What the Mountain Valley boys’ soccer team did last year was memorable and one of the best seasons it has had in decades. It also wasn’t enough as far as the players coming back this fall.

Though Mountain Valley lost 14 players from last year’s club, the returning players want to prove last fall was no fluke.

“I think a lot of the people think that the reason we did so well last year was because of the foreigns we had last year,” senior midfielder Ryan Bennett said. “I want to prove them wrong. Even though we have another fabulous group of foreigns this year, the rest of the team can play, too.”

The Mountain Valley boys’ soccer team went 13-0-1 to produce one of the best regular seasons in decades. The Falcons then lost a heartbreaker in the Mountain Valley Conference championship game and were eliminated in the Western C semifinals. It was a great ride that the Falcons want to continue.

“It’s my senior year and Ryan’s senior year,” senior midfielder Curtis Steele said. “Last year made us more hungry to win more and trying to get back to the MVCs. We want to win it this year.”

It will be a task easier said than done for the Falcons. Of the 14 players lost to graduation, all but two were starters. Steele, Bennett and Dakota Arsenault are the only returning seniors.

“We can’t come into games expecting to beat people like we did last year,” Mountain Valley coach J.T. Taylor said. “We played very well last year. A lot of teams know we lost a bunch of guys. They’re not going to go easy on us. They’re going to beat us up because we beat them last year.”

The Falcons got a true awakening at the end of the preseason when Buckfield walloped them 7-4. Taylor said it was a good reality check for his team as they adjust to being this year’s team instead of last year’s team.

“I think we went into that game thinking we were last year’s team,” Taylor said. “That was a wake-up call. I think they stepped on the field and expected to just keep doing what we did last year. It was a good kick in the butt for us.”

Taylor wants his team expecting to win and succeed. That’s something the program hadn’t been doing in previous years prior to last year’s breakout season.

“Success breeds success,” Taylor said. “If you’re losing, guys go on the field and think they’re not going to win. I think we’ve changed that mindset, almost to the point where they expect to win, but we have to keep working.”

Part of last year’s team was a handful of foreign exchange students. They helped elevate the play of the team and were significant parts of the success. The Falcons have a similar group this year with players from Finland, Hungary, Denmark, Germany and Poland. Aleski Pirttijoki and Felix Andris both played a part of Saturday’s opening-day win with goals for the Falcons.

“We’ve had them for the last six or eight years but nobody even recognized them” Taylor said. “Now that we’re doing a little better, everybody notices.”

The Falcons won’t be as athletic and fast as it was last year, but the team is adapting to what this team can do.

“We have to make up for that in other ways,” Bennett said. “I consider myself a very good passer. I consider the rest of the team being able to pass very well. We like to play as a team instead of individually.”

In the 2-1 win over Monmouth Saturday, the Falcons showed glimpses of a good passing attack that can utilize a number of players. Though the defense is quite young, the midfield is strong and does a nice job pacing the attack and moving it forward. The Falcons also showed it has some snipers that can finish up front.

“We learned last year not to kick over the top,” Steele said. “We’re more of a passing team now. We like to use the width of the field and use every possible player.”

Though the Falcons are young, many saw time last year and learned from the veteran players. That could help Mountain Valley mature quickly. As the seasoning comes and the team begins to get used to working together, this Falcons club can only get better.

“They were able to learn a lot from the seniors last year” Taylor said. “They showed them little things. It’s not always about Xs and Os. It’s about confidence. We didn’t have that the years before.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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