Lancaster boys soccer off to one its best starts in recent memory

LANCASTER – The Lancaster boys soccer team is off to one of their best starts in recent memory.

The fact the Golden Gales only had 28 players come out for the team has almost galvanized them and made them even stronger.

“We have five seniors, and all of them are returning varsity players,” Lancaster coach Matt Pentiuk said. “Guys like Payton Stewart, who is an effort guy that works his tail off, our keeper, Dave Rader is phenomenal, and Nathan Kunzler, another four-year varsity player, all of those guys have led us.

“We’ve been working on our quality because we don’t have a lot of numbers. We only had 28 guys come out for the whole program, and we go against teams like the Pickerington North, who has 60 guys come out every year Gahanna has 70 and Olentangy has over 100, so we have to work twice as hard to be fit and use our strengths to compete against our opponents.”

Lancaster defeated Hamilton Township, 8-0, on Tuesday to improve its record to 7-2-1.

“We have had a great start to the season, but the key is just coming into each game and making sure we are ready to play,” Pentiuk said. “We stress how little opportunities you get. There are 16 games, and one tournament game are all you are guaranteed. Every single night you step on the field you have to be ready to go right from the first whistle. These seniors have really embraced that.”

Stewart said the seniors wanted to make sure everyone on the team felt like they had a role, and because of that, the chemistry has been through the roof, which has resulted in more wins.

“We knew nothing would be given to us and that we would have to work hard for everything,” Stewart said. “During the entire offseason, the five seniors really tried to push everybody on the team. Last year, the seniors pushed each other and not the whole team, and we struggled. We wanted to make sure we pushed everyone and get them involved because that’s what wins games, everyone on the same page and playing together.

“You could see a difference right away. We have great chemistry, we talk, and we are confident with the ball. You can just see younger guys playing with so much more confidence. We work hard in practice, and you could just see the trust we have for each other.”

The mix of great senior leadership – Spencer Deuscher and Kaleb Goodyear – are the other seniors, there is also a talented group of underclassmen.

In the 8-0 win over the Rangers, four sophomores scored all the goals. Dylan Igo led the way with four goals and Phillip Slater had two, Jaxon Bunting and Trystan Goodyear had a goal each.

Earlier, in a 2-0 win over Licking Heights, Stewart scored both goals, and in a 3-0 win against Newark, he also had a pair of goals.

“We had a really good camp and preseason, so coming into the season we knew we had something special, and once it got rolling, it kept rolling,” Pentiuk said. “It is a good start for us, probably the best start Lancaster has had in the last 10 years.”

The players were also excited to be playing on the new turf field and feel it gives them a home-field advantage. They liked the setting on the hill and the atmosphere it had, but the playing surface wasn’t the best.

“It is a lot more dependable, and everything is a standard, and it is an advantage because it is a wide pitch,” Pentiuk said. “We play other people who aren’t used to it, and we use that to our advantage. We practice on it, so we are ready to go, and opposing teams aren’t used to how fast it is. Up at the old field, it is a great setting, but the field itself was tough because it was bumpy, and you never knew how the ball was going to bounce, this way it rolls consistently and the guys like it a lot.”

Stewart added, “It was hard to dribble and pass on the old field. We knew we would play better on the turf, plus you can do more fun things on the turf. It has definitely been to our advantage playing on it.”

The fact that Pentiuk stressed to the players to take advantage of every game because they are only guaranteed 17 games, the players have taken that to heart. Add in a new field and a priority to play as one, and it has given the program a spark. The results speak for themselves.

“We play like it’s going to be the last game we ever play, and that’s never happened before,” Stewart said. “It’s made a huge difference.”

twilson@lancastereaglegazette.com

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