For the first year in many, the Cassville boys soccer team is returning a significant level of experience, including a goalkeeper that will expand his state-record in career saves.
Jake Forste, Cassville soccer coach, said in all, the Wildcats return eight starters: senior goalkeeper Peter Littlefield, senior midfielder Lian Nung, senior forward and midfielder Reese Heiden, junior midfielder Jackson Ray sophomore forward Brody Osborne, and juniors Andrew Gray, Jackson Lindley and Ashton Wheeler.
Littlefield will command the ‘Cats from the goal box. He holds the Missouri State High School Athletics Association career record for saves with 785, a full 100 more than the next keeper, who played from 1898-1991. He is also second in saves per game with 11.89, only 1.13 away from the leader in that category.
“We have one of the most talented goalkeepers in the state in Peter Littlefield,” Forste said. “He is a vocal leader and has all the physical tools back there. Our hope is to stay on the front foot more this season and not have to rely on Peter making saves. Having a player of his caliber between the sticks gives the guys a lot of confidence to make runs and build attacks out of the back.”
Littlefield will also kick for the Cassville football team on Friday nights this fall.
Looking up from his eyes, the senior will see a defensive line needing some stability.
“We return some quality defenders with Gray and Lindley,” Forste said. “Both of them improved as first-year starters last season as wide backs. We graduated two standout center backs in Jon Oliphant and Dylan Renkoski, and finding the right pairing to replace those two was a priority for us as we headed into the first week of practice.”
In the center of the pitch, two technical visionaries will lead in Lian Nung and Jackson Ray.
“Incoming senior Lian Nung is likely to lead our midfield again,” Forste said. “He transferred to us from Texas last year and was our team’s Newcomer of the Year with 3 goals and 3 assists. He will be joined by junior Jackson Ray, who has been our most improved player this offseason. We have some open competition for the remaining midfield spot.”
Up top, Cassville returns a dynamic sophomore with plenty of potential this season and in his next two.
“At center forward, Brody had 4 goals and 2 assists as a freshman, despite missing a large chunk of the season with an injury,” Forste said. “He fit in seamlessly as a freshman and has improved in offseason workouts and during the spring club season. Our wide forward roles are currently up for grabs, with some high quality competition amongst upperclassmen. Heiden, Nic Sanders, Fernando Alonso, Wheeler and freshman Cayden Rohde are all in the mix to lock down the wide attacking roles.”
Forste said excitement is high this season, as the Wildcats have been more active in the off-season, honing skills and building chemistry.
“Our team has improved a lot this offseason – most of our guys played U-19 ball at Lake Country this spring,” he said. “We have a few transfer students who we have been bringing into the team as well. [Regarding off-season improvement], Jackson and Brody are two guys we will look to have a breakout season for us.”
With things looking on the up, Forste said a priority this season, again, will be putting the ball in the back of the net.
“Goal scoring will be a priority for us in training sessions this fall,” he said. “We have got to convert more chances both in the run of play and on set pieces. I have all the confidence in the world that our guys can get there. We’ve got quite a bit of talent with our attacking pieces, we just need to build a little more chemistry and to finish with more composure.”
If the pieces come together, Forste said the team has potential for some post-season fireworks.
“I think this group can both make a run at a top-three conference finish and be a live-wire in district play,” he said. “Four of last year’s losses to conference teams were by one goal, two of those in overtime, and we lost at Monett after we had scored first. If we can add timely scoring to the physicality and intensity our boys play with, those tight losses will start turning into wins this fall.”
Cassville starts the season with a jamboree at McDonald County on Aug. 23. On Aug. 30 through Sept. 3, the Wildcats will host the Cassville Soccer Classic.
