The soccer season begins soon for many local public schools as they begin their race through the regular season to the playoffs.
Here’s a look at the upcoming seasons for Starkville and New Hope.
Starkville
Starkville begins its 2025 boys soccer campaign tomorrow at Saltillo under the leadership of head coach Evinn Watson in the sixth year of his tenure.
Watson coached the Yellow Jackets to a 14-5 record last year that includes a 4-3 first-round playoff victory over Oxford and a 3-0 second-round loss to eventual Class 7A champion Madison Central. The team saw the departure of six seniors from last season, two of whom, Brandon Shaffer and Tony Shin, were the team’s leading scorers, and now it’s up to a handful of seniors and a much younger set of Yellow Jackets to follow up with another deep playoff push.
“We’ve already been talking about it, especially at the beginning of the season we have some weaker games against some smaller schools and different things like that, so we want to get some of these guys some playing time,” Watson said. “See who wants to be on the field and who wants to work hard and help us out once we get to district play.”
Seniors Cole Sarrette and Silas Walker and junior Alejandro Camarena-Silva have been playing soccer for the Jackets since the seventh grade and will be running the midfield for Starkville this season.
“They kind of know how I want to play and know the style we want. I’ve entrusted them with a lot of trust to run this team and run the midfield,” he said.
Seniors Scott McDonnall and Jackson Eaves will also play a prominent role due to their versatility.
“They can go up the field on offense or they can sit back if we need them to defend, so they are very moveable across the field. I can play them at striker, winger or I can move them back and play them over at centerback for me. It just depends on what we need. I think those five guys will be very important for us this year in our success.”
Senior Kadin Childress will be playing goalie for the Jackets in his first time at that role, but has been playing soccer at Starkville for three years.
“(Childress is) a very athletic guy. It’s his first year starting, so we’re excited to see what he’ll bring to the table,” Watson said. “A great shot-stopper, (he) hasn’t played soccer for very long but (is) a wonderful shot-stopper for what he is and we’re just trying to get his technical ability up to what his shot-blocking ability is. He should be a good piece for us, and hopefully he steps up this year.”
The mission this year for the Jackets is to get back into the postseason for another playoff run, even if it looks a little different getting there. They are not happy with a second-round exit.
“So with us losing a couple of guys, at first they had their heads down, but as we’ve talked and gone through the preseason they’re starting to realize that we’ve got a lot of talent on this team,” Watson said. … “I think this year will be more of a team. We don’t really have to depend on one or two players. I think everybody has equal talent and we have a bunch of role players that are going to step up. We’re going to have great chemistry. I just think if everybody buys in and does their job I think we can have a very successful season and keep going on what we’ve been building here the past few years.”
New Hope
The soccer season at New Hope kicks off on Nov. 4 at Amory with both the boys and girls team seeking to build upon last year’s playoff finish by making a deeper postseason run.
Head coach Andrew Olson, who coaches both squads, is entering his 10th year at the helm of Trojan soccer and will field a fairly young squad for the boys team. The team finished last season with an 11-10 record and a 3-1 loss to Greenville in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.
Only three seniors and two juniors are returning from that team and the rest of the team are sophomores and freshmen, which is not necessarily a bad thing, Olson said.
“There’s going to be a good bit of sophomores starting for us this year, which a lot of them saw some action last year, so they got to experience some minutes last year,” he said. “So, I’m looking forward to having this new team going forward.”
Rivers Holland, who Olson said he expects to “have a good year,” will play wing for the Trojans. Kyle Baird will be in the midfield, and sophomore Miller Moon brings starting experience to the backline.
“Of course we have other pieces all around, but I’d say those three guys I’m expecting a good year from them,” Olson said.
Sophomore Carter Pack will be protecting the net for the Trojans. He played on the field last year but is adjusting appropriately, Olson said.
“I think with these younger guys coming in, I think we’ve focused a lot on just being a little bit more technical in playing the ball out of the back, and I think the guys I have back there are more than capable of doing it, and they had some minutes last year,” he said. “So I think all-around, that’s what we’ve been trying to strive for – everybody being better around the ball no matter if you are playing outside back or you’re striker. We want consistency all the way through. I think the guys have put in the work and hopefully it shows when we start the season next week.”
Most of his team plays for travel clubs in the offseason, something Olson hasn’t seen happen early on in his coaching career at New Hope, and that’s another reason why he believes this team can come out and start the season strong despite its overall youth.
“I think that’s helped a lot of them just being able to get reps, just not in school ball, but also playing in the spring, trying new things, playing for travel teams, and in return I can tell it on the field with everybody being more quality on the ball, being more comfortable with the ball at their feet,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest difference that I’m starting to see.”
The girls team for the Trojans is coming off a 14-8 season that ended with a 5-0 loss to Lafayette in the North half championship. Only two seniors were lost on that team and most of their playmakers are returning.
Roni Kate West and Anna Nabors, the team’s two leading scorers and Pearl River Community College soccer commits, are returning for their senior seasons, and the squad is aming to break through the semifinal barrier this season.
“I full wholeheartedly believe that we can make it back there,” Olson said. “It was a tough loss for them last year. We didn’t end the season like we wanted to, but in a way that’s kind of motivated us all offseason. We know we’re a better team than what we did at North half, so that’s kind of been our motivation that we strive for to get back to the point. We know that we have to work a little bit harder and we have to put a little more time in, so the girls have been super focused this offseason trying to get back to that point.”
Caledonia
Caledonia began its soccer season on Monday against Ripley where the boys team won 3-1 and the girls team captured a 9-0 victory.
Emma Parham, Eden Gentry led the team with two goals each, and Kara Whalen, Caroline Harmon, Layla Purtell, Mary Briggs Studdard and Abi Capelle each scored one goal.
For the boys team, Paxton Fawlkes had two goals and JW Gallman netted one score. The Cavaliers host Itawamba Agricultural tomorrow for their next game.
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