Corbin, Whitley Co. soccer teams kicking off fall season this week

Roger Taylor (left) and Armando Cima (right)

This week, high school soccer teams across the state are getting their 2023 seasons underway. In the local area, the Corbin and Whitley County boys and girls teams are all gearing up for another year of competition in the 13th Region’s 49th District.

Redhounds begin new era under Coach Roger Taylor

The defending region champion Corbin Redhounds will have a new head coach leading the charge this season in Roger Taylor, but he is certainly no stranger to the program, playing a large part in its success as both a player and an assistant.

“I started playing at Corbin in 1999,” Taylor said. “I played two years in middle school, and all four years in high school.”

A standout for the soccer Hounds, Taylor earned All-Region honors as a junior and senior, also earning All-State recognition in his senior year. From there, he went on to play for three years in the Naval Academy, and he continues to play in adult leagues to this day.

“This will be my first year taking over for Coach [Armando] Cima after his 30-year career,” Taylor said. “I have been his assistant for the last ten years, and I have learned a lot from him. I just want to take that foundation, and the principles that he has instilled, and carry things forward while putting my own spin on things.”

With most of last year’s starting lineup being lost to graduation, Taylor said this year’s squad will be young, but he also has a lot of faith in their collective ability. “This is a brand new looking team that has put in a lot of work since camp,” he explained. “I think that we have a little way to go physically before we really get to where we want to be, but we have made some big strides tactically.”

Parker Stacy, Logan Wise and Braydon Van were all mentioned as players who would be counted on to provide stability in the weeks and months ahead. John Ball, JP Carmichael, Lucas Gibson and Rizo Cima were also pointed to as needing to find a way to make a positive impact during the fall 2023 campaign.

“Everyone is working within a new system, but I am happy with the attitude of the team,” Taylor added. “They have listened, and they are excited about the upcoming season.

Whitley boys ready to take next step in program’s evolution

Coming into his fourth season as head coach of the Whitley County Colonels, Michael Branham is seeing the benefits of his team’s continued dedication on and off the field.

“We have a lot of determined guys, and they’re passionate about what they’re doing,” said Branham. “They’ve bought in, and they are working toward actual goals in the sport, instead of just being there. They are focused, and really have a mindset of wanting more. They want to grow.”

The Colonels lost a few key players to graduation last year, but will return the bulk of their starters to the roster this fall. This will include leading goal scorer Matthew Sawyers, and Jacob Senters, who led the team in assists in 2022.

Also returning will be Canaan Parsons, who has been reliable in the goalkeeping position for Whitley in recent years, but with other viable options available in goal, Branham said that Parsons could see more time out in the field in his senior season.

“Our defense should be stronger than it has been in a long time,” Branham said. “Overall, we have worked hard in the weight room in the offseason, and we have a lot of guys who have gone to college camps. We should be more prepared than we have been in the past.”

Branham also added that a “make-or-break” factor for the Colonels this fall will likely be their ability to make in-game adjustments, which is something that the team has struggled with historically. With a more invested and veteran-led group taking the field this fall, however, he feels that the time is now for this group to take the next step towards achieving the program’s overarching goals.

“Our mindset this year is that we will be right there with anyone that we play,” Branham said. “We have a balanced schedule, and we will see some new teams. I think we also have a chance to do something in the Kentucky 2A tournament. Overall, I am just really pleased with where we’re at.”

Lady Colonels will be one year older, one year wiser

The Whitley County High School girls soccer team has gone through some changes since last season, with a new name now filling the role of head coach. And while the name may be new, the face certainly is not, as Michael Sawyers will be taking the place of his wife, Kelly Sawyers, as the team’s head coach.

Kelly Sawyers has played an integral role in Whitley County’s soccer program since its inception, but always with her husband by her side. For this reason, the “new” Coach Sawyers will be able to hit the ground running as he officially takes the reins of the girls’ team this fall.

The Lady Colonels struggled to find consistency in 2022 before putting together a four-game win streak to close out the regular season. However, despite the positive momentum going into the postseason, they fell to Corbin, 9-2, in the first round of last year’s district tournament.

This season, Sawyers and the Lady Colonels will look to capitalize on the fact that most of the roster will be returning to action, including Autumn Sawyers, who will no doubt be looked to as a leader on the field in her junior campaign.

With a large senior class and several home games at the beginning of the schedule, the Whitley girls have a great chance of getting off to a solid start right out of the gate in the weeks ahead. From there, the hope would obviously be to continue improving en route to a stronger showing in the 2023 district tournament.

Younger Corbin girls team ‘up for the challenge’ this fall

Last year, a strong class of five senior players played a major role in helping the Corbin Lady Hounds win another 13th Region championship title. While the loss of those players to graduation has certainly been felt in the locker room and on the field, Head Coach Hannah Goins says that she likes what she has seen out of her young squad this summer.

“They have had a really good work ethic throughout the preseason,” said Goins. “I have been looking to our current upperclassmen to step up and take on some of those leadership roles, and they’ve done a good job with that so far.”

Despite losing some key players from last year’s team, Goins said that six starters will be returning to the lineup in 2023. She also pointed to her three seniors – Julia Greer, Caroline Steely and Taylor Partin – as needing to set the tone as the Hounds set out to defend their regional crown.

Goins also said that she will need to see good play from a large group of sophomores on this year’s roster, and some freshmen may also be called upon to contribute at the varsity level as well.

“It may be a bit of a challenge for them to get used to the high school level of play,” Goins said of her younger players. “But they are up for the challenge. They are ready, and have been working hard. I have seen a lot of improvement out of them during the offseason.”

The Corbin girls were scheduled to open the season this past Monday at Ashland Blazer.

Be sure to look in the News Journal each week for updates on the latest soccer results, a look ahead to scheduled contests, and more.