The McClain High School Tigers boys and girls soccer teams opened their season on Monday August 22 at home against cross county rival the Fairfield Lions. The Tigers will make a trip to Hillsboro for a game on October 5. The teams will close their season on the road at Unioto on October 12.
The boys team features seven seniors, one junior, four sophomores, and nine freshmen. The team is coached by McClain graduate and former soccer standout Nick McNeil who will be in his first year as coach.
The departure of the three captains from last season’s squad left a hole in the leadership of the team. McNeil said, “We have quite a few people that are willing to lead. We have two captains but, that doesn’t mean we can’t have more leaders out there.”
“I hope for a good winning season for the team. No team is unbeatable and I think we will have a good season.”, said McNeil. “They want it, they want to win. This year they will be playing to win as opposed to playing not to lose.”
The Lady Tigers team is comprised of four seniors, one junior, seven sophomores, and five freshmen. The team will be coached, for the fourth year in a row, by Shawn Peterman.
The girls team returns five starters from last season’s team. “The girls that are returning know what my philosophy and my style of play is. I have a very large underclassmen group coming in but, they are all picking it up quickly.”, said Roble.
“I watched some of the kids last year that I thought were going to be able to step up this year and be leaders. Coming into this season we have four captains across the spectrum of grades, they have all stepped up through conditioning and the beginning of the season and taken on those leadership roles.”, Roble said.
Roble also expressed his excitement for the upcoming season, “I am excited to get into this season. See how it is going to play out this year. Obviously we are in a new conference this year. We are going to see some people that we haven’t seen in the past. We might be a little shaky at the beginning of the season but I believe we will be able to hold our own this year.”
Reach Ryan Applegate at 937-402-2572, or on Twitter @RCApplegate89.
