Despite graduating six starters and 12 total players from last year’s team that finished with a 14-10 record and a defeat in the district title matchup, the Carthage boys soccer team brings back a bevy of experienced players and welcome several new players who are all committed to getting the Tigers to that next level of competitiveness in 2022.
“This is the most committed group I’ve had during the summer in several years,” Carthage soccer coach Jacob Osborne said to SoMo Sports. “Most of our varsity players came to all of the workouts. We consistently had over 60 players coming each week. They are very hungry for the season to start.”
The Tigers welcome back six seniors—MF George Laytham, D Kleverzon Paz, MF Eric Garcia, F Neyzer Ramos, F Jorge Mendes and GK Julio Lopez.
“George has been a standout player for us for the past two seasons,” Osborne said. “Physically, he sticks out because of his height (6-foot, 3-inch), but his play causes him to stand out as well. He is very smart and skilled. He usually plays defensive midfielder, but he has the ability to both create opportunities and to score goals from outside the box.”
Also back at the varsity level are juniors Welle Welle, MF Henry Hernandez and F/D Silas Laytham.
“Welle will be one of the very top players in our area this season,” Osborne said. “He is a special player who is one of the most-talented kids to come through our program. Something unique about Welle is how versatile he is. He mostly played as a striker last season and finished the year as our leading scorer with 15 goals, but he also was our best defender so he would play center back in certain games.
“He is talented enough to be an offensive player of the year for our district or region, but he has the talent where if he plays as a defender he could also be the defensive player of the year for our district or region. … He will likely see time in all central roles between striker, midfield, and defense. … He is also our leader. He has potential to be one of the best leaders we have had. He has a very positive attitude and he brings an energy to games and practice that can be infectious.”
With a large senior class a year ago, that means there will be several new faces making the varsity squad for the Tigers—senior D Charlie Snow, senior D Nestor Vasquez, junior MF Anderson Reyes, junior MF Bryan Ordonez, junior D Danilo Lopez, junior D Edson Lopez, junior D Marvin Najera, junior GK Isaias Tello, sophomore D Eri Mendez and sophomore MF Aldo Sanchez.
And while it might take a few matches at the varsity level to gain enough comfortability, Coach Osborne believes it won’t take long for the newcomers to make an impact as they get up to speed.
“We had 12 seniors last season so we have a lot of unfamiliarity within our squad,” Osborne said. “It will take some time for our team to gel while we also try to figure out what combinations work best. I believe in the players we have to figure it out once they get some time and games under their belts.
“I expect there to be an adjustment period. We will have to have several players that will have to take on much larger roles, but I believe they are ready to. We have talented players that have shown up with great attitudes. With how many players we lost from last year, I believe some teams could overlook us, but I think we can surprise some teams because we still have a lot of talent and they appear to have the right mindset.”
Carthage opens the season on the road, traveling to Republic for a 6:30 p.m. matchup on Thursday.
“I believe the biggest keys will be whether we get enough kids to step up into the bigger roles that are now available,” Osborne said. “I believe the players are ready for it, but we have to go out and show that we are.”
