Central Oregonian

season in review: boys soccer Cowboys look to build for the future

With just two seniors and three juniors on roster young Cowboys struggled this year, but the future looks brighter

Lon Austin

November 26, 2012

The Crook County High School boys soccer team struggled all year with consistency.

The team finished the year with a 3-11 record including wins over La Pine and Sweet Home. Nonetheless, the team struggled against Special District I rival Ridgeview, and was unable to compete with the more talented class 5A teams in the Intermountain Hybrid Conference.

However, that was understandable. The Cowboys had just two seniors on their roster and were loaded with freshmen and sophomores.

“We were not doing well this year because we have a young team,” said head coach Joel Carrillo. “But the kids are excited for next year. They want to keep practicing and get better.”

Alonzo Lopez was the lone senior to play much for the team. Lopez, who moved from being a defender to the midfield this season, provided a needed early-season scoring punch for the Cowboys. As the season progressed, junior Zane Abrams and freshman Diego Nunez also developed into goal scorers as did sophomore Luis Romero.

Unlike past years, when the Cowboys have had enough players to field both varsity and JV teams, this year there were only enough players for one squad. As a result, Carrillo often found himself shuffling players in an attempt to get everyone experience.

Although that led to inconsistent play this year, Carrillo believes that down the road it will pay big dividends.

“I’m excited to see how they do next year,” he said. “I don’t want them to wait until they are seniors. I want them to show their skills and be strong before that.”

The team’s defense steadily improved as the season went. Add to that the fact that the team scored more goals than the year before even though that team was filled with seniors and Carrillo has reason to be optimistic.

In order to add depth to the program and develop more experienced players, Carrillo has also begun working with a youth traveling team. Many of those players will move into the high school program next year.

“Next year we will still be developing a program,” Carrillo said. “They will still be learning, but when this year’s freshmen are juniors is when we want to prepare for.”

Carrillo added that he intends to continue the youth program which he believes will enable the high school program to continue to improve.

Several players have also been playing soccer in the afternoons, weather permitting. In addition, Carrillo will be having indoor practices at the middle school gym later in the winter.

“I want to motivate these kids to push and develop as much as they can for next year,” he said.