Graduation took a huge toll on the Minerva boys’ soccer team as the Lions lost a whopping nine letter winners from last season’s team.
True, there are nine returning letter winners, but a sizeable chunk of the Minerva roster is comprised of underclassmen, so the Lions are experiencing a definite youth movement, says soccer coach Tyler Stewart.
“This coming season we will be different from last year by our team being not as experienced at the varsity level,” he said. “We have nine freshmen on the team out of our 19 total players. With this youth comes time to adjust to the varsity speed at which the game is played, but I see many of these younger players playing a big role on the team this year.”
While the young newcomers get their sea legs under them, Stewart, who is entering his seventh year at Minerva and fourth as head coach, has a troika of seniors returning to count upon: forwards Jeremiah Boone and Beau Keen, along with midfielder and team co-captain Jackson Stewart.
Junior co-captain and centerback Jace Wright spearheads the juniors, alongside midfielders Benjamin Smith and Talan Murphy, while centerback Wyatt Gonzalez and midfielders Wyatt Pflugh and Kiptin Kiko are the returning sophomores.
Among those nine freshman that are filling out Minerva’s roster are forward/midfielder Noah Morckel and midfielder Colton Fetty. Stewart see them contributing right away to the 2025 campaign. Another great advantage of the enlarged roster is substitutions, which should help the Lions’ legs remain rested during grueling matches.
“We have more numbers out for the team than the last few years,” said Stewart. “So being able to substitute and not skip a beat out on the field will allow our starters to get a quick rest if needed.”
There is one area Stewart hopes to improve on and it needs to happen away from the pitch and in the weight room. Minerva’s numbers are large, but its individual players? Not so much.
“I feel our team’s weakness right now may be our size,” said Stewart. “We did a great job this offseason in the weight room, but building muscle takes time. More muscle would allow us to play more physically, but the boys are pretty aggressive which could also be a weakness at times.”
The Lions finished 6-13 last season, going 1-4 in the Eastern Buckeye Conference, which was won by Alliance. Stewart sees more of the same at the top of the conference. That being said, he also envisions an improved Minerva making some noise.
“My prediction for this season is that Marlington, West Branch, Alliance will be pretty competitive for the league title,” Stewart said. “I do think that this season we could put up a better fight than last year's league games. I believe we can compete and are willing to fight for more wins within the league.”
