MEN'S SOCCER RAISES INTENSITY

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

A disappointing quarterfinal shootout loss at home last season has stuck in the minds of the Northwest College men's soccer players, as they return to the field with a number of players from last year's team ready to make a stronger postseason push.

"I think they came back with hunger and desire, because I think they felt disappointment from the quarterfinal game last year," coach Rob Hill said.

Intensity has been the name of the game early for the Trappers, as Hill feels the more than 20 returning players have stepped it up from a season ago.

"The work rate and the intensity is on another two or three levels from last year," Hill said. "I think the experience of those players coming back [is important], they understand what is expected of them, what the standard is, the standard of the region and how the other teams play."

With the leadership of a strong sophomore class, the Trappers have also brought in some freshmen Hill said have adapted well early and matched the intensity of the returners while adding needed depth.

"You can't tell they're freshmen, they instantly settled in," Hill said. "Their work rate is high, their standard is high and they've done a brilliant job of fitting in right away. I'm excited to see what they do."

The team features 30 players, which will lead to a significant competition for playing time while increasing the depth, speed and skill of the Trappers.

With such a large squad, Hill knows there will be a need for significant rotation early in the year to test different lineups and combinations, before hitting the ground fully running in the regular season.

He also knows that once the Trappers hit the main stretch of the season, some players may not receive the playing time they hope for, and Hill is hopeful they realize it is a team sport and will help keep the intensity up.

"Consistency is the key. When you get into the games and some people aren't getting the minutes that they hoped for, I think that's where we've got to make sure that people understand it's a team and a squad," Hill said. "Early on, you might not get as many minutes, but we will probably need you later on, we've got to keep them motivated by understanding that it's selfless. They've got to be selfless in those moments and they've got to remember that each one of them is responsible for preparing the team for those games — if we don't cause problems in practice, we're certainly not going to deal with problems in the game."

Helping keep the team focused and accountable has been that strong sophomore group, which Hill has attributed to a spring campaign that saw the Trappers go undefeated and grow closer.

"I think the sophomores did a brilliant job of connecting in the spring. That was huge. Joe (Hughes) did an unbelievable job of taking that on," Hill said. "They did so many fun things during the winter and then that showed in the spring season where they went undefeated … We had a sophomore meeting early on about them setting the standard, and they've done that. And the freshmen have risen to that, and they're not overwhelmed."

The Trappers defeated a number of four year schools in Montana, some of the same teams they'll open the season against at Trapper Field this weekend.

Northwest opens with a game against Carroll College on Thursday at 4 p.m. before taking on Providence at 1 p.m. on Friday and wrapping up the home weekend with games against Rocky Mountain College at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

"It's brilliant that we're playing all three at home. That's exciting," Hill said. "Three very tough teams, we beat all three of them in the spring. But it's a whole new ball game … We're playing four year schools that have played together for more time than us. Yes, we have more returners, but it's going to be a very tough challenge. The expectations are that we will make errors, but errors that we're able to correct."

Northwest then starts the regular season with four games on the road the rest of August, starting with a pair of opponents in Utah that are likely to be nationally ranked after making the NJCAA National Tournament last season in Snow College on Aug. 21 and Salt Lake Community College on Aug. 23.

Northwest's first regular season home contest will be on Sept. 6 against Central Wyoming.