Transition year won't stop Bulldogs from playing their style soccer
Whitefish players Jackson Dorvall, left, and Rye Duffy, right, battle to get control of the ball during a drill at soccer practice on Monday. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Bulldog Ramzi Maaliki works to get the ball around Jack Grant during a drill at practice on Monday. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Though it feels great to start a new season coming off of a big 3-2 win over Columbia Falls in the State A Championship, the Bulldogs are focused on the season ahead.
The squad is different than last year — Whitefish graduated 10 seniors who made a huge impact on the field — but different isn’t a bad thing.
“It’s an exciting newness, but nobody is stepping back into the last role that they played, that’s a bit of a transition for us,” Whitefish head coach John Lacey said. “We have not had that degree of change over the last 4 to 5 years.”
“It’s a great group of guys… they’re all really committed. They’re excited to be a part of it,” Lacey added.
Though the team will not rely heavily on one player or another, there are a few guys who played significant minutes on the varsity team last year that are sure to make an impact.
Whitefish has four seniors, though unfortunately lost Ford Thompson to a knee injury. The seniors on the field will be Teague McDonald, Jack Peppmeier and Ethan Schott. Lacey says that Schott has a big opportunity in front of him as the team’s senior goalkeeper. Schott was backup to Whitefish keeper Will Peppmeier over the last couple of years and now it will be his job to take over.
Peppmeier’s last-second penalty kick save in the State A championship game last year is still fresh on the minds of everyone on the team and Schott has the chance to continue that momentum while coming into his own as the top goalkeeper.
“Now it’s Ethan’s turn to step into that spot in the net,” Lacey said. “Being a senior I know he’s going to be excited and ready for that.”
The Bulldogs also return juniors Collin Lyman and Ryder Elliott who played significant minutes with the varsity squad last season. Lyman found the back of the net plenty of times playing up top, and Elliot was the one who had the assist on the game-winning goal in the championship.
“He (Elliot) is just poised to keep getting better and better,” Lacey said. “We’re excited with the whole group.”
With 13 new freshmen entering the team, there is a lot of young talent to come up through the program over this season and the next few years.
Whitefish also added a new assistant to the coaching staff. The Bulldogs will get to learn from Eric Sawtelle who is a high school teacher and a former head soccer coach at Flathead High.
The Bulldogs will face Lockwood at Smith Fields on Friday at 6 p.m. to start the season. Then will travel to East Helena on Saturday.
