Boys Soccer: Carson Collett stepping in to main scoring role for Newark

It doesn’t matter if she’s at a big school or a small one, or whether she’s coaching girls in the spring or the boys in the fall, Jane Crowe finds a way to win.

This year might be as big of a challenge that the Newark/Seneca co-op boys soccer coach has faced, though, after 11 straight winning seasons as the head girls coach at Plainfield North and after Newark/Seneca went 14-4-2 in her debut last fall.

Crowe is just 11 wins away from earning her 200th win in just 13 seasons.

“We lost some key pieces from last year, but have a good group of seniors that have been good leaders so far,” Crowe said. “We may take some time to put things together, but we have the potential for another successful season.”

One thing is for certain. Her players are in for a unique, new experience, as the team is scheduled to make its first appearance in the PepsiCo Showdown tournament.

“When I coached the girls we played in that for years so I’m familiar with that and with it now being in Joliet, that makes it a lot closer for us,” Crowe said. "It’s a good opportunity to play some different teams that we would never see.”

What one has to wonder is whom Crowe is going to see making the big plays that ultimately create goals since the roster is quite different from 2018. The team knew once last season ended that forward Connor Swanson (20 goals) would graduate. What it didn’t know was that Jacob Chapman (14 goals, seven assists) would forego playing his senior year.

That’s a lot of firepower among just those two that’s gone so Newark is going to need to find some players to step up and find the back of the net. Junior Carson Collett, who was a key contributor a season ago, will likely lead the way.

“Carson has looked really good so far,” Crowe said. “He has to be our goal scorer.”

What should help the team as it gets the season underway is recognizing that it’s strong and experienced in back and in net with senior defenders Cody Kinsella and Steve Bartkus both back to anchor that defense and Silas Odum once again at goalkeeper.

Sophomore defender Lucas Pasakarnis and freshman midfielder Joe Martin are two newcomers who are expected to make an immediate impact.

At Plainfield North numbers were never a concern for Crowe, but at Newark/Seneca they can be during certain seasons and Seneca isn’t producing as many kids as it has in prior years.

“We still have a couple freshmen and a junior from Seneca, and we’re still getting the same numbers from Newark, but not the same from Seneca as in the past,” Crowe said. “It’s hard to get someone to drive 30 minutes [from Seneca] to practice everyday, especially underclassmen who don’t drive.”

It’s just one of the obstacles that smaller programs often face that the bigger schools do not.

“We may not be as talented as we were last year, but it’s an enjoyable group,” Crowe said. “They have a good attitude and work ethic.”