STACYVILLE, Maine — Second-year coach Dylan Harris has high hopes for the Katahdin boys soccer team this season.
The Cougars have a number of returning players who have put in extra time this past summer getting ready for soccer, which leads Harris to believe an improvement over last year’s 0-13-1 record is in order.
“I expect us to be greatly improved from last season where we went winless over the course of the season,” he said. “Most of the kids have been participating in other sports last school year and also they’ve been putting in some work over the summer to improve as athletes and soccer players.”
A change in the Cougars schedule also could benefit the team’s outlook.
“We have changed to an all-Aroostook schedule this season which will take us away from having to play Class C teams as often as we did last season,” Harris said. “That has the whole team looking forward to the competition this season.”
Members of the Katahdin squad include seniors Tanner Lane (goalie/halfback), Chase Tapley (halfback), WIlliam Schilkowski (halfback) and Rigoberto Otero (midfield); junior Evan Tapley (midfield); sophomores Jeremiah Rodgerson (midfield), Caleb Giles (midfield), Garrett Hamm (forward), Blake Howes (defender) and Bryce Sinclair (forward); and freshmen Bradley Hotham (goalie/forward), Kadin McNally (forward), Wesley Richardson (halfback) and Jacob Fitzpatrick (forward).
“Our numbers are a little small at the moment but adding more players as school starts up is always a possibility in a small area like Katahdin,” coach Harris said.
The coach added that increasing goal scoring and giving up fewer goals are the two biggest areas he plans to focus on this year.
“Those were two areas of weakness last season,” he said. “We couldn’t find the back of the net at all last season. We only scored three goals all of last season, so we are hoping to improve on that. I’ve been telling the kids to just create chances during practices, hopefully leading to more goals scored for us this season.”
The Cougars have a number of talented athletes from other sports on the team this fall, which could bode well for a marked improvement. Also, Katahdin lost just two players from last year’s squad — Devin McGraw and Dylan Kylloneen.
“I believe the team’s strength is individual athleticism,” coach Harris said. “We have a lot of kids who play numerous sports and are good athletes. We need to build on that athleticism and get the kids learning soccer specific skills and strategies. The group of kids is very easy going, we all joke around quite a bit, so the team gets along well, I think we can use that chemistry to work well on the field.”
Katahdin was shutout in its season opener 7-0 by Fort Kent. The Cougars will look to get back on track Wednesday, Sept. 6, when they travel to Washburn.
