MOUNT CARMEL - Mount Carmel Area School Board voted 8-1 Thursday night to enter into a cooperative agreement for high school boys soccer with Our Lady of Lourdes Regional School for the 2012-2013 school year.
The board agreed to have Mount Carmel Area boys soccer players join the Red Raiders program due to dwindling numbers on both squads.
Mount Carmel Area Athletic Director Greg Sacavage explained that Lourdes has a projected 17 players for next season's soccer team, while Mount Carmel Area has 14 players. A minimum of 11 players are needed for every game, but with the programs combining it should give the team the option of running intersquad scrimmages during practice.
Voting to approve the cooperative agreement with Lourdes were Directors Michael Rovito, Donna James, Dr. Ray Kraynak, his son, Raymond D. Kraynak, Thomas Ditchey, Nicholas Goretski III, Robert Muldowney and Michael Brinkash. Charles Mannello cast the lone dissenting vote.
Sacavage said the agreement is for two years like all the other co-ops.
Both soccer programs had losing seasons, and now combined they'll stick to Lourdes' affiliation with the Schuylkill League.
Mount Carmel Area and Lourdes also have co-op agreements in football, baseball, softball, volleyball, track and field, swimming, wrestling, cross country and golf.
The board entered into a contract with former softball coach Jake Wojcik to provide maintenance services to all sports fields at a rate of $10 per hour for a maximum of 25 hours per week during the fall and spring seasons.
Terry Young was approved as a volunteer junior varsity baseball coach.