By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Ozark boys’ soccer team didn’t miss a beat last season – even with a coaching change – as the Tigers rolled to their third-straight district championship and second trip to the Class 4 quarterfinals in program history.
Zack Owens, who enters his second season at the helm, took over for veteran coach Tom Davidson last year and led the Tigers to an overall record of 18-10, 6-3 in the Central Ozark Conference (tied for third), in addition to a Class 4 District 11 title (2-1 over Kickapoo), sectional win (2-1 in overtime over Nixa), and trip to the quarterfinals (2-1 loss to Jefferson City) during a COVID season.
“We did get hit a few times with quarantines but managed to work through it and still had a successful season,” Owens said. “The team was sort of overlooked last year after losing so many great players. They had a chip on their shoulder hearing that they weren’t expected to have much success.
“We had some outstanding leadership in our seniors, and it really showed as the season progressed. We will miss those student-athletes but are ready for this new group of leaders to manifest and showcase their talents.”
While the numbers lost to graduation are not as great as the previous season, the loss still will be felt by the Tigers, who finished the season ranked eighth in Class 4.
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Gone are midfielders Dillon Holesapple and Riley Shelton, and defender Micah Lepant.
Holesapple, who is now playing at Drury University, scored 25 goals and had 17 assists to land on the all-time points list at Ozark. He also earned Class 4 All-State first team, Class 4 District 11 first team/MVP, All-Central Ozark Conference first team, and All State Academic honors.
“Dillon was the best student-athlete leader I have coached on and off the field,” Owens said. “He was a great presence on the field, helping to escalate our attack and defense every match. The players looked up to him and he created a sense of comradery amongst everyone on the team.”
Shelton and Lepant both were named all-district first team and all-COC (Shelton, first team; Lepant, second team.)
“Riley was a very physical and quick presence that will be missed in the midfield,” Owens said. “He was able to close down players fast and tackled hard. Micah was a phenomenal defender and great at 1v1 stops. He was the vocal leader in our back line. He played very smooth and never seemed to get flustered during play.
“I think the biggest lesson (last season) was that no match comes easy. We had to fight for every win. We had several matches that we won by one goal. You have to embrace and take advantage of every opportunity on the field, whether it is a scoring chance in front of goal or a chance to play excellent 1v1 defense to slow down an opponent’s attack. We are focused on being 100 percent mentally in every moment of the match this season.”
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Back to lead the Tigers into 2021 are Jose Ortega, Trevor Carlton, Renato Granja, Justin Baker, Ethan Peeples, Quinten Milligen, Drake Ogle, Adrian Ortega, Caleb Sandgren, Emilio Velasco and Declan Cummings.
Jose Ortega, senior, forward, all-district first team/offensive player of the year; all-COC first team – “He is probably our most dynamic player,” Owens said. “He is a dangerous offensive weapon and will score a lot of goals for us this season. He is able to play anywhere on the field and can use his quickness to hunt down the ball and attackers while on defense or make moves to goal 1v1 and is most often successful.”
Trevor Carlton, junior, goalkeeper, all-district first team; all-COC honorable mention – “He helped get our team to the state quarterfinals last season as a sophomore and has worked a ton this offseason. We are excited to see him in action this fall in his junior year.”
Renato Granja, senior, midfielder, all-district first team – “He is a workhorse on the field and can play a lot of different positions for us. He will be used all over the place and will succeed at all of them. We’re happy to have him in the mix because we always know what we are getting out of Renato.”
Justin Baker, senior, defender, all-district second team – “He is a great 1v1 defender and can move into the offense and help in our attack, too. He is very quick and agile. He has worked hard this offseason and you can see it in his fitness.”
Ethan Peeples, senior, midfielder, all-district second team – “One of the fastest, if not our fastest player. His speed is going to be a huge help in transitions and overall quickness of play. He sees the field well and looks to attack often.”
Quinten Milligen, senior, defender – “We are very happy to have Quinten back this season after a season-ending injury kept him out of last year. He will be a huge help and leader in our backfield. He spent his time last year on the sideline as an extra ‘assistant coach’ and knows what we want out of our players. Now he can take that knowledge and bring it to the field and his team during match play.”
Drake Ogle – “He is a hard worker that looks for opportunities in every play. He can play both sides of the ball and physically is a handful.”
Adrian Ortega – “Adrian got a lot of varsity time last season as a sophomore and really excelled. He was a valuable piece of our attack, and we will be looking to utilize him a lot more in various roles this fall. He has great foot skill and is not afraid to take people 1 on 1.”
Caleb Sandgren – “Caleb had a great club season and we are looking for him to continue his success on the high school field. He will be an important part of our attack and midfield.”
Emilio Velasco – “Emilio ended up being a very critical piece of our backline last season and our run in the postseason. He, again, will be helping to lead our defense. He is big, physical and not afraid of contact.”
Declan Cummings – “Declan will be looking to get more involved this season, probably on the defensive side. He has worked a lot this offseason and is hungry to get going. We are excited to see what he can do.”
That leadership and experience will be a strength for the Tigers this season.
“We will have 11 seniors, all with different areas of strengths and expertise,” Owens said. “Everyone is hungry and looking for success again this go-round. They know that we have a target on our backs with several teams but that also with this many seniors, it means so much to them as their last high school season. They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.”
Looking to compete for varsity minutes this fall are sophomores Jason Martin, Phin Scott, August McComas and Caleb Lepant.
“We will be looking for some younger players to step into some big roles and showcase their talents on the varsity level,” Owens said. “We also are replacing a few key players from last year and will need others to be ready to fill those spots.”
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Jason Martin, midfielder – “He will be looking to make a big impact this season on the varsity side. He plays physical and strong. He is a very hard worker and has had a good offseason.”
Phin Scott, midfielder – “Phin is a very skilled and technical player. He has great knowledge of the game and sees the field well. We are looking forward to seeing him in action.”
August McComas, defender – “He got some good minutes here and there last season and was a benefit for us on the defensive side. He will be getting more time this season and will make a huge impact for us.”
Caleb Lepant, midfielder/forward – “He is an offensive weapon that has really started scoring goals. He will be looking to carry that skill-set to the varsity field.”
The Tigers will be chasing a fourth-straight district title and the program’s first final four berth, but it all begins with a jamboree on Aug. 20 at Republic with Catholic and Parkview before opening the regular season at Webster Groves on Aug. 27.
“We have added some tough teams to an already tough schedule, so hopefully, it helps us in the long run,” Owens said. “This area is going to be packed with talented soccer teams and we are excited to get going. We will be in the mix with all of them and are looking to get out of this area into the postseason again.
“We have a lot of talented players that will all be looking for their chance to make an impact. There is going to be so much competition within our team, but we look at that as a positive. Every practice will be tougher, every drill will be more physical, and in the end, we will be better as a team from it.”
