Both Evan Whitehead and Payne Barrow vividly remember how quickly last season ended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The now senior center back and senior midfielder were leading the Nederland soccer team on a five-game win streak entering the final week of district play. They Bulldogs were sitting in second place in the standings with an upcoming match against Dayton and an opportunity to play for a district title.
After several postponements by the University Interscholastic League in early March, it was all taken away. The season was abruptly canceled.
With a sour ending to last season, the Bulldogs (7-5-1, 1-0) are now looking to repeat their form and contend for a District 21-5A title this season.
“We were really looking forward to playing that last game and making a far run in the playoffs,” Barrow said. “Last season is something I’ve been thinking about and it’s definitely what I am playing for this season.”
As cliche as the notion of playing every game like it’s the last one has become, for many of the Nederland seniors, it couldn’t ring any more true as many know firsthand the fragility of a season during a pandemic. Many of them know there is not a next season if the pandemic continues to worsen.
“Every game we play this season, we are trying to do our best because we don’t know if it’s going to be our last and trying to make every last one count,” Whitehead said. “It’s my last season, any game could be my last. Any game, they can just cancel the season.”
Nederland is returning nine of its 11 starters, and fourth-year head coach Keith Barrow is confident that with many of his core returning, the Bulldogs can find last year’s form and make up for lost time. In addition to looking to capitalize on an experienced squad, the season symbolizes the development process coming full circle after a couple arduous rebuilding seasons during Barrow’s first two years as head coach.
“We knew back then, it was a rebuilding year and this season is the end of that rebuilding,” Keith said. “The expectations are high and we are all expecting to have a good run.”
Last season, the Bulldogs were a versatile team. Their approach to every game differed depending on the opponent.
If Nederland needed to sit in a compact and organized defensive block, the Bulldogs were capable of remaining disciplined waiting to prey on their opponents’ turnovers in possession. If the game needed for Nederland to dominate the ball for long periods of sustained possession, the Bulldogs were also capable of stringing together passes in order to break down opposing team’s defensive lines.
And this season, Keith doesn’t anticipate changing anything tactically from last year even with three new teams — Crosby, Galena Park and Beaumont United — in District 21-5A. The three new additions to the district are replacing Dayton and Cleveland — two teams that finished in the top three the past two seasons.
But for Keith, the new teams couldn’t be anymore different from Dayton and Cleveland. Crosby and Galena Park specifically are two possession-oriented soccer teams. As a result, the Nederland head coach bolstered the non-district schedule with teams with similar playing styles
“We played some really good 6A schools and 5A schools. We definitely been battle tested,” Keith said. “With teams like Lufkin, Nacagodoches, Klien and Klien Collins, who like to knock it a around a bit, we feel our team defending has been tested and we feel our preseason got us ready for teams like that.”
Keith added he is confident in his team’s discipline defensively because of the number of games the Bulldogs have played against teams who dominate the ball and the team’s experience.
The Bulldogs next district match is against Mid-County rival Port Neches-Groves on Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. Nederland will have its first opportunity to face district newcomer Crosby the next day.
jorge.ramos@beaumontenterprise.com
twitter.com/byjorgeramos
"make up" - Google News
January 27, 2021 at 03:00PM
https://ift.tt/3pIE3Gc
Nederland boys soccer looks to make up for lost season - Beaumont Enterprise
"make up" - Google News
https://ift.tt/361OGde
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Nederland boys soccer looks to make up for lost season - Beaumont Enterprise"
Post a Comment