By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

MONMOUTH – This soccer season was a bit like a puzzle for the Monmouth boys.

Coach Gary Trafton seemingly had all the pieces, but it was still a matter of putting it all together.

“We had most everybody back,” said Trafton. “We lost a couple key players. We lost a very good goalkeeper, but I knew we had a great goalkeeper coming in. So I knew there wasn’t going to be a drop off there. The big difference is that we were a year older and a year more experienced. We’re better skilled this year than we’ve been in a long time. We pass the ball well, but I just didn’t know how well we’d do. Last year, in close games, we never could find a way to win.”

The Mustangs won five games last year, but lost just three starters. Though Scott Ogden was new in goal, he had experience. Ben Seefeldt, Cameron Saucier and Ricky Pelletier were seasoned defenders and gave Monmouth a defensive foundation to build around.

“Coming in, I knew we had a pretty skilled team, but we didn’t know about the heart,” said senior halfback Patrick Trenholm. “Who was going to pick it up? The team showed up to play every game.”

The Mustangs went 11-2-1 this season, good enough for the second seeding in Western Class C.

“I wasn’t expecting anything like this,” said Seefeldt. “I wasn’t too sure about a lot of the freshmen coming up. We had a lot of sophomores now playing as juniors. They’ve just really stepped it up. Some of them have been playing halfback. Some have stepped in at forward.”

Trafton says he’s had the team focused on limiting mistakes and using its skill. The growth has allowed him to ask for more, and the results have paid off.

“We’re more mature,” he said. “We’re understanding situations instead of hurrying things.”

This group’s confidence has grown tremendously. Though the Mustangs reached the Western C quarterfinal last fall, losing to Mt. Abram, the team was competitive enough. It just lacked the seasoning to take its game up a notch.

“We had a good team last year, but we just didn’t have the defense,” said Seefeldt. “A lot of us were younger. We were just juniors, but we didn’t all start two years ago. So we all had to adjust.”

The senior-laden defense changed that this year. Add in Caleb Brown, Trenholm, Nate Armstrong and Max Grover in the midfield and the Mustangs have ample of veteran talent.

“It was a matter of whether we were going to put the work in,” said Trenholm.

With the defense being solid, finding consistency on the other end was the biggest question mark. With no proven scorers, the Mustangs have been trying to develop balance around the net. Trafton says the opportunities have been there. The most important factor for Monmouth is how hard it plays.

“I’ve told the kids that for us to be competitive, we have to beat people to the ball,” said Trafton. “We’re not a finesse team like some of the other teams that we’ll see.”

After spending much of the last few playoff seasons on the road, the Mustangs can play at home right up to the regional final. That’s a welcomed change from a year ago, but the belief in themselves may prove a greater benefit.

“I think the kids feel more confident,” said Trafton. “They believe they can play with anybody, which they can. Everyday we say You don’t play how yesterday was. You play as the day you show up.’ If we show up to play, we’ll be in all the games.”