MORGANTOWN — It is rare that a high school soccer team heads into a season with a central defender — like University senior Jordyn Herter — their leading returning scorer, and when that “Goals Scored” column is a “1” — it’s clear that there likely are offensive challenges to address.
But UHS coach Graham Peace has never backed away from a challenge during his nine-year tenure, as evidenced by last year’s uncharacteristic 9-9-1 season.
“We were absolutely devastated by injuries last year,” he said, “which just didn’t allow us to reach our potential as a team — but I was so proud of our whistle-to-whistle effort all year long, and I believe we achieved to our maximum. And as always, when you are young, it gives players a chance to gain valuable varsity experience that hopefully can translate the following year. We’ll be young again, with the growing pains that accompany that steeper learning curve, but we hope we’ll see the benefits in the future.”
So how does a veteran back like Herter feel about the responsibility that goes with helping four freshmen starters get acclimated to high school soccer, all while defending her own goal and providing 100% of the Hawks’ offensive firepower (we jest)?
“No problem,” she said. “Actually, while we know that offense may be tough to generate — it always is, for every soccer team — I don’t think our defense has any added pressure to keep our sheet clean. We always strive for that, so that’s simply our job. And our formation asks that our wide defenders jump up in transition to contribute to our attack, so basically, we’re going to do what we’re supposed to do.
“We will have to be patient, and not overcommit offensively, but still be ready to capitalize on mistakes. If we can do that consistently, I think we can have a lot of positive results this season.”
For Peace, anytime a rebuilding year arrives, the teaching and learning processes kick into high gear.
“Oh, it’s a very exciting time for us,” he said. “We have 39 girls total and 14 freshmen, many very talented, so it’s an ongoing project, a developmental season. How quickly we learn from our mistakes — and that includes the coaching staff evaluations of where players belong — will determine our success this year. We are already quite blessed with a fantastic group of seniors who are doing a great job of keeping the team positive and helping the underclassmen grow. They’re keeping the UHS soccer family vibe alive and strong, and that’s the most important asset we have.”
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