In the first month of MFS’ premiere fall season in the Burlington County Scholastic League (BCSL), Boys’ Soccer player Alex Kostopoulos ’26 has garnered significant recognition from New Jersey’s athletic community for his success on the field. This included his inclusion on NJ.com’s list of New Jersey’s top 10 goal scorers through the first week of the season, as well as being named to The Courier Post’s “Mean 15” list of top soccer players in South Jersey for the second week of the season.
Kostopoulos acknowledged that his work ethic in the off-season had played a significant role in his statistical success thus far, explaining, “This summer I put in a lot of work. I’ve constantly been on the soccer field training and putting in work to improve my game.”
Midfielder Dean Simpson ’26, who also plays with Kostopoulos in the off-season, said he agrees with this sentiment.
“He’s always out on the field, improving his craft. He’s just such a hard worker,” Simpson remarked.
The improvement was evident in the early part of the season, as Kostopolous’s 6 goals in three weeks had already surpassed his total tally of 5 goals last season, according to NJ.com.
MFS Varsity Boys Soccer Coach Mike Schlotterbeck commented on some of the intangible improvements that have aided in Kostopoulos’s early season success.
“Alex has grown more resilient … he doesn’t let setbacks affect him as much on the field, he doesn’t harp on mistakes as much, and is able to quickly move on to the next play.”
Additionally, commenting on certain physical and technical attributes Kostopoulos possesses, Schlotterbeck continued, “From a technical standpoint he’s done much better at holding onto the ball … which has allowed us to attack more. Also, you can’t teach finishing, and so far he’s done a great job just putting the ball in the net.”
Kostopoulos also attributed a large amount of his success to his teammates, stating, “I have two other players up front that have really set me up to score, Jared Kolaris [’25] and Preston Galanis [’25]. I feel that without them the team’s success as a whole wouldn’t be possible.”
The team’s roster looks vastly different from previous years due to the large volume of outgoing seniors that made up the team last year, creating certain changes in the formations and positions of this year’s team. “We lost a lot of players, specifically on defense, but we got a good group of freshmen that should be able to set us up for success this year and in the future,” Kostopoulos asserted.
