By Tyler Thompson (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Waynesville Tigers (10-11) fell just shy of a district title a little more than one year ago.
And, as if the waiting weren’t tough enough, here came COVID-19, which threw an additional wrench into the Tigers’ proverbial plans for 2020 and a district crown.
But, as with theatre, the show must go on.
The Tigers graduated a heavily-talented core in goalkeeper Isaac Swanson, forward Nate Taylor, and defensive catalyst, Riley Wright.
“Obviously, losing Swanson is huge. But, we’ll find someone to partially fill his shoes. Isaac worked hard at being good. We need to find someone who can also find it within their self to work hard with our backline,” said first-year Tigers head coach Mike Gow.
Gow previously served as the program’s assistant coach for nearly a decade under former Tigers and current Rolla head coach Mike Armstrong.
CLICK HERE FOR LINKS TO ALL OF THE FALL PREVIEWS
Gow is looking for another defensive catalyst to step up this season.
“Riley Wright was a fearless defender. His teammates believed in him. He will be missed.
We are going to miss Nate Taylor’s personality, for sure. The guy always had good things to say to all of his teammates, regardless of the outcome.”
For the Tigers, who were in the thick of things last fall as they made a run to the district title game, it’s not about closing any gap.
Said Gow: “I don’t see us as needing to close a gap. We need to play the same game,” said Gow.
The team returns its primary scorer this fall in Mujahid Faheem, who netted 27 goals last year as a freshman.
Faheem was an all-conference honorable mention as a freshman.
Also back in the fold this season, joining Faheem, is Anthony Salas (senior midfielder).
Salas was second-team All-Conference last fall.
“Anthony is going to play a big role for us in the midfield. He has a solid understanding of the game, [and] is so capable of slotting a pass to an open man. He gives solid direction during the course of a game. His teammates have a respect for him. Faheem is such a character! I enjoy watching him play. He works hard in practice and harder in games.”
The Tigers reside in the Ozark Conference — where anything can happen on any given night.
Added Gow: “I am excited for what we can do this year! We finished last season with a winning conference record. I don’t know why we can’t repeat that. We’ll have to wait and see how our district gets put together.”
Last season, the Tigers tallied two goals per game, while outscoring the opposition 46-40.
Gow said he is anticipating a competitive season.
“We are returning several key defenders and midfielders. From what we have seen at open field this summer, we should be able to find a few guys to fill in some spaces that were vacated by graduation,” he said.
The regular-season opener is against Republic at Waynesville.
