Last season’s 3-2 victory over Lafayette proved to be costly for the Northwest boys soccer team.
So much so, head coach Dave Willis said it was the beginning of the Lions’ downfall that ended with a first-round exit in the Class 4 District 1 tournament and a record of 11-14-2.
During the win over the Lancers, striker Austin Jerger was lost for the season with a broken arm. At the time, Willis said Jerger was mature beyond his years.
“We ended up having a very average season,” said Willis, who enters his 11th season as head coach. “We started off pretty well (7-3), but we had an injury (to Jerger) and we were scoring pretty well with him.”
Midfielder Brandon O’Dell followed five goals his freshman year with a team-leading 24 last year, including two against Lafayette. Willis said O’Dell will lead the charge this year.
“Brandon will probably be the most dynamic player on the field in every game we play this year,” Willis said. “He is absolutely electrifying. He will score many goals that will leave opposing teams in awe. We are getting used to seeing it.”
Other key players figure to be senior Brennen Healy, juniors Joe Noah, Colten Venatta and Tyler Wilson and sophomore Hayden Hately.
Noah scored four goals last year at wingback. Willis said Noah has been penciled in as a back for a reason.
“I use that expression because he actually is one of our top attackers as well,” Willis said. “I believe Joe can be a lockdown wingback and still contribute greatly to the offense by picking his spots to bomb down the line.”
Hately has developed into a much more confident midfielder, Willis said.
“He is lightning-fast and has developed into a game-breaker,” Willis said. “His ability to read a play and his desire to get to the ball have improved significantly.”
Willis said Healy reads the game very well, and should be credited with a lot of assists this season.
Venatta returns to a starting position on the backline after dedicating himself to the weight room in the offseason.
“He’s an ox. He brings much-needed toughness to our back line,” Willis said.
Wilson returns as the starting goalkeeper after posting a winning record (11-10) in 1,597 minutes last year and recording a goals-against average of 2.76.
“He has the ability to win games for us,” Willis said.
The Lions have just two seniors this fall because center back Kaleb Robinson injured his knee during club season. Willis said Robinson’s return this year is questionable.
Willis said he believes Northwest will be an exciting offensive team this in 2018.
“We are going to play a little different style than Northwest teams usually do,” he said. “We have the skill this year to possess the ball more. Our defenders have good playmaking ability so we should be poised in the back.”
Willis said the Lions have the ability to win any game on their schedule, which started Friday with a 6-1 victory at Union. Noah and Dominic Pupillo each scored two goals for Northwest. The Lions opened their home schedule against Affton on Tuesday, after the Leader deadline.
In the newly formed pools set up by the St. Louis Suburban Association, the Lions are in the second-tiered Red pool with Fox, Seckman, Clayton, Hazelwood West, Parkway West, Parkway Central, Parkway North, Parkway South, Pattonville, Ritenour and Affton.
Warriors hope youth will lead the way on soccer pitch
There’s a certain stigma attached to a 5-19-2 season that Fox head soccer coach Nathan Niehaus is trying to overcome. And he’s going to attempt to do that with a youthful lineup, as 13 of the 19 players at his disposal are either sophomores or juniors.
“We did have a rough season, with intra-team problems,” Niehaus said, “and not winning, that leads to more problems. We need to start (this season) off on a positive note. We have to fight for, and not with, each other. One of the pluses (with a younger group) is we did have some turnover, which brings in new leadership.”
For the first time in Niehaus’s 18 years as head coach, Fox has a sophomore (Austin Burch) as one of its captains. The other captain is senior Blake Miller.
“They both bring good character and work ethic,” Niehaus said. “And we did have two freshmen, and three or four sophomores last year, so those guys are still hanging out.”
On offense, Niehaus is counting on improvement, as a lack of scoring punch has often been a problem. At forward are Alex Davies and Carson Trometer, who will give the Warriors a little bit of speed and creativity and will get to open spots where the midfielders can distribute the ball to them.
Those midfielders will include Burch, Luke Kos, Jake Fridley and Tarik Esmerovic.
“They’ll all have to work on finding, and creating, space for everybody else,” Niehaus said.
Niehaus may well have his offensive plan fairly set, but it’s the backline that could be considered a work in progress.
“That’s where we are kind of senior-laden,” Niehaus said. “Josh Kraus and Matt Abeyta are ready to do their parts, and that allows us to slide Blake Miller to the center ‘D’ spot to help solidify things. But I’m still searching for a fourth one to show that he belongs in the picture.”
Niehaus said wins may be a little easier for the Warriors to come by with a new conference setup.
Gone from the schedule are perennial powerhouses Lafayette, Eureka, Marquette, Summit and Kirkwood, all now part of the Yellow pool, or the highest in the new system of the St. Louis Suburban Association. The Warriors are in the next pool down (Red) with local rivals Northwest and Seckman, among others.
“That allows us to know, going in, that we can have more competitive games,” Niehaus said. “Now we’re able, hopefully, to match up with opponents that better suit us.”
Senior Colby Starkey figures to get the bulk of the workload in the nets.
“He’s a true goalie,” Niehaus said. “He’s tall, with a good reach to get to balls. And he’s been in the system for years.”
Jags bedeviled by Indians
It was definitely the game that got away. And with it, a district championship followed.
Seckman has had a devil of a time against Jackson the last three years, all winning seasons. But each year ended against the Indians in the Class 4 District 1 tournament,
The Jaguars rolled into last year’s district final and led Jackson 2-0 with 20 minutes to play and 3-2 with fewer than two minutes remaining. However, Caleb Dameron scored three of the Indians’ four goals in a 4-3 comeback victory.
Jaguars Ryan Berhorst, Alec Buol and Cody Eakins combined to score 85 goals last year for a team that went 15-11, but all three were part of an 11-player senior class.
Junior Dawson Eaton and senior Brandon Sweeney are the only two full-time starters who return among the eight carryovers.
Newcomers Jake Deaver in goal and Isaac Hoog at striker should help alleviate some of the concerns of the loss of talent.
“We will have to remain driven if they want to make it a fourth straight winning season,” said Seckman head coach Tim Bookstaver, who has been in charge for 14 years and with the program 18 years.
Seniors Brandon Helfrich (forward), Jacob Peer (midfielder), Nathan Rellegert (midfield) and Chris Chandler (midfielder) form the core of this year’s starters with Eaton and Sweeney, a three-year varsity member.
Like Fox and Northwest, Seckman was placed in the Red pool in the St. Louis Suburban realignment. Bookstaver said the new pool play will provide big challenges for his team.
The Jaguars will begin the season at Northwest on Sept. 4.