By Chris Parker
Cassville boys soccer is looking for a big season with eight starters and two key reserves returning from last season’s team that won three games.
At the head of those returning players is honorable mention all-state goalkeeper Peter Littlefield. Littlefield, a senior, owns the MSHSAA state record for career saves. He is second all-time in saves per game with 11.89.
“We have one of the most talented goalkeepers in the state in Peter Littlefield,” Cassville head coach Jake Forste said. “He is a vocal leader and has all the physical tools back there. Our hope is to stay on the front foot more this season and not have to rely on Peter making saves. Having a player of his caliber between the sticks gives the guys a lot of confidence to make runs and build attacks out of the back.”
The other seven returning starters are: Lian Nung (senior midfielder), Reese Heiden (senior forward/midfielder), Brody Osborne (sophomore forward), Jackson Ray (junior midfielder), Andrew Gray (junior), Jackson Lindley (junior) and Ashton Wheeler (junior). The key returning reserves are senior Nic Sanders and junior Fernando Alonso.
Osborne will return at center forward.
“Brody had four goals and two assists as a freshman, despite missing a large chunk of the season with an injury,” Forste said. “He fit in seamlessly as a freshman and has improved in offseason workouts and during the spring club season.”
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Heiden, Sanders, Alonso, Wheeler, and freshman Cayden Rohde are all in the mix to lock down the wide attacking roles.
Nuang will lead in the midfield.
“Incoming senior Lian Nung is likely to lead our midfield again,” Forste said. “He transferred to us from Texas last year and was our team’s Newcomer of the Year with three goals and three assists. He will be joined by junior Jackson Ray, who has been our most improved player this off-season.”
Cassville returns some strong defenders, but has holes to fill in that unit.
“We return some quality defenders with Gray and Lindley. Both of them improved as first-year starters last season as wide backs,” Forste said. “We graduated two standout center backs in Jon Oliphant and Dylan Renkoski, and finding the right pairing to replace those two will be a priority for us as we head into the first week of practice.”
With Littlefield in goal, Forste will look for his team to be more potent in the attack to give him a lead to work with.
“Goal scoring will be a priority for us in training sessions this fall,” Forste said. “We have got to convert more chances both in the run of play and on set pieces. I have all the confidence in the world that our guys can get there. We’ve got quite a bit of talent with our attacking pieces, we just need to build a little more chemistry and to finish with more composure.”
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Cassville will travel to McDonald County for a jamboree on Aug. 23 with the host Mustangs and Aurora before opening the regular season with its home tournament Aug. 30-Sept. 3.
“I think this group can both make a run at a top-three conference finish and be a live-wire in district play,” Forste said. “Four of last year’s losses to conference teams were by one goal, and we lost at Monett after we had scored first. If we can add timely scoring to the physicality and intensity our boys play with, those tight losses will start turning into wins this fall.”
