Boys soccer: Season preview

Everybody loves to see a team play the so-called Cinderella role in a tournament — someone unexpected crashing the party and drawing the attention of the Powers That Be.

But people tend to forget that at the end of that fairy tale, Cinderella actually marries the prince, thereby becoming royalty herself.

Greenwood Christian was an unexpected guest at the ball last fall, following up a sub-.500 regular season with a magical trip to the Class A state championship match. But now, the Cougars are looking to play the role of royalty — a team whose presence is requested and expected at every big dance.

That first trip has given the returning GCA players the confidence to believe a return is possible.

“Last year, we weren’t 100% sure if we were going to go to state,” senior goalkeeper Colton Flint said. “But this year, we all feel like we’re state contenders.”

And why shouldn’t they? The Cougars return Flint, top defender Xander Honeycutt, top scorer Bo Campbell and a host of other key regulars from last season’s dream team, which gave Greenwood Christian its first-ever state final appearance in any sport.

Of course, while all of that talent returns, GCA lost several key senior leaders from last season’s lineup and underwent a coaching transition; Steve Campbell, Bo’s father, takes over for Micah Adkins-Estes, who departed after just two seasons at the helm. Additionally, the Cougars lost a couple of players over the summer to the school’s nascent football program.

Steve Campbell is well aware of Greenwood Christian’s enrollment constraints and has worked to forge an alliance with football coach Andre Dobson that will hopefully benefit both teams and not lead to one cannibalizing the other.

“That’s definitely a concern,” Campbell said, “and we have to work together. (Dobson) and I have talked, and we’re trying to help both our programs. We’re both in the growing stage and not like the bigger schools, where we’re turning away players. We’re taking everybody we can get … so it’s important we work together.”

The hope is that some boys will be able to benefit both sides in some way by pulling double duty. But either way, this year’s iteration of GCA boys soccer should be fine. The returning players have the added confidence that comes with a big state tourney run — and the skills to make that confidence not ring hollow.

Rather than waiting to find a groove in October, the current Cougars feel they’ll be able to hit the ground running.

“Every player has gotten technically better, and that’s really encouraging, especially before the season,” Honeycutt said. “When you’re seeing so much progress made, especially after you just made that state run, it’s just like a whole new fire got ignited.”

Though Steve Campbell says he hasn’t yet seen the team develop the type of swagger that a perennial state power might possess, he has seen his boys display a solid discipline, work ethic and attitude in the offseason, and he’s confident that those traits will sustain themselves over the long haul.

“I think that’s the type of team that we want here,” he said, “and it’s important for our success and the culture we want to continue to build.”

GCA’s first-year athletic director, Shon Cottle, talked this summer about creating sustainable success; runs like the one this team went on last fall, he believes, shouldn’t be enjoyable one-offs but the semi-regular product of a proper top-down approach.

Whether the Cougars can create such a year-in, year-out model remains to be seen, but the current players appear ready to prove that last year’s run wasn’t a fluke. They remember what got them to that point and what it’ll take to make it happen again.

“Once we started trusting each other and building that team chemistry,” Honeycutt said, “we just felt like we were unstoppable.”

SCOUTING THE COUNTY

Center Grove Trojans

Coach: Jameson McLaughlin

Last season: 10-6-2, won sectional championship; lost to Columbus North in Class 3A regional semifinal

Key returnees: Ely Detty, Devin McCormick and Chase Stoneburner, seniors; Keaton Barnhizer and Matheus Gubert, juniors

Top newcomer: Charlie Habig, junior

Outlook: Led by University of Kentucky commit Detty, who McLaughlin believes is the best forward (and maybe the best player) in the state, the Trojans will be able to score in bunches. How successful they are this fall will come down to how effective they are at stopping opponents from doing the same. The return of Barnhizer and Stoneburner should help on that front, and Center Grove may be making some tactical shifts to bolster the back end as well. The Trojans face a tough postseason road as always, but they’ve got the talent to navigate the whole thing if the defense holds up.

