Sean C. Morgan
New Head Coach Eric Stutzer thinks his varsity boys soccer team has a good chance to break out this season while building up to an even stronger season next year.
Just three seniors return to the team this season, but numbers are at their highest in the history of the program, with about 30 boys out.
“This is going to be a development year for next year,” said Stutzer, who is no newcomer to the program, having been an assistant since it was founded. “But I think we might get a nice surprise. We have the talent an ability. I think they really could break out this year. I think they could go to playoffs this year. This is the first time we’ve had athleticism in years. We actually have depth.”
Stutzer can field two teams, each with their own subs, he said. “I don’t even know what to do with our subs, I’ve been so long without subs.”
The team has struggled throughout its history, but its juniors completed probably the best season in the program’s history two years ago while on the junior varsity, winning eight games, tying two and losing three. That team swept powerhouses Cottage Grove and Junction City and played Sisters to a tie.
They’ll have to play a full game, Stutzer said.
“If we can put a win up in the preseason, if we can change the culture.”
The team goes deep with talent, something Stutzer directly credits last year’s Coach Ryan Regrutto for building in the program. Regrutto, who resigned after graduating from Oregon State University to look for work, is a quality coach, Stutzer said.
“I’m very excited,” Stutzer said. “If they can stay healthy, just stick with it and start winning some games, they’re going to be very competitive. They need to realize they’re a quality team. Then they’ll start playing like a quality team.”
This is probably the best potential season the soccer program has had yet, Stutzer said. The team has speed up front and more technical skill, and it’s got size, something it hasn’t had in the past.
At the senior level, Brenner Roberts and Ty Schilling return to the varsity, and Tristan Stockman moves into varsity from the junior varsity.
Roberts will be solid, Stutzer said, while Schilling “has a motor that doesn’t stop. He just doesn’t quit.”
“(Stockman) is a big kid,” Stutzer said. “He contributes. He sees the game really well. That’s what I like about Tristan.”
Returning key players include junior Nick Rodgers.
“We have a big crop of juniors,” Stutzer said. They’ve been practicing all summer, and Rodgers has been leading the team. He is very talented and among the best, the coach said.
“If he plays well, I could see him on First Team (All-League).”
Sophomore Alanzo Perez returns to varsity also, Stutzer said. He is a talented soccer player with good foot work.
Other returning players include Egan Shamek, a goal scorer, Stutzer said. Junior Patric Dishaw will leave the midfield where he was aggressive and drew several cards last season to handle keeper duties. He was out during Friday’s game against Creswell with an injury.
“He looked really good in the off season,” Stutzer said, and he expects his aggression will help keep the opponent’s ball out of the Huskies’ net.
Junior Matt Davis is leaving the goal to work the field, Stutzer said. Tadyn Bentley and T.J. Baham will provide the backbone for the Huskies’ defense.
The program has a lot of guys in the bubble between junior varsity and varsity, Stutzer said. He expects the rosters to be fluid as they move up and down in the program to tackle specific threats they face on game days. Freshman Rawlins Lupoli is an example of those players and a member of the varsity squad opening game.
“His ability to see the field, his passing is very sharp,” Stutzer said. He scored twice in the JV-varsity scrimmage last week, and he’s solid on defense.
The team’s biggest nemesis will be inexperience, Stutzer said. The keeper position will be inexperienced, but he thinks Dishaw can step up and do it. The biggest thing is keeping him healthy.
On defense, inexperience is a problem again, Stutzer said. He would like to run Rodgers on offense in the midfield, but at times he may have to bolster the defense.
“I think we actually have some of the best scoring threat I’ve seen in years,” Stutzer said. That relies on five players working together, including Shamek, Perez, Rodgers, Roberts and sophomore Ramon Fry. “They were ripping defenses up in scrimmages we were playing. Their ball control when they’re on top of the game is really good.”
Rodgers is “very slippery,” as one coach put it, Stutzer said. Throw in Shamek and Perez, and it’s a tough combination to beat.
The Sky-Em is probably the toughest soccer league in the state, with Sisters as the returning state champion and losing its only game last season to 5A Summit High School, the 5A state champion. The Outlaws return a lot of depth, Stutzer said.
Cottage Grove and Junction City are both good programs that are well-coached, Stutzer said. “I think Cottage Grove is going to be stronger this year than Junction City.”
La Pine has dropped to the 3A division, and Sutherlin has been added to the Sky-Em, Stutzer said. Sutherlin is a wild card, while the Huskies have been competitive with Elmira in the past. The Huskies also will face a tough Newport team in its pre-league schedule.
Stutzer has pointed out to his juniors that these are the same teams they faced at the junior varsity level, sweeping Junction City and Cottage Grove and tying Sisters. That comparison will be even more precise next year after seniors on those other teams graduate.
The junior varsity is coached by Richard “Huck” Thomas, an employee of the Greater Albany Public School District, and he provides coaching clinics for the American Youth Soccer Organization, a coach’s coach, Stutzer said. He brings a lot of experience into the program and is helping to solidify a community soccer program through the AYSO.
Varsity players are freshman Rawlins Lupoli; sophomores Alanzo Perez, Tristan Graham and Ramon Fry; juniors Kyle Thomas, Egan Shamek, Tadyn Bentley, T.J. Baham, Nick Rodgers, Nik Dishaw, Malachi Christman, Matt Davis and Patrick Dishaw; and seniors Brenner Roberts, Ty Schilling and Tristan Stockman.
Junior varsity players are freshmen Roland Lupoli, Daniel Batchelor, Braden Greene, Josh McKinnon, Brady Newport, Noah Webb, Tyler Rodriguez and Ronald Wilson and sophomores Wes Parker, Nathan Hager, Craig Hansen, Gerad Romero, Oscar Hernandez and Quinn Dinsfriend.