Hampshire Regional boys soccer head coach Dan Moynahan decided midway through the year that he was going to put seventh grader Aidan Miklasiewicz on varsity despite him being undersized compared to the other players on the field he’d be competing against.

It didn’t matter to Moynahan, because he knew what Miklasiewicz was capable of – he’d been coaching him since he was seven years old.

The decision paid off when Miklasiewicz scored a huge goal in Hampshire’s 2-1 win over Central, and that was just a small sign of things to come.

Fast forward six years, and Miklasiewicz’s 34 points (21 goals, 13 assists) during his senior year boosted him to the top of Hampshire’s all-time points list with 129 – surpassing the previous record of 116. He led the Raiders to their first Western Mass. championship since 2007 with 10 multi-point games. For those efforts, Miklasiewicz has been selected as the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s Boys Soccer Player of the Year for 2023.

“I’ve worked very hard for a lot of years, and it’s really an amazing feeling to know it’s paid off,” Miklasiewicz said. “I’m very proud to see the hard work be recognized. I couldn’t have done this without the help of my teammates.”

The trust that Moynahan had in Miklasiewicz was instilled long ago, and Moynahan knew his budding star would soon be the face of the program – that’s why he had no problem pulling him up as a seventh grader. And to Miklasiewicz, it doesn’t even feel like his relationship with Moynahan is player-coach anymore.

At this point, it’s family.

“I was on his Hampshire United team when I was seven years old, and every single year I’ve played soccer, he’s been my coach on one of my teams,” Miklasiewicz said. “It’s a connection that can’t be explained, he’s kind of like my uncle. He’s like family to me. I’ve played with him for so long.”

At the beginning of every season since Miklasiewicz made the varsity team, he sat down and mapped out both individual and team goals. His desires of being an All-Western Mass. selection were easily met as a sophomore, so he set even loftier expectations. Next was getting 100 points, and, eventually, if he continued on the pace he was on, break the Hampshire boys soccer scoring record.

Miklasiewicz checked those two monumental goals off his list this past fall, and made sure to acknowledge the stellar team he had around him for helping him achieve them.

“[Breaking the record] is something I’ve always wanted to do,” Miklasiewicz said. “I like to set goals for myself as a player, and if I achieve them I set bigger goals. So this was my top goal. I’ve known I was on pace for it for a little while, but I never really thought it was reachable. The feeling of getting that record, and knowing that my accomplishments will be remembered for hopefully a very long time is a great feeling. I wouldn’t be anywhere near this record without my teammates.”

But he still felt incomplete. There was more work to be done. And that’s because his goal of winning a Western Mass. title hadn’t been accomplished just yet.

That would change against Frontier in the Class B finals, a perfect revenge story for Hampshire after losing to the Redhawks in the 2021 Division 4 state semifinals two years prior. The Raiders knocked off Frontier 2-1 to raise their coveted plaque for the first time in 16 years.

Hampshire went on to the state semifinals once again this year, falling to Lynnfield 2-1. Miklasiewicz isn’t even too upset looking back on it, because he knows just how much he and his team achieved during his time wearing red and white.

“I’ve been on the team for five and a half years, and all we’ve ever really wanted to do is win a championship,” Miklasiewicz said. “We’ve won league championships before, but Western Mass. was one of the biggest things we wanted. It was a great feeling when we went out and won it. It was unfortunate we didn’t get the state championship, but still we weren’t disappointed because we had such a great year and accomplished so many things we wanted to. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.”