After the 2023 season ended for the boys soccer team, Coach Mr. Tyler Schultz and Shaler were notified that they would be dropping down from 4A to 3A in the WPIAL. The boys finished the season with 4 wins, 11 loses, and 1 draw on the season.
The team was plagued with injuries throughout the whole season. At the beginning of the year captain Austin Shaw went down with a torn ACL and ended his season after playing only a handful of games. Senior AJ Ravas and junior Carter Arenth were sidelined towards the end of the season after suffering concussions.
“One of our biggest struggles was staying healthy and keeping consistency on the field. Team chemistry is a real thing that can be overlooked sometimes,” Coach Schultz said. “Developing a sense of connection with each other is an important part of winning. Even down to the last game against Mars, we had some players who started the majority of games, have to sit out due to injuries.”
These injuries also had a lasting impact from a player’s stand point as well.
“Injuries definitely hurt us, we lost a few impactful players throughout the season. We were trying to have a next man up mentality and try to adapt and try to overcome the struggles,” Ravas said.
With six seniors on the team, Coach Schultz had to rely on the underclassmen to perform even if they had never seen the varsity field.
“There are not many 3rd or 4th year letter winners on this current team, so seeing some of the underclassmen perform as well as they did is a promising step in the right direction,” Coach Schultz said.
In four years coaching the boys varsity soccer team, this year is the first time that he has coached a group from freshman year to senior year.
“The time we spent together over the last four years made communication open and fluid between these players and the coaching staff,” Coach Schultz said. “In addition to communication, I knew I could trust these boys to be leaders and exemplify what Titan Soccer means for the underclassmen on and off the field.”
Though the Varsity team didn’t do as good as they would have hoped, the junior varsity team had a record of 11 wins, 2 loses, and 2 draws. The JV team is coached by Dante Ohm, who does a very good job of developing the younger players and teaching them to play the style that Coach Schultz has the varsity players play. Most of the success came from the play of the freshman class.
“It is really cool to see how our younger guys match up with other teams in our section because it could be a preview of years to come,” Coach Schultz said.
With the season coming to an end against Mars on October 15 Coach Schultz is ready to get the team back together in the winter in hopes to make the playoffs in the 2025 season.
“I’m really excited to get to work with the guys who will be returning and see how much we improve. There is a ton of talent on this team that will only get more playing time, practice, and experience under their belts,” Coach Schultz said.
