By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Camdenton Lakers have great expectations for the 2023 season after leading the program to its first winning season since 2015 last year.
“I thought our 2022 season was a total success and a huge turning point for our program,” said coach Tyler Sevon, who enters his ninth year at Camdenton. “We had our first winning season since the fall of 2015 and returned almost every player from last year’s squad. We will be very deep this year and will have flexibility in our lineup with how many juniors and seniors we have that are quality players.”
The Lakers, who finished 14-13 overall and 4-6 in the Ozark Conference, return the bulk of their lineup from last year’s squad, including Camdenton’s single-season record holder for goals scored.
Nicholas Pasley, senior, midfielder – Scored 6 goals with 5 assists; earned Class 3 All-District 5 first team and All-Ozark Conference honorable mention honors. “Pasley is our playmaker and so often had the assist to the assist last season,” Sevon said. “He sees the field so well and looks to go forward with pace.”
Amado Banos, senior, midfielder – 2 goals, 5 assists. “Amado has a very gifted skill set on the wing and is dangerous when he cuts in to shoot.”
Josiah Ketchum, senior, defender – 1 assist. “Josiah is our strongest 1v1 defender on the field and is excellent in the air. He is also a team captain.”
Clayton Capps, senior, goalkeeper – 152 saves, 2 shutouts. “Clayton was solid protecting our goal last year and should be even better this year.”
Jackson Basham, senior, forward – 30 goals, 9 assists; named Class 3 All-State first team, Class 3 All-Region, Class 3 All-District 5 first team, All-Ozark Conference first team and Ozark Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year. “Jackson led our team in goals and assists and his breakaway speed always makes him a threat to score. He has gotten so much more technical on the ball and his shot is always improving.”
Daniel Skinner, senior, defender – “Daniel is a great physical defender that will never stop working hard.”
Lukas Farthing, senior, midfielder – 1 goal, 3 assists. “Lukas has a great skill set and will look to improve even more this year.”
Cyres Mathes, senior, defender – “Cyres is a strong defender and never backs down from a Challenge. He is definitely a leader on our team.”
Garrison Thompson, junior, defender – 6 goals, 5 assists; a Class 3 All-District 5 first-team and All-Ozark Conference second-team selection. “Garrison is one of our captains and he can do everything. He played center back and was still one of the top scorers and assist makers.”
Donovan Parker, junior, midfielder – 2 goals, 1 assists. “Donovan was the leader of our best JV in program history last year and looks really strong to start this year on a wing.”
Logan Day, junior, midfielder – 1 goal, 1 assist. “Logan dealt with injury at the beginning of last year and is set to have a good year dictating in the midfield for us.”
Krasi Petrov-Diaz, sophomore, midfielder – 5 goals, 8 assists. “Krasi is an explosive player that will only continue to improve with more playing time on varsity.”
Josh Brown, sophomore, midfielder – 5 goals, 5 assists. “Josh is an excellent passer and can score when he needs to. I expect him to have a breakout season.”
“We lost eight games last year by one goal and four of those were in overtime or penalty kicks,” Sevon said. “We were much more competitive overall, and I think we have the mental toughness to win a lot of those one-goal games this year. I believe this year’s group will learn from those tough losses and mistakes that we were making and continue to improve even more.”
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Sevon will be looking to a few newcomers to make some noise on the varsity level this fall.
Corbin Bailey, junior, forward – “Corbin will force his way into the lineup this season after a sophomore year in which he sat out entirely due to a back injury,” Sevon said. “He is dangerous in front of goal and hungry to play.”
Jace Armstrong, freshman, forward – “Jace has looked great in the offseason and is creative with his runs and can finish.”
Logan Figgins, freshman, midfielder – “Logan is very confident on the ball and is already a great passer out of the midfield.”
Camdenton graduated five players, including a couple of all-district honorees, from last year’s squad.
Jase Nickels, midfielder – Scored 5 goals with 5 assists: named Class 3 All-District 5 honorable mention. “Jase brought leadership and a never-quit attitude to our team,” Sevon said.
Carson Holmquist, midfielder – “Carson had an injury-riddled senior year but was always there and very positive to his teammates.”
Caden Kowal, midfielder – 4 goals, 3 assists; Class 3 All-District 5 honorable mention. “Kowal was our hardest worker on the field and would play anywhere he was needed.”
Ayden Banuelos, defender – “Ayden had a good year on the backline and helped us have a stronger defense than in previous years.”
The Lakers will host a jamboree with Bolivar, Branson and Lebanon on Aug. 22, and open the regular season at Jefferson City on Aug. 26.
“The thing that I love the most about this team and the reason I’m so excited to get this season underway is their burning desire to get better and be great,” Sevon said. “They have put in the work and have been doing all of the small, detailed things that you need to do to improve as a soccer player and prepare for a successful season.
“We have so much depth, talent and leadership this year that practice and playing time will be very competitive. Those are things that we haven’t had an abundance of in the past and now that we do, I think it will really force everyone to play at a higher level.”
