By Matt Turer – mturer@ky3.com
@Matt Turer
Eight all-district selections are returning to Rogersville a season after the Wildcats finished above .500 (13-10) for the first time since 2012.
The Wildcats beat another program on the rise in Aurora in last year’s Class 2, District 12 semis before running into state runner-up Monett in the championship. It remains to be seen whether the Wildcats can compete with Monett if they get back to that point, but this is an experienced roster.
“My expectations are to compete in every game this year,” head coach Brett Wubbena said. “We’ve done well to build up our team from a couple tough years, and now we have a good group that loves soccer and is getting better every day.”
Leading point-getter Oscar Marten (F) is back for his senior year. The Wildcats will drive most of their attacks up top to him at forward.
CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL OF THE FALL SPORTS PREVIEWS
“Marten is an outstanding player that can play anywhere we need him,” Wubbena said. “Even though he’ll play a forward this year, he would be a great midfielder or defender. We need him to score goals this year.”
Junior Ryan Christopher (M) will be key in the passing attack and is said to have improved a lot this offseason.
Head coach Brett Wubbena called junior first-team all-district defenseman JD Kennedy the anchor of his defense. Juniors Cody Bledsoe (D), Garrett Vinson (D) and Cavin Terrell, and senior Luke Willard (M) are also back.
“[All my defenders] have excellent ball-handling skills and the ability to get up and attack, but I need them in the back,” Wubbena said.
Wubbena still considers his group an underdog in the COC-Small, but with a good group back and a good amount of depth, this could be one of the best years Rogersville has had in a while in conference (and district) play.
“Well, we’ve had issues with Springfield Catholic, as many teams have. Bolivar as been tough for us and Marshfield is a good Webster County rivalry game. We have to play our game and force the others to play the way we want them to,” he said. “I think we’re good enough to compete, but until we beat them, we are the underdog.”
Wubbena also commented on the team’s promising offseason—one that saw a lot of participation throughout the summer.
“This group of players love soccer and have a great time competing with each other,” Wubbena said. “This summer has been more about trying to give the kids enough soccer rather than working hard to get them to come out. I like this group of boys.”
Rogersville opens its season on Aug. 22 at home against Branson.
DOWNLOAD THE NEW O-ZONE APP NOW!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FOR APPLE
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID
