Kentwood isn’t ready to concede anything just yet on the boys soccer field.
But the Conquerors certainly have a different feel this March than they did last year at the same time. Graduating eight players, six of whom were three-year starters, will do that to a program. That said, don’t throw Kentwood, the defending South Puget Sound League North champions and one of just two teams in the division to qualify for state last year, into the “rebuilding” bin just yet.
“We’ve got a lot of new faces,” coach Aaron Radford said . “All the boys are geared up to come back and defend our league title. I think they have the desire to do that, as every team should.”
If the Conquerors are going to defend that title successfully, they will do so in a manner Radford is rather unaccustomed to in his four years at the helm of the program. That is, Kentwood will turn to somewhat of a youth movement and, for the first time in Radford’s tenure, play three freshmen: Eli Peterson (defender), Stefan Bangsund (midfielder) and Sergio Mejia (midfielder).
“I’ve never had three freshmen on varsity,” Radford said. “On the boys end of it, it’s definitely hard to move in as freshmen and compete. (But) I think the talent that we do have is pretty balanced. I think those freshmen can compete.”
While Peterson, Bangsund and Mejia adjust to the speed of play, Radford will rely on seniors Bryan Carlson, Chad Fuller and, he hopes, Joe Angevine. Having broken an ankle toward the end of football season, Angevine might not be 100 percent at the beginning of the season. Meanwhile, Carlson is the team’s lone-returning starter.
“He’s not a flashy player,” Radford said of Carlson. “He’s just an absolute hard worker. He is one of the hardest players to beat, he defends well and is attacking. He’s never willing to accept defeat.”
Nor will the Conquerors as they brace to defend their title.
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