BOYS’ SOCCER PREVIEWS: Greencastle, North Putnam set to battle for conference supremacy in 2023 season

Greencastle

Following up on a first sectional title since 2018 and back-to-back WIC championships is the task set for the Tiger Cubs ahead of the 2023 season.

Doing so without the goal-scoring exploits of Seth Kallem at first glance would seem a difficult progress but Greencastle head coach JD Sims said teams will find there were far more layers to the squad than just Kallem.

“Practices have been really positive,” Sims said. “Seth was a huge player for us but without him, the team will have a chance to play as a little more complete team.

“We relied on him being a great player but without him, we’ll be a more rounded team. Boyd Ensley was another big piece for us on the wing but, if players have speed and can pass the ball, we can find a way to utilize them.

“Micah Foss returns after scoring 30-plus goals for us, which was impressive for a freshman,” Sims added. “It’s a lot to ask for him to fill the slot of Seth but we have a team around him that can find ways to score a lot of goals as well.”

Foss will lead the line for a team that went 16-3-1 a year ago but returns most of the varsity squad along with bringing in another large freshman group to bolster the ranks.

Fellow sophomores Sam Hanlon, Milyn Turner, Jackson Rodgers, Brakston Taylor, Jayce Spidel, Cooper Grable, Travis Overshiner and Anthony Peters got plenty of time to shine last season and will have increased roles this year, particularly in the attacking band.

“Beyond Micah, we had quite a few freshmen who played last year,” Sims noted. “Milyn saw quite a bit of time and will keep seeing time as a staple in our attack.

“Anthony was on the periphery but saw time while Jackson played a lot early but was injured and saw less time as the season went along. Several kids got some rotation time like Sam while Jayce didn’t play a lot early but became a full-time player as the season went along.

“We have a lot of kids that played that are going to play bigger roles for us while others that didn’t see as much time start to see more time on the field,” Sims added. “Guys like Travis and Cooper are going to see more time, which is a good thing as this team has more depth than any team I’ve coached.”

New to the squad is a large freshman contingent including Caleb Edwards, Conor Petrie, Alex Bruggemann, Thomas Helmer, Logan Allen, Fischer Barcus, Aidan Vaglia, Jayden Waugh and Cyrus Gurnon.

“In our midfield Henry, Milyn and Jackson stepped in, so we have a good core of three players there,” Sims said. “We have a couple of freshmen in Fischer and Cyrus that have been impressive so far but need to get up top varsity speed; Fischer is big enough to slot in which Cyrus has very good ball control.

“Jayce and Jalen (Hardman) might find themselves inside as well. We’ve never had so many subs for the midfield and I’m excited it.”

The rest of the returning squad include seniors Hardman, Harris Weltz, Sam White, Dylan Olsen, Clay Glessner and Henry Cox and juniors Josh Rumple and Dylan Barcus, the latter a manager for the team in past season, many of whom will feature in the defense for the Tiger Cubs.

“Harris looks bigger this year for sure and is in good shape ahead of the season,” Sims said. “Clay and Dylan (Olsen) were big players for us last year and Sam will move from the outside into the middle; he’s a big kid, is playing really well and is a no-nonsense type of defender.

“On the outside, I don’t know yet. We have some freshmen showing some potential and might have some fringe players that might slip in there. On the left, it’s hard because we don’t have many left-footed players and one of the few we have needs some time. It’d be a lot to ask for him out of the gate.

“We also have Dylan (Barcus), who was a manager for us in the past, playing and he’s shown a lot of potential,” Sims added. “He’s not used to the amount of running yet but, once fit, he’ll compete for a spot and be key in our rotation.”

Given the glut of midfield options, Sims said there might be times the formation changes in order to get as much talent on the field as possible.

“I’ve contemplated going to a back three, something we don’t do often,” Sims pointed out. “A lot of it depends on the team.

“We have so many good midfield players that we want to get as many on the field as we can. We have a strong base at the back and more options to thank about, so we might give it a try.”

