The high school boys soccer season begins Aug. 15. Here are season previews for area schools.
Hiland
Bolstered by a strong core of returning defensive players along with a junior crop of talent that has gone undefeated in JV play the past two seasons, the Hawks are once again aiming high in 2025.
“Our expectations with this group are really high,” said Hiland coach Scott Bodiker. “We’ve been a consistent program for a long time. The trick for us will be figuring out how to win that big game that gets us to state.”
Returning in the defensive backfield is third-year starter in net Chase Coblentz, whom Bodiker said has a chance to set the all-time shutout record for the program. Joining him defensively on a team that set the school record for shutouts in a season last year are seniors Max Jones and Perrin Miller and junior Bodie Gertz. Junior Josh Yoder is expected to replace Ryan Hamsher’s big shoes.
“Defensively, I feel like we have a chance to be really good,” Bodiker said.
The midfield situation is a little less stable, with the Hawks losing three talented players in Zeke Bodiker, Ohlen Troyer and Jackson Mullet. Junior letter-winners Luke Bodiker, Noah Troyer (younger siblings of Zeke and Ohlen) and fellow junior Blake Stutzman, who also got plenty of varsity action last season, are slated to see time at the position. Juniors Cam Yoder, Quinn Mullet and Kadyn Ruiz are also expected to be in the mix.
Leading the scoring should be Christian Mullet, a talented forward who will move inside this season.
“He was outstanding as a sophomore last year and should do very well in replacing Logan Hershberger, who set our single-season scoring record last year,” Bodiker said.
The outside forwards will include junior Roman Tkachuk, who gained great experience last season at the varsity level and was a prolific scorer for the JV team, and senior Rowen Miller, who returns.
“Rowen missed about half the season last year,” Bodiker said. “If he’s healthy, he should have a really strong season. I think that trio has a chance to be even better than our great group last year.”
Joining them will be senior Isaac Thomas and junior Conner Hershberger.
Junior Joel Leinbach and sophomore Ryan Baird will add nice depth for the Hawks, who finished 16-5 last season and fought their way to regionals, where they fell to juggernaut Grandview Heights.
West Holmes
The Knights return the bulk of their letter-winners from last season’s 3-15 overall team, with only three players gone to graduation.
“We remain young, but our numbers are coming up,” 17th-year coach Joshua Wengerd said. “Three years ago, we had 14 players and no JV. This year, we are at 23 players and will be able to play some JV throughout the season, which will be beneficial to our freshmen/sophomores for their development. Our young guys have been playing together (mostly) since first grade. They bring some soccer smarts with them, and we will benefit from them. However, we are still young, and it’s hard to compete, especially in our conference with boys playing against men.”
Returning letter winners include seniors Miles Malasch (M) and Patrick Weaver (M), juniors Jordan Gerber (GK), Marley Irias-Bamford (D), Garrett Obrst (M) and Kyden Porter (D), and sophomores Oliver Hiller (D), Austin Miller (D), Ethan Ramseyer (D), Brayden Swinehart (D), James Wengerd (M) and Caleb White (D).
Coach Wengerd said his entire freshman class of 10 has potential.
“They, along with my sophomores, are going to be the building blocks of turning this program around,” he said. “We are still a year or two away because of our team’s overall youth and inexperience at the high school level, but these young guys are going to make some progress.”
Coach Wengerd said his team’s soccer IQ is on the rise.
“We are starting to play smart soccer,” he said. “Our passing is coming. Our spacing on the pitch is coming around. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s blooming. This is a fun group of boys. The team camaraderie is strong. I think a strength of this team is their willingness to work and to improve, and it will be satisfying to watch them grow throughout this fall season and continue to develop.”
After finishing 0-6 in Ohio Cardinal Conference play last season, coach Wengerd expects another challenging league slate.
“Our league, the Ohio Cardinal Conference, has to be one of the most talented soccer conferences in the entire state — boys and girls,” he said. “As an example, when the girls team went to the state semifinal two seasons ago, they had three conference losses. We are the smallest school in the conference, and with our youth, it makes it even harder to compete. Dover enters the league this year, so we added another tough opponent to our schedule.”
Triway
Triway completed its first season under head coach Cole Duskey with a 4-13-1 overall record, 4-7-1 in the PAC. The Titans will look to build on that this year with a team that saw just five letter-winners move on.
“This season’s team will be more experienced than last year’s team,” Duskey said. “We have players that have played varsity for two seasons. This group has more chemistry due to the amount of time they have played together.”
A year from now, that number may be a little different. There are no seniors on Triway’s roster, meaning the team could return intact in 2026, so if the Titans can build a bit on what they did a year ago, plenty of good things could be in store.
Back this year is a junior class that includes Cohen Baker, Aiden Snell, Gage Kota, Anderson Jovel-Quinteros and Jaxon Leonard. Those five are joined by sophomores Austin Nehrenz, Jayden White, Collin Keplar, Kaven Johnson, Nolan Strong and Bruce Meade.
An infusion of youth will supplement those veterans, with sophomores Alex Barron-Ruiz and Taran Tate joined by freshmen Jayden Tarleton, Aziz Alharbi, Hudson Smith, Noah Napier, Nick Hancock, Connor Leary and Brayden Miller.
“Our team’s strength will be the amount of time they have played together,” Duskey said. “A lot of our guys have played since they were young, so we have some experience coming into the season.”
