By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Willard boys’ soccer team completed another successful season in 2020, but came up just short in its goal for the Class 3 District 11 championship.
The Tigers, who finished the 2020 season with a 16-8 overall record and 6-3 in the Central Ozark Conference (tied for third), are no strangers to the big game. They have competed for a district championship four of the last six years, winning it all in 2019.
“I thought the season went very well last year,” said first-year Willard head coach Jamie Waddell, who previously served as an assistant for both the boys’ and girls’ teams. “We were all disappointed in our district loss. We felt we had a very strong chance at winning the title, but Bolivar played a very good game.”
And like other teams in southwest Missouri, the Tigers had to deal with the inconsistency of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“COVID made a run through our team about halfway through the season,” Waddell said. “We went a couple of games without some of our starters, but our kids responded well and we were able to maintain a strong showing at all those games.”
The 2021 Tigers will be without Shea Spirk, Joseph Lupescu, Will Johnson and Trevor Highley, who were lost to graduation.
Spirk, Lupescu and Johnson all were named to the Class 3 District 11 first team in 2020.
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“We lost a lot of players from last year’s team,” Waddell said. “We were pretty senior-heavy and all the players from last year will be extremely missed. They were a close group of players and all provided the senior leadership that teams need to be successful.”
A couple of key returnees the Tigers have are junior forward Caleb Kuchta, an all-conference second-team selection, and Jessee Owens, a senior forward who earned all-conference honorable mention honors.
“Caleb has an unbelievable desire to be the best player on the field,” Waddell said. “He works extremely hard at practices and has become a true leader for our program.
“Jessee has an awesome touch with the ball. His speed is going to make it difficult for other teams to defend him. He does a great job of trying to work the ball to his teammates.”
Waddell also will be looking to newcomer Chris Massey, a junior goalkeeper, to make an impact this season.
“Massey is extremely athletic and has a nose for the ball,” Waddell said. “He is very fundamentally sound in his keeper technique.
“With losing a lot of seniors from last year, we are going to be very young on the field. Everyone is going to be asked to step up and provide something new for this program.”
Waddell said he has been encouraged by the Tigers’ summer workouts.
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“Our summer has been great,” Waddell said. “Most of the players are coming every day to offseason and working very hard. We have been working a ton on ball skills and footwork. Also, we are spending a lot of time in the weight room.”
Not only will the varsity Tigers be young in 2021, but they also are learning a new system under their new head coach.
“The kids have bought into it so far and we are excited to see it in action this season,” Waddell said. “Our biggest strength might be our desire to be successful. Even though we are young, the kids have done a great job of pushing themselves to make this a successful season.”
Willard will be hosting a jamboree that includes Fair Grove, Hillcrest and Laquey on Aug. 23 before beginning the regular season in the Sedalia Tournament on Aug. 27-28.
“Our expectation is to get back to the district championship game,” said Waddell, who led the Willard Lady Tigers to a district title last spring. “The kids have worked very hard this offseason and not getting to that game would be heartbreaking.
“We play a very tough schedule and the COC is a very difficult conference. We will have to play our best in all our games this season.”
