By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The challenges the Branson Pirates faced during the 2022 season could prove to aid the young squad this fall.
“Offensively, we learned how we need to work together and involve as many people as possible in the attack,” said David Brenner, who enters his 16th season as Branson’s head coach. “That experience will really benefit us this year with the majority of our attacking players returning. Half of our goals were scored by underclassmen and those players have put in extra time this offseason to improve those numbers.”
Among the returning players for the Pirates, who finished 8-14 overall and 3-6 in the Central Ozark Conference last season, include Steven Ngyuen, Sean Dailey and Dane Efird.
Steven Ngyuen, junior, goalkeeper – 14 games, 56 saves, 29 goals allowed. “Steven brings so much experience and focus to our goal,” Brenner said. “He is a very skilled player who we will depend on for organizing the team from the back. He has worked incredibly hard this offseason to improve his communication with his team.”
Sean Dailey, junior, forward – Played every match, leading goal-scorer with 12 goals, All-Central Ozark Conference second team. “This year, he will be our go-to up front. This offseason, Sean competed at a very high level and will bring that experience back with him. He is close to moving into the top 20 all-time scoring for us.”
Dane Efird will move into a midfield role to allow him to be more involved in our attack. Dane is our most experienced returning player, and we will look for him to direct us through the middle of the field.”
In addition, Brenner has other players who will be stepping into new or expanded roles.
“Wil Duvall is one of our seniors who will be moving into a center-back role,” Brenner said. “It is a new position for him, but he has taken on the challenge. Several juniors will be asked to step into bigger roles this year, and returning lettermen Cash Hedrick and Eli Estrada will be expected to take more responsibility and leadership.”
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Brenner said the coaching staff expects the Pirates to use the lessons learned from last year to challenge for a conference and district title this season. They do have the task of filling the holes left by all-conference first-team honorees Nathan Bartram (center midfielder) and Houston Myer (center back).
“A quiet leader, we have to replace Nathan’s ability to lead by example,” Brenner said. “Houston was the anchor to a very experienced back line, and we will have to find a way to replace his experience and knowledge with a combination of younger players.
“Even though we will be younger than we have been in recent seasons, this team has experience and a strong focus on what they need to do to be successful. The leaders are doing a great job of keeping the entire team focused on where we want to go.”
The Pirates will participate in a jamboree at Camdenton with Lebanon and Bolivar on Aug. 18, before opening the regular season at home on Aug. 29, against conference foe Neosho.
“We are excited to open our season with a COC match against Neosho,” Brenner said. “We will make a trip to Jefferson City this fall to challenge ourselves against two strong programs (Jefferson City High and Capital City) on the road.
“Our strength this season is going to be the depth we have. The development our experienced players have shown over the offseason combined with our newcomers and their level of play will make for very competitive practices, and we hope that will translate to being more competitive during season.”
