Last season was a good one for the city’s boys soccer programs.
All five teams finished better than or just below .500 with Century winning the Big Nine Conference, while Mayo and Lourdes each brought home section titles and a fourth place finish at the state tournament. Schaeffer Academy and John Marshall also showed vast improvement.
Now, all five have high expectations for themselves and are eager to build off of 2021.
Head coach: Hal Houghton (13th season)
Top returners: Sr. Abdirisak Bulale (M); Jr. Aaron Zhao (F); Sr. Jack Bauman (GK)
Top newcomers: Owen Spaeth, Colton Strumpfer, Joshua Kyei-Baffour, Nick Watson, Abdulkadir Salat.
2022 outlook: The Panthers lost 17 seniors from a team that won the Big Nine Conference and finished 14-3. That included all-state performers Rivaldo Pena and Max Comfere, who was also the Post Bulletin’s Player of the Year, in addition to All-Big Nine members Luke Dallman, Charlie Odell and Noah Gjervik. In all, it’s a lot of firepower and experience gone. Yet with that comes opportunities for the next crop of players — something Houghton is looking forward to seeing. “There are a lot of opportunities for a lot of new guys to make an impact this season,” Houghton said. “I am looking forward to seeing who steps up. It has been a fun week of tryouts with the mix of 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. We have some things to sort out early in the season but should be in the mix by the time sections roll around.”
Head coach: Abdul Noor (third season)
Top returners: Sr. Jon McBroom (M); Sr. Ian Carter (centre back); Sr. Camden Williams (GK); Sr. Carson Settell (D); Sr. Ralph Nah (F); Sr. Nathan Kopecky (M); Sr. Jameel Atak (M); Jr. Abubakar Mohamed (M); Jr. Mechwa Meermarew (F); Jr. Conner Algyer (D); Sr. Ahmed Al Hadeethi (D); Sr. Holter Robinson (D); Sr. Dani Al Attoza (M).
Top newcomers: Fr. David Carter (GK); Fr. Jonathan Boyer (F); Fr. Zachary Moos (D); So. Owen Franken; So. Louis Schoelberl (M).
2022 outlook: The Rockets won three more games in 2021 than the previous season, finishing 5-6-4. Overall, it was clear they made strides in the second season under Noor. Now, they are hoping to take it a step further. With 12 seniors and the majority of last year’s talent back, JM expects to do just that.
“We are going to compete and challenge this year as we have higher expectations,” Noor said. “We’re feeling good going into this season — better than last year — as we are inspired to do something special for our core 12 senior players.”
The defense should be in good shape with all-conference performers in center back Ian Carter and keeper Camden Williams. Fellow All-Big Nine member Jon McBroom will help the Rockets control the midfield.
Head coach: Sean Kane (2nd season)
Top returners: Sr. McKaid Schotzko (M); Sr. Joey Lonzo (F); So. Tziyon Morris (D); Sr. Cole Smith (F); Jr. Peyton Loeslie (F); Jr. Charlie Young (M); So. Sam Theobald (M); So. Aidan Kane (F); Sr. Johnny Fritjunker (F); So. Jack Broadbent (F); Jr. John Novak (D); Jr. Matthew Diedrich (D).
Top newcomers: Sr. Glasson Owens (GK); eighth-grader Will Jacob (GK); eighth-grader Blake Moynagh (F); Fr. Luca Duerr (M).
2022 outlook: The Eagles withstood injury after injury, juggling a different lineup seemingly every game in 2021. But it all came together at the right time for a postseason run that resulted in the first state tournament appearance since 2015. Lourdes will miss all-state midfielder Trent Neff as well as All-HVL player Jonah Morris, but the amount of players that were forced into action last year has only heightened expectations for this group.
“Coming off a fourth place finish at state last year, our boys are really excited to build from that late season success,” said coach Sean Kane. “We had an up and down regular season last year due to injuries, but everything came together well in the postseason. We will certainly have more pressure on us after last year’s finish, but the boys have been working hard all offseason and are ready to go.”
Head coach: Tim Jennings (2nd season)
Top returners: Sr. Noah Bestrom (D); Sr. Bryan Islas Aguirre (F); Sr. Xavi Lack (M); Sr. Alec McBane (D).
Top newcomers: Sr. Calvin Grothey (F); Sr. Maher Mohamed (M); So. Parker Nelson (F); Jr. Salman Osman (M).
2022 outlook: Much like Century, the Spartans are another program that will look to move on from a large group of talented seniors. Fourteen graduated from a team that placed fourth at the Class AAA state tournament, including all-conference performers Tim Persons, Alex Shah, leading goal-scorer Yonis Muse and standout goalkeeper Jack Hobday. The loss of Persons and Muse will be large as those two were often the gas that made the offensive engine go. Yet, Mayo is still in good hands with midfielders Bryan Islas Aguirre and Xavi Laack, while Alec McBane and Noah Bestrom will look to anchor the defense. Combined that with 13 letter winners and Mayo aims to compete once again in the always talented Big Nine.
“We will need to find out who our key goal-scorers will be,” Jennings said. “But our expectations are high this year and our players are excited to prove themselves in this new season.”
Head coach: Todd Nagel (18th season)
2022 outlook: Last season was a solid one for the Lions. They won five more games than the previous year, going 7-5-4 with an impressive 2-2 tie against PIZM. That also included a 3-3-2 mark in Section 1A play. This season, SA will deal with lower numbers, but overall, coach Todd Nagel likes what he has in this group.
“We graduated a large group of players and are low on numbers this year,” Nagel said. “The good part is that many have a lot of experience and we should field a promising team this year.”