By Chris Parker
Five starters and eight lettermen return for a Lebanon soccer program coming off an 8-18 season.
Replacing the graduated starters is a top task in the early going.
“We graduated a lot of starters from last year, so getting our team to gel will be a key early in the year,” Lebanon head coach Matt Jernigan said. “We have the talent to compete, but we will have to figure out where everyone fits best on the field.”
Will Hodges (senior) and Trent Penner (junior) return at forward. Penner had nine goals and three assists last season while Hodges contributed five goals and five assists.
Junior Tyler Jones along with seniors Aidan Ziehr, Gavin Ziehr and Edward Lee will be in the midfield. Lee led that group with three goals last season.
Curtis Frazier (senior), Ryan Hodges (senior) and Noah Hinson (junior) will be key defenders. Frazier and a one goal and assist as a junior.
The keeper position is open, but AJ Brown returns where he could play keeper or in the field.
Frazier and Hodges will fill key leadership roles.
“We have several players who will be looked at in leadership roles this year,” Jernigan said. “Seniors Curtis Frazier and Will Hodges have varsity experience and will be looked at as leaders by the underclassmen to guide the team. We also have some underclassman that are ready to step up into the varsity game and take leadership roles.”
Penner, Jones and Frazier have also had strong offseason improvements.
“Junior Trent Penner has improved a ton since last season. He has been playing club soccer all year long and has gotten stronger as well. We are looking for him to have a breakout year,” Jernigan said. “Junior Tyler Jones is also one to watch this year. He has played really well this summer and is looking to step into a bigger role on the field this fall. Curtis Frazier is also a player who is ready to lead. He has been the rock at our off-season workouts and leads by example.”
Lebanon will look to use its athleticism to its advantage.
“We will have an athletic team this year,” Jernigan said. “We will look to pressure teams and get forward quickly. We hope to use our speed to keep teams off balance and be able to defend at a high level.”
Lebanon opens the regular season Aug. 29-30 at the Marshfield Kickoff Tournament.
“We expect to see improvement throughout the season and be playing our best soccer at the end of the year,” Jernigan said. “Being in the COC, we know that we will see a high level of competition night in and night out. We want to be competitive each night we step on the field and play with purpose.”
