Story and photos by Chet Piotrowski Jr.

Mattoon boys soccer might have a change in a new coach in Alex Carie, but it will have the same high expectations the program has had under previous coach Ryan Ghere.

“Our goals will always be to compete at a high level in all of our tournaments and in conference,” Carie said. “The main goal is to be playing our best soccer by the end of the season to compete for a regional championship.”

Carie said the team had a good summer while he was getting to know them.

Mattoon’s Evan Chaney battles Effingham’s Maicol Sefton for possession of the ball in a 2-1 loss to the Hearts Tuesday afternoon.

“Our expectations are to be fast, use our athleticism and compete hard in all of the tournaments we are in,” he said reiterating the desire to compete for a regional championship. 

The Green Wave graduated a lot of seniors from the team last year. But Caries said that can’t be an excuse if things go awry, especially with the returning seniors such as Jace Gardner and a talented sophomore class.

“I have high hopes that Jace can take a big jump both in his physical performance and as a leader,” Carie said. “We have a combination of some youth and also returners. We expect the seniors like Jace, Jordan Haugh, and Karson Rice to lead some of the younger guys and show them the expectations that we have for the team.”

The Green Wave were secure in goal the past few years with the now departed Jason Skocy. Camden Jordan will have big shoes to fill in goal with multi-year letterman Jason Skocy having graduated.

“Camden has big shoes to fill in the goal this season,” Carie said. “There will be a learning curve stepping into the goal as a full time starter, with a new defense this season as many of last year’s defenders graduated as well. I am expecting Camden to take a leadership role with the defense and help direct our defense throughout the season.”

With the addition of a new defense, returning defender Korbin Bateman is being asked to take a leadership role with it as well.

“We are working with a new back line on defense with only one starter returning. Korbin Bateman is being asked to lead the defense more than he had to last season,” Carie said. “We have been fortunate to pick up a new senior (James Moore) this season who is playing soccer for the first time. I am expecting James to play a large role with his athleticisms as the season moves along.”

Carie said fans should not be surprised with the performance of the sophomore class.

“The sophomore class has a nucleus that I am excited to see grow this season,” he said. “Much of our season people will talk about us having many returners, however, everyone should not be surprised to see what this sophomore class is going to be able to do this season.”

While relying on the seniors to lead the way, Carie is going to depend on the athleticism of all his players, including the ones playing soccer for the first time.

“Senior leadership is going to be what we need most this season to be successful,” he said. “We have a large group of seniors that if they play well, work hard, and lead the younger players, the rest should fall into place. They have been coached by a great coach in prior years, and we hope to continue the same expectations into this season.”