GREENFIELD — There was once an old tradition at baseball stadium entrances where vendors would yell, “Ya can’t tell the players without a scorecard!”
The sport is different and you can change ‘scorecard’ to ‘program’ but the meaning of the phrase fits perfectly for the Greenfield-Central boys soccer team.
The 2022 Cougars went 12-2-3 and were undefeated (7-0) Hoosier Heritage Conference champions, but the 2023 roster will look nothing like the one last season.
Graduation took 14 veterans away from a team that reached the Shelbyville Sectional title game. All 29 assists and 33 of 36 goals scored were recorded by last year’s senior class.
It’s a new team with less than a handful of players that saw significant varsity time.
“It’s a young group with a lot of new faces that folks won’t know,” Greenfield-Central assistant coach Matt McConnell said. “It’s fun because you get to build some stuff back. Rebuilding sounds like a bad thing all the time, but sometimes it’s a good thing. It gives you a chance to start with a fresh clean slate and put some new things in the mix.”
Another good thing is one of those returnees was co-Hancock County Player of the Year.
Junior goalkeeper Jordin Jones set a school record last season with 13 shutouts. He made all the routine stops and plenty of highlight-reel grabs of his 169 saves, an average of 9.9 per match.
“He’s a rock for the defense,” McConnell said. “Greenfield-Central has been fortunate to have a good history of goalkeepers and he continues that tradition.”
McConnell said the team has two really good goalkeepers, including another junior Nathan Robbins.
The other half of the county player of the year honors, Bryce Kinnaman, was one of those on the long list that played their final game as a Cougar last season. He had eight goals and five assists.
Along with Jones, senior Gavin Jack, a centerback last season, junior defender Derek Harmon and junior forward Axel Valladares are the most veteran returnees. Harmon scored two goals and Jack had one.
With so many players gone, the Cougars are going to need contributions from a lot of newcomers. Among those expected to helps this season are senior Jeylan Ramirez and junior Sawyer Dalton.
There are just six seniors on the team. Cody Kelley, Andrew Martin, Carson Cicenas and Diego Valdes join Jack and Ramirez.
“We have a lot of youth,” McConnell said. “A lot of times you have guys stacked up behind you that have been waiting as juniors or waiting as sophomores, we don’t have that luxury right now. We have a lot of guys who are just new. We’re very, very young.”
The Cougars open the season Saturday at home against Lawrence Central.
The first defense of the Rob Thomas (Hancock County) Cup will be Sept. 7, at home, against Mt. Vernon. The initial defense of the HHC traveling trophy will be Aug. 24 at Yorktown.
G-C hosts the four-team Cougar Cup on Aug. 19.
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2023 Greenfield-Central Boys Soccer Schedule
Date;Opponent;Time
Aug. 12;vs. Lawrence North;7 p.m.
Aug. 15;at Ben Davis;7 p.m.
Aug. 17;at Cathedral;7 p.m.
Aug. 19;Cougar Cup;2 p.m.
Aug. 19;Cougar Cup;TBD
Aug. 22;at Carmel;7:30 p.m.
Aug. 24;at Yorktown;7 p.m.
Aug. 26;at Westfield;3:30 p.m.
Aug. 29;vs. Pendleton Heights;7 p.m.
Sept. 5;at Delta;7 p.m.
Sept. 7;vs. Mt. Vernon;7 p.m.
Sept. 14;vs. New Palestine;7 p.m.
Sept. 21;at Shelbyville;7 p.m.
Sept. 26;vs. Fishers;7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28;vs. New Castle;7 p.m.
