In winning four of the last six 5A titles, La Salle Prep's boys soccer team has displayed a knack for reloading.
Last year, the Falcons showed the strength of their program by repeating as champions despite replacing all but four starters.
So even though they have five starting spots to fill this year – including three that were held by first-team all-state defenders – they enter the season confident that they will find a way.
“It's not so much about defending our title or three-peating,” coach Monty Hawkins said. “They get to write their own story, and they're buoyed by the teams behind them that have done it. It's their chance to shine.
“The kids trust the process. The standards are really high.”
La Salle Prep is facing a gauntlet as it pursues its first three-peat. The Falcons' nonleague schedule includes seven teams that made the 6A playoffs last year, including state champion Beaverton and quarterfinalists Lincoln and Jesuit. They also will play reigning Northwest Oregon Conference champion Centennial, a team they defeated in the 5A semifinals.
In recent seasons, the Falcons have “beaten some big dogs and taken our lumps” in nonleague games, according to Hawkins. This year could offer more ups and downs.
“The nine games of nonleague competition are really going to be something,” Hawkins said. “It's a chance to get battle-tested and prepare us for the regular season and the playoffs. It's a brutal nonleague for a 5A team. We're chopping off a lot, but we're going to go for it.”
La Salle Prep is leaving behind the familiar turf of the NWOC to play in the new Greater Metro Conference. The Falcons will join former NWOC rivals Wilsonville, Canby and Hillsboro as well as Woodburn, Aloha and Liberty in the seven-team league.
“It's interesting that we're the lone east-side team,” Hawkins said. “A little more travel. Getting some new opponents, and some new rivalries.”
La Salle Prep has one of the state's top goalkeepers in senior Lucas Hawkins, one of the coach's triplet sons. Last year, he not only made the 5A first team but was named all-Far West Region by United Soccer Coaches.
“We're looking for him to organize the defense and command his area,” Monty Hawkins said. “These games, he's going to get tested a bit more than last year because we lost so much in the back.”
The imposing back line of 6-foot-3 Luka Skoro, 6-2 Declan O'Brien and 6-1 River Nichols has graduated, and rebuilding it is a work in progress. Two of the positions will be filled by junior Luke Herrera, a midfield starter last season, and senior Irie Butler.
Senior Nicolas Hawkins, a 5A second-team defender last year, is moving to midfield. Other returning starters from last year's 5A final are senior forward Henry Foubert, senior midfielder Neil Kress and junior midfielder Ryder Korvola.
Monty Hawkins said that Foubert, who led the team with 18 goals and 13 assists last season, is the “linchpin” of the front line.
“He's a marksman around the goal,” he said. “He's not afraid to shoot, and he loves scoring. That's something you can't coach. He's good in the air, good with his feet, and he makes well-timed runs in the box.”
La Salle Prep's offense also will get a boost from the return of senior attacking center midfielder Hugo Cortes. He missed the second half of last season after suffering a compound leg fracture in a game at Hood River Valley.
“He was really kind of our playmaker,” Monty Hawkins said. “He'll get into the box and create chances.”
With the roster turnover, the Falcons will have a different look.
“I think we'll be a better passing team, a team that connects,” Monty Hawkins said. “We're very dangerous on set pieces and throw-ins and corner kicks. We'll have to continue to execute on those. That's been our bread and butter.
“We're not as physically strong one through 11. Those three guys that left were just like beasts.”
jerryu@osaa.org
Subscribe
