Morris boys soccer hopes big numbers add up to big wins

MORRIS — The numbers are up for the Morris boys soccer team.

Morris coach David Valdivia said that his program has a total of 39 players this year, well above the numbers in the previous seasons.

Valdivia feels that working with the Morris Soccer Association, which he has for the last seven years, is beginning to bear fruit at the high school level.

“I started working with the MSA seven years ago,” he said. “Kind of keeping tabs on them and trying to make sure they are teaching the things we are teaching in high school. There are 19 freshman out for soccer this year, and they have come through the MSA.

“We want to get the kids interested when they are young. In our home opener, on Aug. 21 against Manteno, the Saratoga and Morris Grade School teams are going to play before us, and then stay to watch us.”

They will be watching a team that returns five seniors, including four-year starter and co-captain Riker Anderson. Other key players returning for Morris are junior forward Aidan Mondragon, senior goalkeeper Ivan Escatel, senior midfielder Kalen Carver and junior forward Connor Ahearn. Another senior on the squad is Nick Black, who is playing soccer for the first time. There will also be four freshmen brought up to the varsity squad, including August Valdivia, Zander Braun, Noah Trejo and James Stefanski.

The team also took part in a camp at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville during the summer.

“If I recall correctly, every time we have won a regional title, we went to a camp the summer before,” Valdivia said. “We took the whole varsity team, all 20 of them, and they got to compete against some of the big schools down there and get some exposure to college coaches.

“The team bonding at a camp really helps. Not only are they playing soccer together, but they are eating together, spending the night together and getting to know each other. They are becoming friends and you are going to play harder if the person next to you is a friend and not just a teammate.”

Anderson also enjoyed the summer camp, and is ready for his senior year to start.

“I’m excited for my senior year, but I’m kind of scared, too,” he said. “This is the last time I am going to play soccer with my classmates. We feel pretty good about this season. We feel like we can win the conference and go pretty far in the postseason.

“The camp was really good for us. We have good chemistry on this team. I’ve been playing with some of these guys since I was in sixth grade, so we know each other really well.”