By Chris Villani

One could forgive Blackstone Valley Tech head boys’ soccer coach Justin Asam for being unsure what to expect from his team this fall. The Beavers graduated 16 seniors from a team that went all the way to the 2022 state title game before losing to South Hadley.

The 2023 Beavers provided a worthy follow-up to that run, winning 15 games and earning a spot in the state tournament once again.

“After last year, you don’t expect the team to come out and have a season like they did this year,” Asam said. “I was not expecting them to have as great a season as they did.”

BVT’s 2023 season came to an end with a loss to Dighton-Rehoboth in the round of 32. 

Asam’s team was led by a quartet of captains, two of whom are set to return next year. Junior Matthew Drons earned Colonial Athletic League all-star honors and a Central Mass. all-star nod after scoring 15 goals and adding 29 assists on the year. His classmate, goaltender Mason Dorr, once again stood out in net.

“He was the goalie who brought us to the championship last year,” Asam said. “He is an overall great goalie.”

Valley Tech’s other two captains are seniors. Ryan Sauter finished the season approaching the 40-point mark and was named to the all-state team. Midfielder Tyler Stevens stood out as a midfielder and defender.

“He is a great leader,” Asam said. “He has great sportsmanship, and he is a great player overall. He helped us out a lot.”

Stevens, Sauter, and Dorr joined Drons on the CAL all-star team.

Asam said the run of success is not over yet. In addition to the returning junior captains, sophomore Miguel Machado will return after a strong season.

“He is going to be a star with this program,” his coach said. 

The program has been healthy for the past several years, ever since BVT went deep in the state tournament in 2018 under previous head coach Khalid Al-Haza. Asam said more than 100 hopefuls have turned up at tryouts the past three seasons, more than double what some of the other teams in the area typically see.

“We have just kept it going,” he said. “It’s a very strong program, from the freshmen all the way up to the seniors.”