The boys soccer team hopes to return to its former glory this postseason with the defense helping lead the way.
This year’s defense has held opponents to only 21 goals in 21 games. It is the team’s fewest goals allowed since 2020 when the boys allowed only 17 goals and were 21-0. The 2020 team was expected to win a State Championship until COVID cut the season short.
“What’s the saying?” coach Christian Boehm said. “Good offense wins games and defenses win championships. We won our first district title since I’ve been here. And we have to attribute a lot of that success to the defense.”
The boys’ first test will be against Hallsville (10-12-2) in the Bi-District Championship on Tuesday in Lufkin.
Kingwood Park scored 67 goals this season and is coming off a 7-0 victory against Summer Creek, a 6A team headed to the playoffs as well.
“Staying solid defensively has been very important,” senior defender Luke Cavallo said. “It allows us to win games 1-0 or 2-1 on days when we are playing defensive teams and struggling to score.”
The boys team went 17-2-2 in the regular season and won the district championship for the first time since 2021 when they reached the state championship game.
Only two remain from the state team, senior captains Luke Cavallo and Finn Bruce. Both defenders have carried their experience to this year’s team.
“The defense’s strength is the leadership,” Boehm said. “All three team captains (Cavallo, Bruce and Blake Lawson) are on the back line and they complement each other really well and they have complete faith in each other. They know that each and every one of them has a job.”
All of the other pieces – including newcomers Evan Jimerson, Grant Jimerson and Kye Wehby – have helped the team reach this point.
“Having a very strong midfield not only allows us to score goals, but it takes a lot of the pressure off of our defense, because opposing teams are unable to have the type of possession that they would like,” Cavallo said.
The defenders said they have focused on specific things from last year they considered to be fatal to their performance as a team. They worked on not dropping too far back and giving up goals in the final parts of the game.
In addition, the amount of games the boys have played together, especially on defense, has been critical in their camaraderie.
“I think our team culture has been the key,” Boehm said. “The boys love each other and they play with heart for each other. There is a good level of joking with one another and it just seems like they’re having fun playing together. There’s not one player out for themselves, but everybody is really putting in for the team effort.”
