Wolves Excited About Potential for Upcoming Season
WESSON - The Co-Lin Men's Soccer team is coming off a 2023 season that saw the Wolves overcome ups-and-downs and make the playoffs for the second straight season. However, the Wolves season came to an end in the Region 23 Quarterfinals. Co-Lin head coach Tom Cosgrave said he is excited about the upcoming season and what the 2024 Wolves have to offer.
"Looking at this group as a whole, we are very excited about what we have this season. We had a really good preseason camp and we came out with very little injuries which we are excited about," stated Cosgrave. "The guys came in really fit and their summer conditioning has paid off so far from what we have seen. This group has also bought into our team culture and our goals and expectations for the upcoming season."
The 2024 roster features 25 players including 11 returners and 14 new players for the Wolves and features position battles for multiple spots on the pitch including the goalkeeper position.
"Brennan (Thomas) and Jaime (Duran) have a really good relationship and have been pushing each other to be better goalkeepers," stated Cosgrave. "Brennan came in really raw last year and he has steadily improved throughout the past season while Jaime has come in and they are both battling it out for that spot. We are excited to see how that all plays out throughout the season."
The 11 returning players for the Wolves include Brennan Thomas (Utica), Symon Stringer (Pelahatchie), Conner Turner (Brandon), Javion Roberts (Jackson), John Hrivnak (Madison), Matthew Barone (Florence), Francisco Miquel (Bogota, Colombia), Michael Turner (Ridgeland), Asa Hurst (Sand Hill), Sebastian Narvaez (Brandon), and Holloway Willsey (Starkville). While Jaime Duran (Madison), Lucas Giacomini (Newcastle, England), Hudson McIntyre (Brandon), Yohan Bedoya (Bogota, Colombia), Finley Sugg (Southampton, England), Brady Peacock (Pearl), Alvaro De La Torre (A Coruna, Spain), Robin Feliciano (Carthage), Harrison Willsey (Starkville), Aden Lowery (Pearl), Ethan Sharpe (Bradford, England), Ethan Barnes (Port Orange, FL), Braxton Williams (Flowood), and Kevin Ragoyta (Richland) are the 14 freshmen for the Wolves. Coach Cosgrave said he expects to hear lots of these names called for scoring goals this season for the Wolves.
"We have some tough decisions ahead of us for the season because we have several guys that have stepped up and scored during our intrasquad scrimmages," stated Cosgrave. "It will be a nice luxury for our time to have those guys continue to score like that because that opens us up to play guys in a variety of spots and systems throughout the season."
"We are expecting guys like Francisco Miquel and Alvaro De La Torre to step up and score more goals for us this season," added Cosgrave. "I think there are a lot of guys on this team besides them that can ship in five or six goals throughout the season as well."
The Wolves are bringing back a lot of experience in the midfield and defensive backfield as Holloway Willsey, Javion Roberts, Symon Stringer, and Conner Turner all return to the Wolves after being key pieces for the Wolves last season. However, Coach Cosgrave says that there will be some new faces in those areas that will help the Wolves at times too.
"We have brought in a lot of good defenders and midfield guys that are challenging our returners and have done a really good job. The mix of experience and freshmen will definitely help us as they challenge each other for positions on the pitch and we are excited to see what the squad looks like when we start play," added Cosgrave.
The Wolves kickoff the season on the road against Northwest Mississippi on Thursday, August 29 in Ridgeland, and then will have their home opener on Friday, September 6 against LSU- Alexandria.