FA SOCCER PREVIEW: SKILL + BALANCE = GOOD OUTLOOK

JEREMY WALTNER – PUBLISHER

Scott Dent tells a story.

It was just this past Saturday afternoon, Aug. 12 and Freeman Academy was opening its 2023 soccer season at home against Groton Area. Among those on the field at the onset of the match was Justin Escobar, who “has been killing it trying to get a starting position as a striker and has earned it in every way.”

But Escobar’s matchup against the Tigers’ defender tasked with slowing the speedy freshman was a bad one, said the head coach, so he decided to make a move.

“I just wanted to give him a break and try something different,” said Dent.

So in went Lesther Rocha, an eighth grader from Freeman Public who within minutes scored his first of four goals, “and the first person celebrating was Justin, who could have been sitting there upset that he came out — all of that,” said Dent. “Instead, he literally knocked me over coming off the bench to celebrate.

“When you want to know about our team, that story from Saturday sums it up the most,” he continued. “Your job is your job when it’s your job, and that’s pretty cool.”

Dent exudes a lot of energy when sharing that story, but he shows an equal amount of enthusiasm about the team’s 6-0 win over Groton Area on Saturday, which also saw goals from FA senior and co-captain Liam Ortman and Marion sophomore Yonathan Lopez.

And the win featured a shutout from a Bobcat defense that includes Blake Rumelhart, a rookie goalkeeper in his senior year.

“They’re an athletic team and we played good team ball,” Dent said of his team’s effort against Groton Area. “We slowed things down, passed the ball and didn’t get in a hurry. In fact, on the board before the game, I wrote the word ‘wait.’ You don’t have to score in the first five minutes; let the game come to you.

“I was impressed. We played really hard.”

“Waiting” and “letting the game come to you” is a discipline Dent himself has had to practice since taking over as head soccer coach at Freeman Academy in 2021. That year, the roster was barely large enough to field a team and the Bobcats won just twice.

This year — following a 2022 season that ended with a 6-4 record and playoff berth — Freeman Academy’s varsity roster includes 18 players from three other schools that have attached to the Bobcats’ program: Freeman Public, Marion and, since last year, Parker.

Add to that the 13 who make up the junior varsity squad, and the Bobcats field a 7-12 roster that numbers 31.

“And there’s a ton of talent on the team and a lot of team play,” said Dent. “Liam could have had seven goals against Groton — he hit the post four times — but instead an eighth grader was our leading scorer. Our older kids all saw that Lesther was having a game, so they just kept giving it to him.”

The Bobcats have several advantages over past seasons.

One, says Dent, is that the players and the coaching staff — which includes third-year assistant James Baer — have developed a strong working relationship.

“The kids know what I expect, I know what we have and we’re not learning each other anymore,” he said. “Now we can be excited about learning soccer.”

But the second advantage is something a Freeman Academy soccer team hasn’t seen in years — balance across the field.

“We could have a different star every game,” he said. “Every kid could have that game, which is truly exciting.”

Dent said the team saw what Rocha can do up front on Saturday, but the spotlight shines elsewhere.

Escobar may have had a tough matchup on Saturday, but he will be a dangerous go-to in that striker position, and in addition to Ortman and Lopez in middle of the field, Dent said he’s got a third stud in Dustin Cardona — a junior at Freeman Public — and an effective outside mid in Parker freshman Emma Tuschen.

Meanwhile, the defense is anchored by stopper Simon Wirsema, a freshman at Freeman Academy, and Freeman Public senior and co-captain Jorgen Baer, who the coach says “could be one of the best defenders in the state that nobody’s talking about.

“He’s a cheat code in the backfield,” Dent said. “If they don’t play perfect, he’s going to take the ball from them.”

As for the team’s keeper, Dent said Rumelhart, who transferred from Freeman Public to Marion for his senior year, “is beyond athletic” and “can fly,” and it doesn’t hurt that he stands at 6 foot, 3 inches.

“He’s going to make rookie mistakes, but the team is really supportive of him and he’s got the right attitude to learn,” the coach continued. “He’s so long and so athletic that he’s going to surprise some people for sure.”

Dent said the Bobcats are also blessed to a have a strong bench. Remember, he said, Rocha came in as a substitute 20 minutes in the game and finished with four goals, and Marion freshman Rylen Tommeraus came in and gave the team 20 minutes of mistake-free soccer.

“It’s exciting to know that when you put your bench in, you don’t have to worry during that 10 minutes your starters are getting a rest.”

The other thing that had Dent excited about this season is the broader community that is represented on the team.

“It’s been really fun,” he said. “One of my favorite things is that you can’t tell which school the kids are from. The only way you can know is if you’re there early enough to see what bus they get off of.”

And there’s an even split on the field.

“That’s not intentional,” he said. “I’m not starting three from each school to make it fair. It just happens there’s good representation from everybody.

“And the community is neat because it’s multi-cultural,” Dent continued. “Nobody cares if you’re from Nicaragua or Ecuador or Honduras, America, Freeman or Parker — they just play, and that’s really cool.”

Freeman Academy is once again playing in Class A — the smaller of the two classes of soccer sanctioned by the South Dakota High School Activities Association — and is one of 12 teams in its league. Of those, eight will make the playoffs.

And while the good teams like Sioux Falls Christian, Vermillion and Tea Area play at another level, Dent says the Bobcats should generally hold their own this fall and are a strong candidate to return to the postseason.

“None of us are running around thinking we’re going to win a state championship,” Dent said. “But if we can win the games we’re supposed to, we might even take that fourth seed and host a playoff game and make a little run. There’s a really cool feeling on the team that we could do something this year,” he continued. “For a team that only won two games two years ago, we’re excited about where we are.”