Edmonds Community College men’s soccer team is a squad in transition.
The Tritons returned only three players from a year ago and are still finding themselves under first-year head coach Gary Hunter.
“I think that everyone is going through some growth changes because you have a new coach, new ideas, a new system and new thoughts,” said Hunter, who has 20 years of coaching experience at the high school and collegiate levels. His most recent position was as an assistant coach for the Southern Methodist University, which won the Conference USA championship.
The influx of so many new players has presented challenges for Hunter, a physical education teacher at Ballard High School.
“Everyone, at the beginning, is on different pages,” he said. “We’re all trying to get on the same page. … You basically have 22 players that have never played for the coach.”
Edmonds is making progress as evidenced by the Tritons 3-0 victory over Skagit Valley on Sept. 28, the team’s second victory of the year, and a tough 1-0 loss to Everett the next day.
The Tritons, 2-6-1 in the NWAACC North Division, currently are in third place.
“What we’re trying to do is move the ball around the field and try to keep the ball and possess the ball,” Hunter said. “We don’t want to get into a kick and run game. We’re trying to stay with our game plan to move the ball around the field and then hopefully, get it up into the attack third of the field and take some strikes on goal.”
Sophomores Carlos Portillo and Garrett Lowell have taken some of the leadership reins on the field. The two, along with Brendan Rosgen, Brandon Norton and Dale Kellett, who scored two goals in the win over Skagit Valley, are the principal offensive threats.
Unfortunately, Portillo has been sidelined since Sept. 23 with a hamstring injury. Hunter is hoping Portillo will be back this week.
The Edmonds’ defense has been stellar so far. Hunter’s focus is more on getting the offense rolling.
“Our defense is fine,” Hunter said. “We’ve got to work on continuing to put the ball in the net.”
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