Oxford High School head soccer coach John Thaler hopes this team can improve on last year’s 8-8-3 record, and the improvement may hinge on how quickly the team can adjust to change.
Gone are 11 seniors from last year’s squad, including a foreign exchange student from Germany.
Two of the players who’ve graduated were Greg Riddick and Andrew Kimble. The duo led the Wildcats in scoring last year, making more than half the goals.
‘Departure of the two was big,? Thaler said. ‘However, I still have other players who will step up and fill the spots.?
New to Oxford varsity soccer this year are three freshmen: Alex Juntti, a midfielder and forward; Tyler Mayes, a midfielder and Michael Kitchner, a forward.
Returning players include:
Midfielders ? Dan Peck, a sophomore; juniors Travis Roth and Steven Ferguson and seniors Aaron Wroblewski, Mitch Seeling and Colin Gutierrez.
Goalkeeper ? Tim Bachner, a senior.
Forwards ? Doug Kiracofe, a senior.
Midfielder/forwards ? Jake Shafer and Steven Walker, both seniors.
Midfielder/defender ? Corey Olson, a junior.
Defenders ? Mark Hurrish, Tyler Hruska and Matt Versteeg, all juniors.
Many of the players moved up from junior varsity while Versteeg took a detour. He trained with the team last summer, played football and has returned to soccer.
Last season’s record reflects some disappointment for Thaler, given it was the first time in his six years at OHS that the Wildcats didn’t make district finals. The teams have been district champions four times, league champs once and have earned the coach almost 90 wins during his tenure.
‘We’ve been pretty successful, but the competition’s been getting better,? he said. ‘A lot of teams and schools have top-quality players. Soccer’s getting more and more popular every day, and programs around here are really good.?
When it comes to this year’s squad, Thaler likes what he sees.
‘They have a very strong work ethic,? he said. ‘They’re not selective participants. They give 100 percent through all of their drills, tactics and in the conditioning aspect.?
While the team has experienced an exodus of sorts, he does have skilled players returning who earned all-league selections from FML. There’s plenty of talent to fill those gaps, the coach said.
Thaler wants to see his team work on the fundamentals, something he feels was neglected by some over the summer. The coach isn’t too concerned about the team’s slow start, feeling that once they get rid of the jitters and get used to playing together, things will start to improve.