Tiger Cubs end season at regional

The Greencastle boys' soccer team celebrates a goal scored at North Putnam. The Tiger Cubs ended their sectional championship winning season at Tri-West in a loss to Covenant Christian. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

LIZTON--The GHS boys' soccer team saw its successful season come to a close as the sectional champion Tiger Cubs fell 7-0 to Covenant Christian Thursday in the Tri-West regional.

"We knew we'd be playing with the big dogs once we got out of the sectional," GHS coach JD Sims said. "They trusted each other and we worked on the things we learned. We tried to build on things like passing and improve on what we could."

The Tiger Cubs were led all year by a large senior class that worked together well and provided great leadership.

"We are losing a lot of seniors.," Sims said. "A lot of kids will have to step up and take their places. With Jacob Kessler and Justin Hartman. We don't have a lot of strikers. Then Zach Wilkerson was always passing from the middle. So a lot of players will have to step up."

Sims said he is optimistic when he thinks about his younger Tiger Cubs and even the incoming soccer players.

"We've got some young talent with the sophomore class," Sims said. "The freshman class started stepping up near the end of the season. That was good to see and we have a decent amount of freshmen that show promise. I'm looking forward to getting out there and watching them a little bit."

In Sims' first season, he inherited a Tiger Cubs team that had a big personality to match its senior class and led them to a sectional title.

"They were a laid back bunch which was awesome but kind of a curse at times. They loved having fun," Sims said. "They were a great group of guys. They were super nice and would do anything for each other. But sometimes it was hard to get them into the mindset because they were always having fun. But they were a great group I couldn't ask for anything else. "

The Tiger Cubs will now be looking for some of its younger players like Seth Nichols, Evan Crowe and Brody Watson to make an impact.

"I'm proud of the guys. They had their ups and downs but at the end of the day we all learned from it. I'm looking forward to working with them this summer. Last year I wasn't able because the coaching staff was hired so late in the year. It'll be kind of nice working on conditioning and to see what I've learned this year."