home and feel comfortable back there. They have been a great help and really helped me settle into the position.”
Boehm currently ranks second in the A-10 in saves, but hopes to lead the team to the top of the conference with A-10 play starting on Sept. 29 against Duquesne University.
“It’s about minimizing mistakes from an individual standpoint,” Boehm said. “For the team, the chemistry’s there. We know how to play together. Honestly, the tournament’s the goal. We’d love to win the A-10. We want to shock people, we want to surprise teams.”
Boehm will play a key role in the Hawks’ success throughout the rest of the year. Leading the pack of young talent on the team right now, Boehm wants to leave his mark for the remainder of his four years here.
“Our freshman and sophomore classes have become very close and we’re looking to be one of the best teams in the A-10,” Boehm said. “We want to start dictating games. When teams hear they’re playing St. Joe’s, they don’t want to have to play us because we’re a team that’s going to dominate the game and we’re going to give a hard-fought game.
Right now however, Boehm and the Hawks are concentrated on this year. They will look to continue their winning mark behind Boehm in net during conference play.
“I’m really hoping that this season can be a defining one for us as a team,” Boehm said.
