Holdrege, Neb. – The 2024 Holdrege boys’ soccer team will use a hard-learned lesson from last year’s regular season ending to help avert a similar finish this time around. The 2023 Dusters finished with a 5-8 record after enduring an 0-4 final stretch. Holdrege gave up 12 of their total 22 goals allowed during those last four games. The silver lining to last season, however, is their obvious improvement from the previous season that yielded a disappointing 2-12 record in 2022.
One major factor to their increase in wins was their stout defense. Head coach Tyler Kroll’s 2023 Dusters gave up 25 fewer goals from the 2022 season. Unfortunately, a large portion of last year’s strong defensive lineup were seniors. Despite that fact, this year’s squad has high hopes thanks to the return of second-year goalie Coy Swanson. The senior will be the anchor to a team that needs to limit their opponents’ scoring chances. Holdrege was able to score only eight goals in 2023. Coach Kroll says “on paper” the offense should be a strength on this year’s team. That side of the ball returns a lot of experience.
What makes the outlook even brighter this year is the influx of talent coming from the freshman class. With the number of capable newcomers, Kroll feels the large group of underclassmen will serve as a push for the upperclassmen to improve even more. Defensive midfielder Trey Weaver has set a goal to facilitate in the growth of this young group as well. “Personally, I want to be a good leader and show the younger classmen how to work hard,” said the senior.
Kroll wants Holdrege to finish strong and avoid another end-of-the-season collapse. “I’d like this team to improve throughout the year,” the 15-year head coach said. Kroll noted that the past couple of years didn’t produce as many wins as he’d like, and the focus this year will be on hitting their stride at the end of season. The 2024 Dusters are looking for a postseason appearance, and they’ve laid out a path to play their best soccer when the playoffs are nearby.
Holdrege is off to a 1-0 start after defeating Columbus Lakeview 3-1 on Thursday, March 14. They’ll look to add another victory on Tuesday, March 29, when they travel to Columbus. They’ll face Columbus Scotus at 4 pm.
