Last season marred by injuries
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
The Falcon boys soccer team enters its season with higher hopes, after the squad struggled through injuries and inconsistent player rotations last year, according to Westosha Central High School coach Jon Kao.
Westosha Central, who lost two Southern Lakes Conference honorable mention performers, returns three key letter-winners and a slew of seniors.
“Our roster is deep with experience this year,” he states. “The chemistry is much improved among the entire team and I’m seeing the more experienced players teach the younger players.”
Key returning letter-winners are senior midfielder Tyler Krause, senior defender Scott Hanover and junior keeper Chase Erickson.
Along with the trio of performers, Westosha Central welcomes back junior midfielder/forward Bobby McNealy, senior midfielder Lucas Graveley, senior midfielder Nick Uzzardo, senior forward Trace Miller and senior defender Joe Anderson.
The return of several seniors, Kao said, creates an opportunity to bolster its record from last year, when they notched just three wins.
But, all hopes rest on a healthy team, following a 2015 season marred by injuries.
“Last year was a struggle for many reasons,” Kao stated. “Injuries disrupted team chemistry and tactics almost all season.”
Along with disruptions of team chemistry, Kao’s preferred starting rotation played a total of 15 minutes together, but he hopes the tide turns for the 2016 season.
“This year we are hoping to avoid the injury bug and gel quickly as a team. We have focused equally on mindset and technical skills in order to work on all aspects of the game,” he stated.
With a healthy team, it brings optimism for a better team in the SLC, where they finished with a 2-6-1 record for sixth.
“Given that we were competitive with the majority of the conference last year, we are hoping to improve along those lines and contest for the top half,” he stated.
As health and chemistry play a role for the Falcons, the team looks to replace two departures from last year, honorable mention players Seth Seybert and Lucas Wysiatko.
But one player, freshman Davin Cummings, could fill in for one of the two in the long-term future.
Cummings, a forward, helped the Falcons to a 1-1 deadlock against Kenosha Indian Trail to start the season.
But along with Cummings, and returning seniors, comes a learning curve.
“I’m a strong believer that every game and every season is a learning opportunity,” he said. “Given that we have inexperienced players in several key positions, it’s a race against time to see how fast they can learn.”