Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
For the boys soccer team, improvement this year will be only a win away.
Coming off a year in which they went 0-12-1, the Huskies are looking for a vast improvement this season.
And judging by their warm-up act at the East Linn Jamboree Friday, that’s not a pipe dream.
The Huskies tied Stayton, “a very strong, tough team,” according to first-year Coach Al Grove, 3-3 after leading 3-1 into the final 10 minutes.
“We had a little mental breakdown and went back into some of our old habits of not playing for a full game,” Grove said. “That was a very good team. They only lost two games last year, one to the eventual state champion (in the state playoffs).”
In the second of their three games Friday, the Huskies “played tougher” to beat Western Mennonite 3-1.
Sweet Home then turned around and played East Linn Christian immediately after Western Mennonite, and tied 2-2.
True, the games don’t count in Sweet Home’s season record, but it was a good beginning, Grove said.
“I thought we started off good,” he said. “The kids have a positive attitude. We have a new look.”
This team will be young, like last year when as many as six freshmen played on the varsity. It was a grueling experience for them, facing teams loaded with veterans, but the Huskies are hoping that experience will pay off this year and in the future with the return of those players as sophomores.
The lone senior back from last year is goalkeeper Michael Bolduc, who was named to all-league honorable mention last season. Jered Severns will move up from the junior varsity to play some games, Grove said.
Juniors Brandon Oswalt, Seabas Mauer and Chris Farris return as well, to add more experience in the midfield and along the back line. Farris was the team’s defensive player of the year last season. Junior Blake Roberts, who played in some varsity games last year, also returns. Mauer, who played goalie with Bolduc out, is expected to help shore up the defense.
The grizzled sophomores who played on the varsity last season are back: Albright, Brock Crocker, Matt Grove, Mitch Grove, Dakotah Keys and Andrew Winslow. Keys was offensive player of the year after leading the team in scoring last year as a freshman, while Albright was named most improved.
Exchange student Jonny Penner, from Brazil, will provide some punch up front, where Grove expects the Huskies to show some strength. The good news, he said, is that four players scored in the three games on Friday.
“We have speed in the midfield and at the forwards,” he said. “We’re going to have to play some good defense. We’ve got kids back there who hopefully will do a better job than last year.
The offensive balance will likely help sophomore Keys, who will likely attract plenty of attention this season. Grove expects Keys to see a lot of double teaming, so that will open up scoring opportunities for the other midfielders and forwards.
Other members of the team are Alex Greer, Casey Keys, Gabe Morgan, Eric Munts, James Myers, Robert Rubidoux, Alex Santana, Brady Severns and John Trahan.
Sweet Home is opening its official season with a rematch on the road at Stayton on Tuesday, Sept. 4, which won’t be caught off guard this time, Grove said.
“We won’t get many more surprises,” he said. “That will be it.”
He said he expects Central and Philomath to be the power teams in the Val-Co League, where, this year, members only play each other twice instead of three times as they did last year. So the Huskies will play six non-league games before matching up with Central in their league opener on Sept. 27.
The team’s home opener is Thursday against Mollala.