Baylor boys seek soccer repeat

The last time Baylor played a boys’ soccer match, the Red Raiders shocked the rest of Division II by winning a state championship.

That victory automatically increased the expectations for this year’s team, but as Baylor’s 10 seniors prepare to start their final season, they’re more concerned with how much they expect of themselves.

“The biggest thing is, we want to prove to ourselves that last year wasn’t a fluke and that we deserved to win,” senior midfielder Kelly Smith said. “I feel like the worst thing we can do is go out there and think we’re going to be fine just because of what happened last year.”

Just three seniors were on the field for the Red Raiders last spring when a 1-0 upset over top-ranked Christian Brothers gave them a third state title. Their chances at defending it may depend on how they adjust to the absence of Michael Deere on defense, Baxter Bell in the midfield and John Bradley Murphy up front.

“The three guys we lost were really key guys,” Baylor coach Jimmy Weekley said, “so we’re still trying to sort through who’s going to take their spots. That’s a tough question right now. We’re not set on who’s going to start.

“Every year brings different challenges, but I’m excited about the guys and ready to get the season going so we can start to fix some things that need to be fixed.”

The Red Raiders moved Smith to Bell’s spot and will start a freshman in Murphy’s place, but they haven’t settled on a replacement at Deere’s left back position. But with Danny Van Valkinburgh returning in goal and Chris Wilson playing in front of him, the defense that allowed only five goals last season could be equally tough to score against this year.

And just as defense carried Baylor through last year’s postseason run, it should help the team overcome its lack of a dominant scorer this season.

“We’re not going to score a bunch of goals,” Weekley said. “That’s not going to be our strength, but one thing we can control is to defend in such a way that makes it difficult for people to score. I think the guys recognize that. They’ve worked hard at our defending. It’s not where we want it to be yet, but we’re taking the right steps in that direction.”

Weekley said the Red Raiders have as many as five players they’ll look to for scoring this season, and Van Valkinburgh and his fellow seniors feel good about the underclassmen and newcomers who’ll be taking the field with them.

“We’ve still got a strong team,” the keeper said. “We have a couple of young guys who are going to have to step up, but we definitely have as much talent as last year, if not more. We have good team chemistry and we all work together well.

“I definitely feel like we can do a lot better than we did last year. We can be a more dominant team and finish the close games.”

Baylor finished its state-championship season with just three losses but had five ties along with its 10 wins. And as the Red Raiders try to improve on those marks, they know that last year’s achievement means only one thing for this season.

“It’s just a standard for us to live up to,” Wilson said.