Wakefield boys soccer
One of the best players in North Carolina, Wakefield senior Ryan Metts returns this fall to lead a veteran Wolverines's squad. Metts verbally committed to Wake Forest last year.
Wakefield soccer eyes postseason run
Wakefield head soccer coach Scott Sloan won't be satisfied if the Wolverines merrily return to the postseason this fall.
With an experienced group of seniors, led by All-State selection Ryan Metts and Jay Williams, the Wolverines need to think bigger, Sloan said.
"If our goal is looking for the playoffs, we are not aiming high enough," he said, following a rain-shortened practice last week. "We want a few home games in playoffs.
"We don't have glaring holes that we have had in the past. We have balance, and we have options."
Already recognizable names among their Cap-7 Conference foes, Metts and Williams have the chance to be truly "special" this fall, Sloan explained.
"They are highly-skilled, and their tactical awareness is much better than most players in high school," he said. "If they can match their play with their level of leadership, and can do a better job of recognizing everyone's strengths, we could be a good team."
Metts will continue to run the midfield for the Wolverines, and Sloan compared him to a quarterback on the field.
"He plays very intense, but also (with) composure," the coach said. "He doesn't panic. When he's [one on one] he doesn't panic, and he can make a simple move and get out of it. Plus he has great vision."
Williams, a versatile and athletic player, will be all over the field, lining up in midfield or at forward.
"Jay reads the field well, and he has great explosive speed so when he wants to stretch players, he can," he can.
Following last season's 8-10-4 record — during one stretch the Wolverines went winless for eight straight games — Wakefield should be more balanced offensively, with Williams, Davis Edwards, Will Rogers and Blake Cissel creating scoring chances.
At points last season — following the loss of forward Chris Weaver to injury — the Wolverines couldn't create consistent offensive opportunities. But those issues should be a thing of the past — at least Sloan believes so.
"Ryan and Jay draw an immense amount of attention from other players, now their challenge is to recognize where those passing lanes are for us," he said. "More importantly, for the those other guys to fill those passing lanes and not be content to sit back and let those two guys do everything themselves.
"We get in trouble when we stop moving and let two guys do everything."
Sloan put it in simpler terms later, saying, "We don't want [Ryan and Jay] to step to the door and do it, I think we want them to open the door up for everybody else."
Defensively, the Wolverines have a strong unit returning, led by seniors Vince Cervantez, Greg Judge and Kevin Kotecki. Sloan added T.J. Scharville will hold down the keeper position this fall, with Graham Shover and Sam Kropf pushing him in practice.
Sloan believes the competition is important for training purposes as well as making everybody work harder.
Chris Bostian and Hunter Frank should also be contributors for the Wolverines.
With several seniors likely to play collegiate soccer, Sloan knows his squad will continue to work toward improvement even as the season draws near its finish.
And it won't be an easy year as the Wolverines are scheduled to play four non-conference games against teams ranked in the state. Wakefield plays Green Hope and Panther Creek once and Durham Jordan twice.
But there's strategy hidden inside the schedule.
With games at Durham Jordan and East Chapel Hill, Sloan wants his Wolverines to get acclimated to playing on the road in the PAC-6 Conference.
If the Wolverines return to the playoffs, their opponents will likely be from that league.
"I think we have a fair schedule, but we did want to play those PAC-6 teams because of the match-up in the first round," Sloan said. "We wanted to go to their fields, and see how we do."
The Wolverines definitely have an eye toward the postseason.
Wakefield opens its schedule with Knightdale Monday, Aug. 17.
