By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Prior to the start of the 2021 season, Rolla boys soccer coach Mike Armstrong predicted the Bulldogs would bounce back from a challenging 2020 campaign on the following schedule.
The Bulldogs would be “competitive” last fall, he said at the time, “and really good in 2022.”
Rolla was certainly competitive in 2021, as the arrival of some key newcomers helped the team finish 13-9 — nearly doubling their win total from the prior year. Those players are now a year older and join an eight-player senior class for a long-awaited and much-hyped 2022 season.
“This year we are going to be good,” Armstrong reaffirmed. “These players have trained for this season all their lives. There is a strong and large senior group that will be leading us. They know it’s their time and they want it. ‘Good’ to me means we win and we win against the better schools. However, how we play is what I’m looking for. When these boys play together, they really show what the beautiful game is supposed to look like. They are fun to watch.”
All told, the Bulldogs return nine starters from the 2021 team. They will be looking to win the school’s first district title since 2019 and head to the Final Four for the first time since 1993.
“I’ve been watching this group of seniors play since they were in middle school and now it’s time to see what they can do,” Armstrong said. “I’m excited for them and really hope they accomplish all their soccer dreams.”
Either accomplishment would mark the first of Armstrong’s tenure with the Bulldogs.
Rolla hired the longtime Waynesville coach after Hall of Famer Mike Howard retired before the 2020 season. The Bulldogs went 7-11-2 in Armstrong’s first year as players adjusted to new roles and a new system, but the growing pains became less common in Armstrong’s second season.
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“The first year we had players in positions that they weren’t used to playing,” Armstrong said. “It was needed to get through the season, but a lot of them were asked to play spots that they were not trained for. The second season we were able to move a lot of younger players up to varsity and those players had all played with each other for a long time. The team just gelled better.”
That translated into a better record.
With just one senior graduating from last year’s team, an even better mark might await this fall.
“This group is very talented and fit,” Armstrong said. “I’m not worried about questions they need to answer. The only thing I’m worried about is if they can come together and put in the work needed to be a champion.”
All-conference midfielder Noah Hatfield has graduated, but five other all-conference players will return. That includes Chance Duncan and Kaleb Dobcinski, who led the team with 10 goals apiece.
Duncan, a senior forward, finished with a team-best 26 points despite missing seven games.
“Chance had a bad injury last year, but he can really be a difference maker for us,” Armstrong said. “Chance is one to watch. He will score a bunch of goals for us.”
Dobcinski, a sophomore, finished right behind Duncan with 25 points in his freshman campaign.
“He is a true finisher and just finds a way to put the ball in the net,” Armstrong said.
Senior Amari Terrell (three goals, team-leading seven assists) and junior Cameron Cooper (five goals, two assists) also earned all-conference honors in the midfield.
Senior Ben Fisher returns to the Rolla net after going 11-6 with a 2.29 goals-against average, rounding out Rolla’s representation on the All-Ozark Conference team.
“In my opinion there isn’t a better keeper than Fisher,” Armstrong said.
Fisher has plenty of help on defense, as seniors Caden Martens, Cal Glissman, Ali Amusafir and Zach Colench, junior Beckham Armstrong and sophomores Aiden Mertens and Kyson Lorts are all competing for jobs.
“Our defense is (our) biggest strength,” coach Armstrong said. “With Fisher in goal and a big, strong back line in front of him, teams are really going to have to work for a goal.”
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If Dobcinski was the team’s breakout offensive star, Lorts had a similar year on defense. He worked his way into a starting job as a freshman – and all signs point to another big year this fall.
“He is a fearless defensive player that is just tough,” Mike Armstrong said. “I expect Kyson to be the center of our defense.”
The Bulldogs are also expecting big things from sophomore Owen Harrison and senior Colin Cahill.
Harrison saw action in 18 games as a freshman, scoring his first two varsity goals.
“He really came on strong at the end of last year,” Mike Armstrong said. “He has had great success with his club during the off season and I think he is ready to compete on varsity. He is very good (at) defense but he can also make great runs up the field.”
Cahill gives the Bulldogs yet another option on offense.
“Colin is an engine for us,” Mike Armstrong said. “He just keeps battling and making things happen.”
Bulldogs fans could also see some new faces on the varsity squad this fall.
“We have had a couple of incoming freshmen that can really play that have been coming to our summer workouts,” Mike Armstrong said. “I’m curious to see how they do at tryouts.”
With so many capable players in the mix, those tryouts are shaping up to be exceptionally competitive.
“It’s a good problem to have and I know the boys are ready to battle for the starting 11,” Mike Armstrong said.
The winners of those battles will ultimately shape Rolla’s starting formation.
“Depending on who we have starting, we could use a few different formations,” the coach continued. “The off-the-ball movement is what concerns me the most. These guys have the creativity to finish and the strength to defend. The who and where still needs to be sorted out.”
Rolla, Washington, West Plains and Waynesville will all compete in an August 23 jamboree at the home of the Tigers. The Rolla Soccer Shootout is scheduled to begin on August 27, and the Bulldogs will travel to Camdenton for their Ozark Conference opener on August 30.
“The goal of Rolla soccer is to win district championships and see how far we can go,” Mike Armstrong said. “Along with that, we want to develop players who can go on and keep playing.”
