It began as a vision three years ago.
The Kentwood High boys soccer team was coming off a wildly successful season in the South Puget Sound League North Division from the season before, a run that included a state berth. Yet head coach Aaron Radford had a decision to make. One that the success of the upcoming seasons would hinge upon.
Stick with the senior veterans on the varsity roster or go with the youngsters coming up?
“I looked at who we had coming back and who we had coming up and thought that when these guys were sophomores and juniors, we could have an impact,” Radford explained. “I usually don’t change a bunch of stuff one year to the next, but as (soccer) players develop and get more mature, they become better thinkers and hear some of the things that we talk about year after year.”
As such, Radford went young at the beginning of the 2009 season and built the program around Stefan Bangsund (midfielder), Sergio Mejia (defender), Eli Peterson (defender) — all of whom were freshmen at the time — and then-sophomore Jared Fuller (midfielder), who was part of Kentwood’s last state tournament team.
Today, Radford’s decision to go young three years ago is paying big dividends.
Behind a junior-laden team in addition to Fuller, who is now a senior, the Conquerors wrapped up their first SPSL North title last week with a 2-0 shutout of Auburn. Bangsund’s unassisted goal in the 25th minute was enough to help first-year varsity goalkeeper Chris Kubeja, who worked his sixth shutout of the season in the victory.
The title was a culmination of a lot of things going right for the Conquerors. However, possibly most notable — and a key reason for this spring’s crown — stems from Radford’s decision before the 2009 season to go young. The move allowed the youngsters to gain critical time on the varsity pitch in the following two years, and help the Conquerors come together as a team more quickly as otherwise would have been possible.
“It was really a two-year stretch that we were younger,” said Radford, noting that the 2009 team did have 10 seniors on the roster. “I knew it was going to be tough for us. I thought we could put ourselves in the playoff picture, but it was a battle for the team.”
This spring, however, it has all come together for the Conquerors.
Kentwood, which missed the SPSL playoffs by a single win last year, enter the season among the contenders to challenge for the league crown while Thomas Jefferson was tabbed as the runaway favorite to win the North, and potentially win it all. Kentwood’s outlook, however, changed in the first game of the season, when the Conquerors upset the Raiders 2-1 on March 15.
“That was a great win. It gave us the confidence to come out this season and do very well,” said Bangsund, who second-team all-leaguer last spring who leads the Conquerors with 10 goals scored. “(Jefferson) was expected to win it. That win built our confidence so much.”
That confidence continued to show as the season progressed as the Conquerors followed with a tie against Kentlake before blowing out Kentridge 7-2.
As the season has unfolded, the Conquerors have simply gotten better and better.
Entering the week, Kentwood (13-0-3 with 42 points) had outscored its opponents 48-11. The tenth-ranked Conquerors played No. 9 Beamer for the SPSL title on Wednesday (results were unavailable at press time). The winner will take the top seed to the West Central District playoffs, which will be held this weekend.
Kentwood’s success is as much a credit to Radford’s decision to go young three years ago as it is to the team’s tremendous balance throughout the roster. Thirteen different players have scored at least one goal.
“(Our balance) has been a pretty big key because (opponents) can’t shut down just one player,” Fuller said. “We can go to anyone else on the field.”
And the Conquerors have used virtually everybody on that field, especially their defensive back line of Mejia, Peterson, Cody Crook and Dan Dixon. The group will head into the postseason having allowed just one goal in its last five games combined.
“Not that they had a chip on their shoulders coming into the season, but they had an edge and felt they had to step up,” Radford said.
Adding to Kentwood’s defensive presence has been Kubeja, who took over for first-team All-SPSL North selection Rodney Greiling. Until this year, Kubeja had not played a single game at the varsity level.
“We were shocked after losing Rodney,” Bangsund said. “(Kubeja) has definitely done an unbelievable job. We all have confidence in him, and he’s made a lot of saves that have saved games.”
The success for Kentwood, which finished in fifth place last season, is no fluke, Radford said.
Instead it’s the culmination of everyone coming together on and off the field.
“Most games, I have an 18-player roster,” Radford said. “During the season, I have had to use everyone on that roster. I think the biggest piece is that the guys came into the season hungry and ready to prove that they can compete. They’ve had this perspective that they underachieved the last couple of years. This year, they wanted to prove that Kentwood can compete every day.
“It has worked out pretty well.”
And it all started as a vision.
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