Franklin Grizzly Cubs

Coach: Tony Harris

Last season: 13-2-3, lost to Columbus North in Class 3A sectional final

Key returnees: Ethan Elsner, Riley Flora, Dylan Harris, Cole Hufford, Zach Newton, Adam Ott, Brayden Petro and J.D. Sever, senior; Camden Atkison, Mason Herbert, Jace Patterson and Matt Payne, juniors

Top newcomers: Jules Ebalo, senior; Joseph Judson, Aybram Moore and Ashton Perry, sophomores

Outlook: The Grizzly Cubs graduated a dozen seniors but return several regulars, leaving Harris optimistic that the team can again be in the mix for Mid-State Conference and sectional championships. Franklin did lose top scorer Griffin Atkison (26 goals), but the hope is that the likes of Dylan Harris, Payne, Sever and Hufford can help make up for that by committee. If the goals come, the Grizzly Cubs should again get double-digit wins and be a highly dangerous team come October.

Greenwood Woodmen

Coach: Dan Priscu

Last season: 8-9, lost to Roncalli in first round of Class 3A sectional

Key returnees: Gavin Armstrong, Ashton Chirinos, Oren Fiesel, Fabian Martin and Kyrin York, seniors; Alex Baugh, Quintin Cain, Sam Thompson and Grant Westrick, juniors; Landen Bellair, Landon Holt and Zeigen Mahachanh, sophomores

Top newcomers: P.J. Branch, senior; Dominic Barlow, Alfredo Rosales, Braedan Townsend and Brayden Wright, juniors; Jack Thompson, sophomore; Emmanuel Jackson, Jose Moreno, Braden Reynolds and Kaden Wilking, freshmen

Outlook: The Woodmen sustained some heavy graduation losses in the offseason but received a major infusion of talent, both from a large freshman class and a couple of notable transfers. Priscu will need to replace much of last year’s scoring, with Martin (4 goals) the top returnee on that front; some of the rookies should be able to help on that front. Greenwood has gradually improved its depth of talent year to year, and the hope is that progression will continue this fall, perhaps with a winning record and more steps toward becoming a tougher out in the postseason.

Greenwood Christian Cougars

Coach: Steve Campbell

Last season: 11-8-3, won sectional, regional and semistate championships; lost to Park Tudor in Class A state championship match

Key returnees: Colton Flint and Xander Honeycutt, seniors; Caden Camden and Preston Van Til, juniors; Bo Campbell, Luke McNichols and Andrew Ramlian, sophomores

Top newcomers: Caleb Amador, freshman

Outlook: Sure, the Cougars underwent a coaching change and graduated several key senior leaders, but there are enough key pieces back from last year’s historic title-game run that expectations are justifiably high. Bo Campbell was a 25-goal scorer as a freshman and Flint joined him on the All-County team after posting eight shutouts — five of those in the postseason. Honeycutt will anchor a strong back line with help from Amador, while Camden and McNichols should help bolster the attack. GCA should again be a team to reckon with in Class A.

Indian Creek Braves

Coach: Jeff Smeltzer

Last season: 2-9, lost to Northview in first round of Class 2A sectional

Key returnees: Nate Balasian, Jenson Oliver and Denton Steenbergen, seniors; Jude Heaston and Nick Jackson, juniors; Logan Jackson and Aiden Long, sophomores

Top newcomers: Kaden Martin, junior

Outlook: After playing a partial varsity schedule in their maiden season last year, the Braves are diving all the way in this season, and Smeltzer believes that his second squad is up for the challenge. A big junior class that includes several returning starters will do much of the heavy lifting, but they’ll have help from veterans like Steenbergen and promising underclassmen such as Long. Indian Creek let several winnable games get away in the last 10 minutes last fall, so Smeltzer has emphasized closing matches out in hopes that this team could perhaps even hit the .500 mark.

Whiteland Warriors

Coach: Justin VanHorn

Last season: 5-12, lost to Franklin in Class 3A sectional opener

Key returnees: J.D. Lompo, senior; Ethan Boone, Nalon Knight, Lal Rin Ralte and Jake Witherington, juniors

Top newcomers: Jackson Crawford, Grayson Hall and Hayden Luttman, juniors; Cameron Reid, sophomore

Outlook: The Warriors had to replace about half of their varsity roster, so a lot of players without significant varsity experience will be thrown into the fire. VanHorn, though, believes that there’s enough talent to overcome the lack of seasoning. Lompo, the team’s No. 2 scorer last fall, provides a known quantity up front, and Witherington returns at goalkeeper. What the lineup looks like in between might take a few weeks to take shape, but Whiteland usually finds a way to put a competitive squad on the field. This year should be no different.

young team but eager, optimistic about 2024…lot of talent but not much experience…have some pieces

trying to move the needle in this part of Johnson County for sure.