The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate boys’ soccer team is back for another season and this year’s team, led by coach Trevor Gian, is looking to lean on experience in its pursuit of a third straight year atop the 3A Intermountain League (IML).
The team boasts a lot of experience, featuring 17 upperclassmen, five of whom are seniors. Between both varsity and junior varsity, there are 12 juniors on the roster.
“This junior class we have is one of the biggest classes we’ve had,” Gian said. “It’s kind of their time to step up and step into some roles they’ve been preparing for and they’re hungry for.”
There are a lot of Pirates returning from a team that went 11-3-1 overall last year and finished with the top record in league play, going 5-0-1 record in the IML.
Gian emphasized that there will be a mashup of all age groups at the varsity level and there are some sophomores specifically set to make an impact this season.
“They’ve been building together over the last few years, and now it’s their time to kind of put everything there,” Gian said. “There’s no expectations, no egos, no nothing. We’re looking to go out and everybody’s got an opportunity to earn their role.”
Gian emphasized that the experience and togetherness of this year’s team is its biggest strength.
A lot of the starters on this year’s team have been playing together and building together at the junior varsity level, noted Gian.
From a tactical standpoint, Gian expressed he is excited about the creativity that he’s seen so far in practice, especially from the midfielders through the forwards.
He noted he feels like the experience will help him anchor his defense as well.
“Ryder King coming back as a senior, you know, he had a phenomenal junior year, being able to find ways to be creative and seeing some of that [in the] central midfield as well as our outside midfield and throwing the defenders up a little bit will be fun,” Gian said.
Ahead of the start of the season, Gian explained he is focused on just knocking the rust off.
He noted he feels that could be the team’s biggest weakness.
He also mentioned that, tactically, the team hasn’t been able to iron things out until this week because the team had been practicing on a smaller field.
Regardless, Gian emphasized that the first few weeks of the season will be important when it comes to finding the flow of the game positionally while still building as a team.
“Every single training’s been good,” said Gian. “Great attitude, great outlook. Everybody’s hungry, excited. Myself and Coach [Dyan] Rice, we’re both extremely excited to see what this group is going to do this season.”
Schedule
The following schedule was accurate as of press time, but is subject to change.
The Pirates will begin their season with a home game against Piedra Vista on Thursday, Aug. 27, with kickoff set for 4 p.m.
The team won’t play again until Sept. 5, when they’ll host Aztec starting at 11 a.m.
The team will head on the road for the first time on Sept. 11 when they play at Manitou Springs at 4 p.m., and then the following day they’ll travel to James Irwin for a game at 11 a.m.
The Pirates will be back at home on Sept. 18 for a game against Alamosa at 4 p.m. and then head back on the road for a game at Bayfield on Sept. 21 starting at 5 p.m.
They will then play Montezuma-Cortez two games in a row, the first at home on Sept. 24 at 4 p.m. and the second at in Cortez on Oct. 3 at 1 p.m.
The Pirates will host Bayfield on Oct. 8 for their final home game of the season. The game will kick off at 4 p.m.
Their final three games of the regular season will be in Crested Butte at 11 a.m. on Oct. 10, in Alamosa at 6 p.m. on Oct. 13 and in Fruita Monument at 2 p.m. on Oct. 16.
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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