The Pioneer soccer team is finding out just how good the SEC Red Division is in the world’s greatest sport – not that they didn’t already know. But just to hammer home the point, the Pioneers are playing Skyline, Dexter, Huron and Saline – all before Labor Day.
“It’s the nature of the league,” says Pioneer Coach Jon Sundermann.
After a scoreless draw with Skyline, Pioneer welcomed Dexter to town on Thursday and the Dreadnaughts brought plenty of talent. The Pioneers were able to knock two home before halftime in a fairly even first half and then added three more in the second half for a 5-1 win.
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Lucas Strickler and Brendan Moore each had two goals and Felix Starosta scored once for the home team. Juan Morales-Leverett scored for Dexter with an assist from JP Assenmacher.
“Overall, I was pleased with how we responded coming off an emotional and physical game at Skyline,” said Sundermann. “The high school season is always a grind with a very compressed timeline and many games versus familiar faces as the boys from Pioneer, Skyline, Huron, Dexter, and Saline play club with and against each other so emotions tend to run high and managing that is very important.”
Sundermann saw some progress from his team as they continue to improve early in this still very young season. “We were able to move the ball a little more effectively and establish a bit of rhythm in our movements and did a better job of finishing our chances,” he said. “We were a bit better than the last match which is always the goal.”
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Dexter is fielding a very young team and the Dreadnaughts are going to experience some growing pains in one of the best leagues in the state.
“The second half was tough,” said Dexter Coach Drew Ducker. “We got tired and didn’t capitalize on a few chances. We have a lot of young players this year and we’re not very deep with only 31 players between JV and varsity this year. We are going to have some guys playing three halves with the new rule. We will see how things come together.”
Pioneer will host Saline on Tuesday while Dexter hosts Huron.
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