New season, new roles for Loveland returnees
Despite senior losses, LHS still appears solid in attack, backline
Beyond when outdoor conditions occasionally call for booting the ball across snow-sprinkled grass, the Loveland soccer team must find new footing in more ways than one in 2021.
Amounting to a drastically reconfigured roster, the squad waved goodbye to six regular starters when suffering a first-round playoff knockout in last season’s Class 4A state tournament. In total, LHS loses 59% of its goals, 27% of its assists and a whopping 100% of its saves from a 2019 campaign in which it cruised to a 13-3 record.
But one mustn’t gain the wrong impression. Considering the stigma associated with the following term, you won’t catch head coach Chad Ar thur or any fellow staf f member pegging the upcoming spring as a rebuild.
After all, upon retaining an abundance of talent, by no means does Loveland envision a transition that forces the program to rip ever ything apart while reverting to square one. Instead, though the pieces dif fer, LHS knows it still possesses the components to create a winning puzzle.
“We were senior-heavy last year and have a lot of holes to fill in the lineup now,” Arthur said. “But I definitely wouldn’t call it a rebuilding year. We still have a lot of skill and some experience with that returning. And we have underclassmen that have come along and developed in the offseason. So it’s not a rebuild year. It’s more kind of a year where we have to figure out how to put everything together best.”
Simply put, generating similar results to 2019’s third-place finish in the Tri-valley League will largely depend on how returning assets handle fluctuated duties.
Junior forward Kai Rubin, who tied midfielder/striker Wes Knaus for a team-most 14 goals amid a breakout campaign, exemplifies the aforementioned notion to a tee. In light of Knaus’ graduation, Rubin will surely attract enhanced defensive attention from each of LHS’ nine regular-season opponents. Thus, scoring oppor tunities may not transpire as often for the junior.
Having accrued 36 points as a sophomore, the upperclassman has other ideas for how he can lead the squad in total points for a second consecutive season.
“I’ll probably have two men following me this season,” Rubin said. “I even noticed that star t to happen when I was on the field toward the end of last season. So I think what I need to do is look to dish the ball of f to other players. I think that will be ver y beneficial to us because we have a really strong group of attackers. Whatever we need to do to win is what’s crucial. So I don’t mind giving up goals as long as we’re scoring as a team. Helping the team is all that matters.”
As the selfless starter suspects, there is good reason to believe Rubin will embody graduated midfielder John Roberts’ former function as LHS’ prime facilitator. In other words, because of the accompanying offensive firepower Loveland possesses, electing to pass the ball off frequently may indeed pay the team dividends.
Namely, Arthur welcomes back midfielder Alex Herrera after the sophomore fabricated a flourishing first-year impression via splitting the goalposts on eight occasions (third on the squad).
Plus, for ward Caleb Hall –– who boasted enough talent to crack the starting lineup as a freshman before injuries and LHS’ veteran depth reduced his minutes –– is back in the mix as well.
“Kai is just a pure talent,” Arthur described. “His breakaway speed
“We thought we had some holes on defense to fill. But I’m really excited about how some of those younger guys have responded.”
and touching the ball is really fun to watch. But the key is putting strong talent around him, and I think we’ve got him well-suppor ted in the middle with Alex (Herrera), who just has a motor that doesn’t quit. We have Owen (Thompson) and Caleb (Hall) around him too. We’re gonna give Kai that freedom to attack from wherever he wants. The goal is to let him find space. So, then the trick is to teach the other guys to work around that, especially when he gets doubled.”
Aside from proven contributors settling into foreign roles, Loveland’s circumstance also requires less-established players to rise to the occasion.
Specifically, in light of both star ting goalie Nicolas Barbattini and second-string keeper Christopher Wilhite’s exit, LHS faces a legitimate challenge in net.
However, behind a youthful defense that continues demonstrating its likelihood to hold its own throughout the year, it appears Loveland’s keepers are up for the task.
“We thought we had some holes on defense to fill,” Ar thur said. “But I’m really excited about how some of those younger guys have responded. Replacing Nick (Barbattini) at goalkeeper is gonna be tough. But between Jon (Pettit) and Shane (Toal) at keeper, we should do all right with our defense in front of them. Jon is a super athletic guy who recognized the need and switched over. He’s putting effort into it and Shane has come along to train him. It’s awesome to see.”
Toal and Pettit identified a collective need and worked together to increase LHS’ chances of solving said issue. Though apparent at keeper, that notion applies to how
Loveland has operated in each facet of the game during the condensed preseason.
In fact, as a unit that prides itself on endurance, LHS players began committing themselves to the grind even before commencing its two-week window of official practice.
“We obviously don’t have as much time to practice,” Rubin said. “But we’ve done a lot of team-building stuf f to get ever yone connected and create that chemistry. We’ve also been putting in a lot of work for quite a bit now. Our main focus is conditioning. We’ve been pushing out running during practice and after practice. We’ve been hitting voluntar y gym sessions, even in the offseason. We’re just doing ever ything we can to get prepared for that first game.”
Rubin doesn’t need to convince his coach.
Though LHS’ staff isn’t quite sure where each piece will fit when the team gradually discovers its identity in 2021, Arthur knows players boast the necessar y level of motivation to force together a winning puzzle.
As the coach sees it, his group’s current work ethic has eclipsed what he previously viewed as maximum effort. Amid a coronavirus-influenced year filled with unprecedented challenges, that’s truly all he can ask for ahead of Monday’s season-opening contest at Greeley Central.
“Last Thursday, I told them I haven’t felt as good about a practice in a few years,” Arthur praised. “We brought the kind of energy that we were missing last year, which is why we struggled against the top programs in our league. We got outworked in those tough games. These guys don’t want that to happen again. So they’re listening, they’re working hard, they’re pushing each other. They know the time is short, but they’re taking advantage.”
BERTHOUD SPARTANS
Coach: Zac Traver (fourth season)
Last season: 0-15
Key returners, transfers or freshmen: Bryant Root (Jr.), Gracen Copley (Sr.), Jonah Wyant (Jr.), Kellan Marks (Jr.), Owen Buck (So.), Rikky Coke (Jr.)
Coach’s outlook: “I think this will be one of the best teams we’ve had since I started coaching. The youth has matured and they are ready to get out there and show ever yone how good they can be; I’d say we are at least going to be .500 or more.”
MOUNTAIN VIEW MOUNTAIN LIONS
Coach: Ismael Gallardo (first season)
Last season: 3-12 (0-1 this season)
Key returners, transfers or freshmen: Ryan Connolly (So.), Carter Emsing (Jr.), Ashton Gilber t (So.), Landon Hoey (Sr.),
Coach’s outlook: “I have a young team that is ver y excited to get on the field. My outlook on this season is very positive, with young talent that could put us into fierce competition. I think we will be very successful.”
THOMPSON VALLEY eagles
Coach: Chase Hammen (11th season)
Last season: 7-7-1 (1-0 this season)
Key returners, transfers or freshmen: Wade Mcwhor ter (Jr.), Issac Levin (Jr.), Ryan Charboneau (Jr.), Brady Kennison (Fr.), Owen Fletcher (Fr.), Owen Hallagan (Fr.)
Coach’s outlook: “Last season we graduated nine amazing seniors but have reloaded with an incredibly talented freshman class and some of the best juniors in my 11 years coaching varsity. I believe this group is going to score a lot of goals and make a big impact in our first season in the (Longs) Peak league. It will also be great to return to Ray Patt and play under the lights!”
Chad Arthur Loveland head coach