But Hough coach David Smith doesn’t want to hear talk about I-Meck Conference titles or state championship rings just yet. Don’t get the Huskies coach wrong; he wants his players to aim high. However, he wants them to be grounded when they do.
Even though the Huskies have a lot working in their favor, it’s not going to be easy.
Hough (2-1) has already posted dominant victories over Cox Mill and Independence this year, but it is last Thursday’s 5-2 loss to South Meck that Smith says shows how much work there is yet to do.
Hough scored two goals in the first 15 minutes and appeared to be in control. However, a defensive breakdown led to a Sabre goal, and South Meck never let up as Hough couldn’t recover.
“It was definitely a surprising night,” says Hough forward Nathaniel Goodwin. “We’re not going to linger on it any more, just learn from it and move on.”
The Huskies immediately responded at practice the next day, and Smith liked what he saw in the team’s 5-1 win over Independence Tuesday. There’s a renewed focus.
“We just gotta take it game by game,” says center midfielder Santiago Patino. Goodwin and Patino return to lead the Huskies after combining for 23 goals and 22 assists last year.
Both were all-region selections, and Smith has been impressed by their performances so far.
“I think those two guys, of any kids I’ve ever coached, from one year to the next, really elevated their game,” says Smith.
Goodwin has already scored five goals this year. He had two Tuesday, while Patino had three assists. The Huskies also return defenders Eric Livingston and Mace Timberlake as well as midfielder/ forward Cheyn Roux. And the Huskies have had key additions in all-region keeper Jaron Bradley and freshman forward Tanner Roberts. The son of North Meck High girls’ soccer coach Neil Roberts, Roberts had a hat trick against Independence Tuesday. Bradley came to Hough via North Meck, and
Smith says he has stepped up.
“He’s really been a tremendous leader,” says Smith
If it takes a while for the Huskies to peak this year, that’s okay with the former Vance coach. Last year, Hough entered the playoffs as an 8-12-1 wild card team.
“We’ve got a lot of talent, just have to put it together,” says Bradley. ... North Meck’s perennially strong soccer team, which has won I-Meck Conference titles the past two years, enters a rebuilding phase with essentially a new roster.
Fourteen of last year’s players graduated, and all-region keeper Jaron Bradley is now playing at Hough, rejoining some other former Vikings who were reassigned there last year. If those losses weren’t a handful already, the Vikings’ only returning full-time starter, John Pouliot, broke his leg the day before tryouts. An all-region selection last year, Pouliot will miss his senior season.
“You feel terrible for the kid,” says North coach Paul Kikta. So North has a lot to overcome this fall.
“We’re young,” says Kikta. “We’re going to be good again. We’re going to lack physical size and speed this year, but we’ve got some really good players.”
Defender Brice Cracknell started some last season and is a player upon whom the Vikings will be relying.
“He has potential to be like some of the old people we had,” says Kikta. “He’s going to be that good.”
Senior Jose Amaya, who is playing for North for the first time, is another promising player. ... Hopewell had 12 seniors a year ago and returns just six players this fall, so there are some question marks as the season begins. But coach Robb Bolar knows what he has in goal.
Senior Ryan Santee is starting for his third season and is a returning all-region keeper. “He’s a heart and hustle kid,” says Bolar. “You can’t really teach that.”
Santee had 115 saves and posted six shutouts for a team that finished 12-6 and reached the second round of the 4A state playoffs last year.
“He kept us in games, and I think this year, he will keep us in more,” says Bolar. “He just works hard.” Midfielders Lucas Fisher and Edwin Gomez (three goals last year) and defender Zach Miller are other key players. Santee’s younger brother, Tyler, should emerge on defense.
Cole Tesar is the Titans’ top returning goal scorer. He had four last year and scored two in Hopewell’s season debut Tuesday. Ryan Vue had the other Titan goal in the 3-3 tie with Olympic. ...
When it was announced that Lake Norman Charter would enter a N.C. High School Athletic Association conference for the first time, perhaps no one — other than maybe athletic director Matt Schlegel, who handles LNC’s game scheduling — was more excited than soccer coach Justin Valenti.
Now that the season has began and league play looms in the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A, Valenti is still pumped.
“We’re really excited,” he says. “It’s not only going to be good for our kids, but it’s also going to make it a lot easier during the playoff (seeding). We’ll know where we stand.”
LNC opens conference play at Lincolnton Sept. 12.
The Knights are trying to return to the 1A playoffs after a 4-9-6 campaign left them out in 2010. Top players include forward/midfielder Tommy Mikuleza, midfielders Evan Lucas, Lawson Owen and Zach Quest and sweeper Taylor Easley.
The Knights tied Lincoln Charter 2-2 in their first contest Aug. 17. ... SouthLake Christian is playing boys’ soccer for the first time since 2002 and opened the season with a 3-3 tie with Northside Christian last week. The Eagles, coached by Mark Apgar, defeated Covenant Day 2-1 this week.
“It was just exciting to be back out there,” said Apgar.
Forward Christian McArthur (two goals), sweeper Rhem Stubbs and midfielder Tyler Stubbs (one goal) are juniors and the team’s top players. ...
Doug London takes the reins of a Davidson Day program that went 8-12 and reached the second round of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association’s 1A playoffs last year.
The Patriots will rely on midfielder Jackson Goyette, defender Mads Ardnoff and keeper Austin McCarty. Davidson Day tied Gaston Christian 1-1 in its season opener, then lost 3-0 to Hickory Christian Tuesday.
