Season review: York boys soccer

YORK â€" It was a season of ups and downs for the York Dukes boys soccer program in 2019.

The positives included a record of 4-1 during a five-game stretch from April 8 to April 22, three wins via shutout and two gritty victories in shootouts.

The negatives included getting a late start to the season â€" the Dukes didn’t play their first game until March 25 thanks to prolonged nasty weather â€" and beginning the year 1-4. York fell 3-0 in its subdistrict match to Aurora, too, a team the Dukes beat earlier in the year.

York’s schedule didn’t do the Dukes any favors, either. Grand Island Northwest, Lexington, Holdrege and Crete all beat York this season, and every one of those teams are 10-plus win soccer clubs. York’s game with Lexington, one of the top teams in Class B, was rescheduled to 10 a.m. on a Saturday after being postponed â€" that was a tough spot the Dukes were put in.

“I think the season went well. On the surface when you see a 5-7 record it may seem pretty average,” York head coach Chad Mattox said, “but I felt that our strength of schedule really played a factor in that. We played three state-qualifying teams and two others that made the district finals.”

But even with losses to the top teams in Class B, the Dukes still came out and played hard according to Mattox. He saw a lot of positives during a season where it would have been the easy thing to quit, or stop playing hard. That bodes well for the future.

“We have a great group of kids out that want to get better,” Mattox said. “We have many multi-sport athletes that will continue to work hard to become better soccer players. I feel that our program will continue to get better in the future.”

But York will say goodbye to six graduated seniors, including Wyatt Cast, Reid Hoffmann, Sam Kohmetscher, Ben Kowalski, Keelan Osentowski and Luca Struffi. Those six have been very important pieces to the team and most have played a lot of soccer for the Dukes.

“The seniors are definitely going to be missed. We had a fun group that we counted on in a variety of ways,” Mattox said. “Wyatt Cast and Ben Kowalski really never left the field on the defensive side and players like Sam Kohmetscher, Reid Hoffmann, Keelan Osentowski and Luca Struffi did a lot for us on the offensive side. They all were good leaders for us and will be missed by our team for sure.”

But the cupboard isn’t bare for the future teams in York. Dalton Stodieck, Thomas Ivey and Elias Coppinger are three starters that were the top point scorers for the Dukes. Stodieck recorded a team-high 12 points (five goals, two assists) while Ivey had 10 points (four goals, two assists) and Coppinger nine points (two goals, five assists). Stodieck and Coppinger will be seniors next season while Ivey will only be a junior. The starter in net, Chase Collingham, will be a junior, too.

“I really like our team next year. We have 11 kids returning that played extensive roles for us on the team and all figure to improve from one season to the next,” Mattox said. “I’m excited to see players like Elias Coppinger, Noah Jones, Jake Erwin, Ross Fraser, and others take big steps forward next season.

“It helps that we have two young goalies in Chase Collingham and Evan Fraser as well that will continue to push each other to get better as well. We also have some outstanding freshmen coming into the program that will immediately contribute on the varsity level.”

But for the York boys soccer program to keep improving, work and a certain mindset is needed in the offseason. Mattox, who was in his first year as the boys’ coach after guiding the girls team for multiple seasons, mentioned the players already have set times for friendly games this summer, as well as plans to play multiple sessions of indoor soccer thanks to the facilities in York.

“Our kids have to decide if they want to compete at a higher level in the offseason,” Mattox said. “That of course starts with the weight room in the summer, but also by staying active with other sports and finding time to play some soccer.

“The players have all the tools to be successful but they have to decide that they want to get there by prioritizing our soccer program.”

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