State College soccer not worried about losing 12 seniors

It’s happened before, and it’s happened again.

The Little Lions lose 12 contributing seniors this year, but given coach Danny Orton’s history of development, he’s not too concerned.

In 2015, State College was in the same position, replacing a dozen seniors. The Little Lions went on to earn a 15-4-1 record and a District 6 Class AAA title.

“We’ve been lucky because we’ve reloaded every year,” Orton said. “It’ll be a challenge I’m sure, but we’ll be OK.”

Orton, in his fifth year with the program, had his best-ever mark in the difficult Mid-Penn Conference last season. The Little Lions were 10-3-1 in the league.

The Mid-Penn Conference is treacherous, though, and Orton doesn’t take it lightly.

“Week in and week out, the Mid-Penn is a major challenge,” he said. “You could go 0-14 or 14-0 in that conference for the most part. Every game is very, very close.”

With little margin for error, Orton will look to a handful of returning letterwinners to lead the way.

State College goalkeeper Zach Donohue, attacking midfielder Jake Kunes, and traditional midfielders Eli Bokunewicz and Ben Oesterling will be crucial in establishing the team’s identity and bringing along some of the younger contributors.

“They’ll lead,” Orton said. “They’ve led before, and they have to make sure that during the tough times — and there will be tough times in this league — that they find a way to dig in and say the right things to everyone to stay focused and keep working hard.”

This story was originally published August 29, 2016 at 3:44 PM with the headline "State College soccer not worried about losing 12 seniors."