The Cassville boys soccer team may have been down in games in its summer friendlies this year, but they were never out.

The Wildcats recently completed summer workouts, which included six games against quality opponents to acclimate freshmen to high school game speed.

Jake Forste, Cassville soccer coach, said though the team won just one, lost three and tied two, their resolve was a highlight of June and July.

“We had about 19 guys total, but between vacations and work, we only had about 14-15 available each game, giving us just a couple of subs in this heat,” he said. “But, that played to our advantage a little bit because I feel we got into match fitness pretty quickly. We played some pretty challenging opponents, and that was the intent. We turned down a few match-ups that may have been easier for us.

“We have six freshmen we will be leaning on a little bit, and I wanted them to see the quality of competition and game speed of the regular season, not be tricked by slower play and weaker opponents.”

Forste said the takeaway was overwhelmingly positive, as the Wildcats battled back in three games to win one and tie two.

“We were down three times to Monett and equalized each time, so that was amazing,” he said. “Against College Heights, we were down 3 with the heat index over 100, and at the first water break, I asked, ‘Is this what we want to do in this heat? We plugged away the rest of the game and came out with a draw.

“We were also down 2 to Neosho, and with 10 minutes left, scored 3 to get the win. That was the performance of the summer.”

Players of the summer for the Wildcats were all seniors, midfielder Jackson Ray, winger Ashton Wheeler and goalkeeper Malachi Vincent.

“Jack is turning a corner,” Forste said. “He brings back 5 goals and 10 assists, and I believe he is capable of doubling or even tripling that number. We’ll lean on him for 1 point per game. Ashton brings back 10 goals and 7 assists, and he came on slo this summer but rounded into goal-scoring shape.

“Malachi was phenomenal. He played incredible this summer as an All-conference caliber keeper. He has been position- blocked in the last year but played well in spot starts. He brings back a 1.25 goals against average in eight games with a few shutouts, and the way he played this summer, that will only improve.”

While the seniors shined, Forste said the freshmen deserve the limelight, too.

“All our freshmen really stepped up,” he said. “One thing I am really proud of is that we started six freshmen in the first game in June and got throttled 4-1, then put the same six freshmen in the next week against Monett and drew. They were surprised at the level of play in the first week and kept their nose to the grindstone to play a lot better the next week against an equal opponent.”

Forste said the season will likely hinge on close games, and he wants his squad on the right side of the scoreboard.

“We will have a lot of one-goal games; I have been hammering that home,” he said. “I think all the games this summer prepared us for that.”