They’ve been a team of youngsters, both in age and soccer experience, slogging it out against some of the best teams in the state.
The Huskies went 1-12-1 overall and winless in the Oregon West Conference, scoring nine goals and allowing 29 last season. But that was a step up from the 2023 season, in which they were winless.
Now, says Head Coach Eric Stutzer, beginning his 10th year at the helm of the Sweet Home boys soccer program, it’s time for his team to get aggressive.
But that may take more than just using speed to get to the ball, because Sweet Home lost some fast players last season to graduation: Conner Stevens, Josh Aker, along with experienced leaders in Ivan Ogden and Gavin Gardner.
“We had a couple of big departures,” Stutzer said last week. “Ivan Ogden is going to be a big loss for us. He was a very talented player, especially in the front end and the midfield. We cannot replace that.”
Gardner, a four-year starter in goal, will also be missed.
“We’re looking at a junior and a sophomore this year to pick up that slack, fill that role, and in the league we’re playing in, they are going to be the most shot-on keeper, probably in the state,” Stutzer said.
Stutzer said the goal is to increase the Huskies’ speed of play.
“I’m excited about our front end play, where we don’t have as much speed as we’ve had in the past, but I think our technical play is better,” he said of senior Keeghan Gittins and sophomores Levi Ayala and Felix Lopez.
“I think our sophomores will be fun to watch this year. Their level of skill on the ball is strong and they’re working extremely well together.
“Right now, the big thing that is still a little lost in translation is pace of play and just taking a shot when the shot is open. Sometimes they hold the ball a little bit too long. But I’m excited to see what they have to offer.”
Backing them up in the midfield and back line will be senior Elisha Scofield and junior Logan Anderson, along with senior Cannon Klumph and Memphis, all of whom bring some size that, Stutzer said, was lacking in recent years on defense.
“They’re going to be very physical and so we want to get them up in the midfield and in support of our defense,” he said. “They may not have the speed to play on the back end that, say, Conner Stevens does, but they’re going to have a lot of physicality in the middle of the field and hopefully that physicality will translate to offense.”
Rounding out the roster for the Huskies are senior Ben Perry, juniors Xander Blom, Thomas Culbertson and Isaiah Scofield; sophomores Ben Ramsey, Kace Stevens and Malakai Walls; and freshman Westin Burns.
Stutzer is assisted this year by alums Joseph Hiemenz and Rowland Lupoli.
Stutzer said he wants to see his team turn up the heat on offense this year, making an effort to get and keep the ball on the opponents’ end of the field. In the past, he noted, the Huskies have been prone to “a lot of ball-watching.”
“We’re going to try to play a little heavier offensive set this year, a little bit different formation than we played in the past,” he said. “We really want to get the ball into the attacking third a lot more and to give ourselves more opportunities so it doesn’t put so much pressure on our defensive players.”
Thus, Sweet Home may use a 4-3-4 set more often than it has in the past in an attempt to get there, though it could also use three defensive backs “with a little bit heavier midfield and little bit heavier front line” in an attempt to utilize its strength and physicality.
Sweet Home is working on six specific goals: technical skills, communication, pace of play, staying engaged in the game, and movement.
The latter stems from the fact that Sweet Home players often come in without a lot of youth soccer experience, unlike other teams in the league.
“We don’t understand movement very well,” Stutzer said. “And with movement comes timing.”
If the Huskies can hit all six of those factors for a full 60 minutes, “not just doing it for 15 minutes or 30 minutes,” Stutzer said, they could “surprise some teams.”
“If we can control in the attacking third, get a lot of shots off and utilize some of our strengths, then we’re going to do extremely well.”
In their season-opening Jamboree on Aug. 29 in Eugene, the Huskies played “really well” in 20-minute matches against “teams within our demographic,” he said. They finished with 0-0 ties against Pacific/Bandon and Pleasant Hill an-0 loss to Sutherland.
“They were able to exploit us a little bit on the speed side of things,” he said of the Bulldogs.
“I thought our possession was great in the attacking and mid third, but things were good moving forward. But that was within our demographic.
“When we start going into league play, we will not be in our demographic and that could change dramatically.
The Oregon West Conference is arguably the toughest 4A competition in the state. Last year North Marion lost 3-2 to Henley in the state final, after Stayton lost 2-1 in the state semifinals to the Hornets.
“I’m betting that we’ll probably get a state champion out of our league again this year,” Stutzer said. “Newport is on the rise, Philomath is on the rise. You may see a little bit of change in North Marion at state because they graduated some seniors, but I don’t think you’re going to see much.
“It’s going to be an extremely competitive and strong league again this year.”