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Sports

Lansdowne Boys Soccer Adjusting in More Ways Than One

After a few years of relatively easy regular season competition, a thin Vikings squad, numbers wise, is facing off against tougher opponents in 2011.

After 28 wins over the past three seasons, including a 10-3 mark in 2010, Lansdowne boys soccer was just getting used to coasting past opponents with raw talent and unmatched speed.

However, with overall numbers in the program dropping combined with a bump into a tougher division this season, head coach Matt Kohel was well aware this year’s squad would have to overcome some growing pains. 

Eight games into to their 2011 campaign, the Vikings stand at 3-4-1, and although they’ve already lost more games than they did all of last year, Kohel already sees a squad he believes will be better tested come the post season.  

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Sometimes for a team used to winning, it’s not easy to see the big picture.

“I’m trying to get that through to the boys after walking through our division the past couple years,” Kohel said. “The teams we are facing are preparing us for the playoffs rather than playing the weaker teams in Division 3 and not get any better from them. Of the four years I’ve been in the program, I’ve seen the most growth this year.”

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Still, a tougher group of opponents is hardly the only challenge the Vikings have tackled this year. With only 28 total players in the varsity and JV programs combined, both teams have struggled to keep players fresh from game to game. Kohel said that several players currently on the JV would have had no problem competing on the varsity level had there been a stronger turnout this year overall.

As a result, Kohel’s been forced to hold players off the varsity just to keep the JV squad alive.

Meanwhile, with limited numbers, several players have been forced to adapt to positions they aren’t nearly as comfortable playing. Just recently, Lal Hgnet, the team’s strongest defender switched spots to solidify Lansdowne’s midfield unit, while Adolfo Calmo—the team’s assist leader from a year ago—has had to spend several games in goal. 

Not to mention, with 14 players on the roster, kids are going to get tired.

Kohel pointed to the Towson game a couple weeks ago when his squad hung with a tough Generals team for a 0-0 first half tie before tiring out in the second half and falling 4-0.

“I run them in practice as much as I can, but it’s not the same as 40 minute halves in a real game,” Kohel said. 

Fatigue aside, the coach is very impressed with the improvements his squad is making so far this season and no longer solely relying on “kick and run” soccer. Instead, the Vikings are communicating better as a unit, making more accurate passes and using better angles to initiate their attack.

And, in Tuesday’s loss to Loch Raven, one positive was the solid play of junior goalie Abednego Anyaoha, whose performance earned him a spot on the varsity at midseason last year, but has split time with Calmo out of necessity in 2011.

Offensively, the Vikings have been led by seniors Nestor Martinez and Guillermo Mocteczuma, as well as juniors Vincent Anikas and Miguel Colin.

Kohel also credits Anikas and Peter Flores with stepping up as leaders on the field, a huge void left by departed senior Jordan Thomas from a year ago.  

Lansdowne still has a long way to go and some more adjusting to do, but there’s no doubt in Kohel’s mind that he’ll have a team much better equipped to make a deep post season run.

“It’s tough when you’ve got so many guys that play only a couple positions and you can’t play them out of position because they are lost,” Kohel said. “[But], I’ve seen improvements every time we’ve gone out there.”

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