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Poplar Bluff soccer team gets in shape, set on improvement
The Poplar Bluff soccer team has been working on conditioning so much during the preseason that one of the players thought they could keep up with the cross country team.
The soccer Mules met the challenge earlier this week by doing a workout on the track with their running classmates.
“We’re doing a lot more conditioning, we’re adding that in segments and making sure we do that every practice before the first game,” Mules soccer coach Rusty Crafton said. “So we’re hitting conditioning hard this year.”
With a large group of returning players, and just three seniors, the Mules look to utilize their depth and wear down opposing teams.
Last year, the Mules finished 4-19-1 after winning three of their first seven. They were shutout 11 times and lost four one-goal games but after losing 4-0 to Jackson earlier in the season, Poplar Bluff fell 2-0 to the Indians in the district semifinal.
Poplar Bluff, which will host the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 tournament in November, opens the season Tuesday at Union.
“We got a lot of players back that are experienced,” Crafton said. “If we can put it all together I think will I think we’ll be kind of a dangerous team later on.”
Much of that experience is in the back starting with junior keeper Justin Moses and seniors Gage Rowland and Ethan Tucker. Quinn Johnson, a junior, also returns to outside back with sophomore Brady Robertson.
Moses made 19 saves in the district semifinal against Jackson, which went on to win the title for a third straight season.
Rowland has the ability to win the ball in the air, Johnson sees the field well and Tucker is the leader of the back line, always pushing forward, Crafton said.
Poplar Bluff’s only other senior, Noah Kanell, is in the midfield with junior Tommy Holland and sophomores Hayden Pinderski and Maliek Clinton.
Parker Nagy, a junior, can move between the midfield and forward, Crafton said, with sophomore Zak Lipsey and junior Alex Ketcherside up top.
The roster features juniors Eduardo Corona, Colin Scobey, Marquis Johnson, sophomores Chandler Beaton, Dalton Teague and freshmen Landen Maurer and Lucas Robertson.
The junior varsity team features eight more sophomores and seven more freshmen.
“Two things we really want to focus on is leadership and just working together as a team,” said Crafton, noting that the seniors and a handful of juniors are stepping into those roles.
Along with the conditioning, the team has been working to reduce injuries with stretching and having the proper shoes for playing on the turf field at Mules Stadium.
Injuries played a role last season but it also gave younger players an opportunity to gain varsity experience.
“We got a great core of guys this year,” Crafton said.