Topping the past two seasons would be difficult but Sims said the team had an ambitious idea in mind, as well as aiming to make a better showing should the team reach the regional round of the IHSAA Boys’ Soccer State Tournament as it did last year.

“At this point, with the amount of kids we have and based on our history, we are favorites to win our sectional and that’s always been a goal of ours, to win the conference and in the postseason,” Sims said. “This year, our goal is to beat every team we play in the season.

“We have some strong opponents on our schedule but we can play with those teams. The competition for spots on this team is only going to make us better and we’re brewing toward something I’m really excited about.”

North Putnam

Were it not for Greencastle’s ascent to the top of the WIC boys’ soccer standings, it might be the Cougars who would be atop the conference table.

North Putnam fell to the Tiger Cubs in its only loss in WIC play in 2022 and managed to hit double-digit wins for a second-straight year but fell in the opening round of sectional play to Bethesda Christian,

“We tied the most wins in team history last year but we don’t want to be satisfied with that and instead want to build on that,” Cougar head coach Kyle Morgan said. “If you talk to the players, they have their eye on the prize after finishing second in the WIC for a second-straight year.

“We want to move that next spot higher and we have the tools and mentality to do that. It’s something we have to work to accomplish in a three- to four-week period as we start with three WIC games in-a-row and have to start firing on all cylinders.”

Junior Michael Ali returns in goal for North Putnam behind seniors and defensive pillars Brady Barber and Jaylen Windmiller

“Michael is in year two as a keeper with both of our central defenders back in Brady and Jaylen, which helps with continuity,” Morgan said. “He had a good year as a sophomore and saved our butts a couple of times.

“He’s played some travel ball this summer, been at camps and has progressed really well. He had a good offseason working on what was needed and this year we should see an improved Mikey over what was an already pretty good player.”

Junior Braxton Mercurio and sophomore Nicholas Tefertiller would be part of a group of outside backs along with sophomores Chase Barber and Gavin Simonson though Morgan said there would be times members of the group would be sent inside to start learning the position.

“On the outside, we’re getting guys back after we had a three-man rotation last year,” Morgan noted. “We’ve added more depth to the position, which helps us keep guys fresh and allows us to tweak our tactics based on our opponents.

“Beyond that, both of our central defenders are graduating next year so there’s a chance we can give some good minutes there and keep one eye toward the future.”

Seniors Nolan Hackleman and Matt Farrington, along with junior Kaden Helderman, will lead the line again senior Evan Polley and junior Brayden Neureiter would be tasked with keeping things moving in the midfield.

“Nolan is more of a forward for us, though he does player higher up and drop in at times and is tactically flexible,” Morgan said. “Matt and Kaden got a lot of minutes on the wings for us and we have some awesome subs returning after good freshmen seasons.

“Evan and Brayden control the midfield for us and we have some incoming freshmen and sophomores that are going to help provide depth in those spots. We will go about 16-to-18 players deep in some games whereas we were only about 14-to-15 players deep last season.”

Other returning players include junior Khalid Hassar and sophomores Gage Martello, Mythiusfaatea Slagle, Isaac Polley, Zac Coffman and Danny Fischer.

For North Putnam to reach the top of the conference summit and make waves in sectional play, Morgan said the team had to find a way to get over the obstacles that have tripped them up in the past too many times, something the team has the capability of doing.

“The word of the season is potential,” Morgan said. “We can do special things this year as we have the experience and depth; now we have to prove it.

“This group works really hard, sets their minds to accomplish things and needs to execute on game day not only against opponents we have worked hard to beat but to clear the next hurdle and beat teams we haven’t beat as a program. Not being overmatched on those game days is going to be key to our success.

“This team has the capability to win more than 11 games but it’s about game-by-game management,” Morgan added. “We have one of the toughest sectionals in Class A soccer at the end of the year and, if we play our brand of soccer, we can hang with anyone in a game.”