Preston Thomas - YSE File Photo
For a soccer team, losing six seniors who have been part of a successful run is tough enough. Add in the fact that one of those seniors is the school’s all-time leading scorer, and four of the other five saw action in every match during the 2020 season, and some teams would call it time for a “rebuilding” season. That won’t be the outlook for Coach Frankie Thomas and the University Heights Academy Blazers.
Although there will be some new faces that step up and some familiar faces whose roles may change in 2021, the Blazers still figure to be among the teams, and expect to be among the teams, to contend for the regional championship.
One of the biggest questions for the Blazers in 2021 is who will pick up the scoring that left when William Bryan graduated as the program’s all-time scoring leader.
A big part of that load will likely fall on Connor Dill and Preston Thomas. Dill, a senior, was second on the team in scoring last season with 10 goals and led the Blazers with 12 assists. Those were the same numbers Dill had during his sophomore season in 2019, but he got there in 10 fewer matches during the COVID shortened 2020 season.
Thomas, a junior, contributed six goals and six assists during 2020 and will be counted on to be a bigger part of the Blazer attack in 2021.
Seniors Ethan Alexander, Will Hancock, Wade Mamoth, Will Maxwell, and Mason Price, will play big roles in how far the Blazers go this season. Alexander played in every match last season and had four assists. He also gives the Blazers a physical presence in the middle of the field.
Mason Price also saw action in every match for the Blazers in 2020. He finished the year with one goal and three assists and gives UHA much-needed experience with the graduation losses the Blazers suffered after the end of last season.
While he is only a sophomore, Quentin Quarles will provide the Blazers experience in goal. As a freshman, Quarles gave up only 1.5 goals per contest and had 88 saves on the season. That experience in the net should allow the defenders in front of him to play more aggressively and make scoring on the Blazers a very tough go.
Another name to keep your eye on this season will be junior Ethan Hale. Hall saw action in all thirteen matches last season, finishing the year with two goals and three assists.
Coach Thomas and UHA won the schools’ first boys’ 8th District championship since 2013 last season and should be considered the favorites to repeat, even with significant gradation losses. Last season, the Blazers made it all the way to the 2nd Region championship match, where they lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to Henderson County.
The potential is there for the Blazers to make another deep postseason run if they can find enough firepower to replace a good chunk of the goals that William Bryan scored during the 2020 season.
The Blazers are set to open their season Tuesday night on the road at Hopkins Central. In addition to their district schedule, the Blazers’ schedule includes matches against Marshall County, Madisonville-North Hopkins, Apollo, Elizabethtown, Henderson County, Owensboro, and McCracken County.
