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C.B. East not shying away from expectations

Evan Vare still finds himself watching the video. The clip is stored on his phone, and every once in a while, when he goes through the photo stream, he comes across the scene from last year's District 1 championship.

Central Bucks East goalkeeper Austin Prime makes a diving save during practice August 27, 2015.
Central Bucks East goalkeeper Austin Prime makes a diving save during practice August 27, 2015.Read more( CLEM MURRAY / Staff Photographer )

Evan Vare still finds himself watching the video.

The clip is stored on his phone, and every once in a while, when he goes through the photo stream, he comes across the scene from last year's District 1 championship.

He's seen it more than a dozen times. Enough times to tell you exactly how the play pans out.

A free kick propels off of his foot, finds its way to Brian Gilligan's head and ends up in the back of the net.

Cue celebration. Cut.

Brian's dad, Mike, took the video. He took plenty of videos last season during the Central Bucks East boys' soccer team's postseason run. He would mount his iPhone on a tripod and record. Then he cut the file on his computer and sent the clips.

It's really good quality, Vare said, talking about the video, not the goal - although that is pretty good, too.

"He just made a great run," Vare recalls now. "He always knows how to get in good situations and zones for the ball - his vision is impeccable."

The Vare-Gilligan connection didn't start that Saturday at Souderton during the Class AAA final.

No, it most certainly did not. But usually, it happens the other way around - Gilligan to Vare.

The two seniors - like many of the upperclassmen on the Patriots' roster - have played with each other since they were about 12 years old. Of the 28 goals Vare scored last season, Gilligan had a hand in most of them. Vare is almost always Gilligan's first look when he gets the ball.

"He always [comes up big] and he will again this year," Gilligan said of the forward. "It's amazing playing with him - I feel lucky playing with him. . . . Without him there are some of those games where we don't come out the winner."

Not much has changed, according to C.B. East's starting goalkeeper, Austin Prime.

The senior netminder would know better than most. When the boys were 10, Vare played as a guest on Prime's club team for a tournament. Vare scored "five or six goals" in one game, Prime remembered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"It's probably the most reassuring thing as a goalie to know you have a kid up there who is going to score," Prime said. "I know he has a ton of pressure on him this year but I think he's up to the challenge. . . . When he is up there you know he is going to find the back of the net. When the game is tight, I have faith he is going to score."

Pressure? The Patriots know there is pressure this season. With Gilligan, Prime and Vare - three of the nine starters returning for the defending District 1 AAA and Suburban One Continental champions - expectations are high.

"With nine starters back, we aren't going to shy away from the fact that we can be a force," Prime said. "But we still have to put the same amount of work in - even more I would say - because it is harder to be the hunted than the hunter."

While expectations of excellence are nothing new for a Mike Gorni-coached squad, things on Holicong Road do have a different look this fall.

For the first time in program history, the Patriots have their own home field. C.B. East has always shared War Memorial Field with C.B. West. Their new, on-campus stadium is ready for this season.

"We don't have to share anything - it's the best," Gilligan said. "People finally get to see our school - it'll be fun. It'll feel even better because we will finally win here."

This season they won't have to hop on a bus to "home" games. No, they'll get to walk out of their locker room and see an "E" painted at midfield.

"This is our home now," Vare said, "We have to defend it."

It's a home that would make an awfully nice backdrop for some new memories to be recorded on.