Mt. Vernon’s Zach Johnson heads the ball away from New Palestine’s Cohen Winton at Mt. Vernon High School on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021.
The Daily Reporter file photo
FORTVILLE — All the ingredients for a successful season are in place.
Mt. Vernon’s boys soccer team has veteran leadership with 13 of 19 players being members of the senior class.
The Marauders have a strong defense with the return of their entire starting back line of Ethan Tucker, James Cripe, Carsen Brandon, and Dawson Wagner. Senior goalkeeper Bryce Glazier is another top returnee.
Back to aid the offense is Zach Johnson. He was the Marauders leading goal scorer in 2021 with 15. Senior Brennan LaBelle scored six goals and led the team with seven assists.
“We’re pretty excited,” Mt. Vernon head coach Matt Mayhew said. “We set lofty goals each year. We’d like to think we’re going to be able to compete for a (Hoosier Heritage Conference) and a sectional title. We made it to the sectional final last year and lost to a good East Central team. Our goals are always to get back there and have that chance to compete for a sectional title.”
Mt. Vernon finished 11-7 and 4-3 in the HHC. They placed fifth in a well-balanced league. Four teams tied for first with 5-2 records. The Marauders had their share of wins over those top teams. They finished the season strong by winning four in a row prior to the loss to East Central.
“It’s big for us (to have a veteran team),” Mayhew added. “The majority of the seniors, last year was their first year on varsity. They made the jump up from JV. There was a little learning curve and they took some early knocks. They are excited to get going.”
The Marauders lost five seniors from last year’s team, including Tyler Webb who was close behind Johnson with 13 goals. Jordan Small is gone after scoring a pair of goals and dishing out five assists.
Senior Evan LeRoy and junior Nick Heitman are a pair of veteran returnees that were multi-goal scorers. Both had three goals and three assists in 2021.
Tucker, Brandon, Wagner and Johnson were the top four in minutes played.
In 17 games in goal, Glazier had 140 saves and had a goals-against average of 1.638 per match. He also had three shutouts.
“We have guys that have been around for a while and a good freshman class came in,” Mayhew said. “Watching the older guys blend with the younger ones is pretty exciting to see.”
“These guys do a lot on and off the field,” the coach added. “They are a close-knit group. We’ve got good leadership and guys that can mentor our younger ones.”
The Marauders will be tested early. The season begins Saturday with a home match against Hamilton Southeastern, ranked No. 11 in the final Class 3A poll in 2021.
The HHC opener is Aug. 20 at New Castle.
“Our conference, on any given night, anybody can beat anybody,” Mayhew said. “We’re excited to get started. Opening up with HSE, usually a top 10 team in state, will be a good test to see where we’re at coming out of our summer workouts and the first two weeks of practice.”
