Husky soccer players huddle before a match in 2022 (Photo provided).

The prep premier league is back! Last year, Jon Moodey, Head Coach of the soccer program at Northwood, decided to join some of the other prep soccer team coaches in the east region to create a league equivalent to the New England NEPSAC leagues. The league has eight teams who play each other in a round-robin style before the playoffs towards the end of the fall semester.

Despite most teams in the league having a U17 as well as a U19 team, the league is only for the U19 teams. This allows for highly competitive games, and it gives juniors and seniors the chance for recruitment while playing against great opposition.

The league was created to allow these prep teams to be coached year-round by the same coaches, which is not allowed in the NEPSAC. Machai Davis ’25 said, “I really appreciate the league’s creation because whilst we are given the opportunity to win silverware for Northwood, we don’t have to change coaches midway through the year, which allows our whole team to grow steadily in confidence.” This is a crucial component for athletes’ success.

This year’s teams are Hoosac School, Woodstock Academy, Western Reserve Academy, Andrew Osborn Academy, Kiski School, Spire, High Mowing School, and Northwood School. This year, Andrew Osborn Academy and Spire are new additions, replacements for the fallen IHC and Phelps schools. This makes the league interesting as they are two new challenges that Northwood soccer is not sure what to expect from. Last year, Northwood did quite well in the league but unfortunately came up just short in the finals against Woodstock Academy, which has built some tension and rivalry between the two programs.

As the Prep Premier League season schedule has just been released, the Northwood boys are looking forward to hopefully having a good league campaign and going one step further than last year. “I really look forward to being able to play home games, as I enjoy playing in front of our peers, and I hope they can come out and support the boys,” Lokoah Paye ’25 said. Unfortunately, the soccer teams do not play as many home games as they would like, so they all relish the opportunity of playing in front of the home crowd.

Be sure to come out and support as the team would really appreciate it.