But on a mild Wednesday evening at Gene Cox Stadium in Tallahassee, Navarre’s boys soccer team was forced to deal with defeat, something it hasn’t had to do much of this season.
The Raiders lost 3-0 to unbeaten Leon, the top-ranked team in the state in 4A. They had no answer for the Lions in a 4A regional quarterfinal. It marked the second consecutive game in which they failed to score a goal.
Keeping the Raiders off the scoreboard certainly wasn’t a theme this season. Navarre boasted one of the best offenses in the area.
It reached the district final by lighting up Washington for five goals.
Prior to the two losses Navarre suffered to end the season, including a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Niceville in the district final, the Raiders had only been blanked twice.
But then, this was a special season for Navarre even though the end came with a sting.
The Raiders won 16 games, nearly as many as they won the previous two seasons combined. They played in their second consecutive district championship game as well. They established themselves as the second-best team in the area next to Niceville.
That’s a credit to head coach Abdalla Elbaioumy for building this program back up. The man knows his soccer and what it takes to succeed in the sport.
Give a ton of credit to the players as well. The three seniors–Mason Fralick, Ethan Green and Kenny Morillo–helped set the tone for this team. Their leadership proved invaluable this season.
Navarre is also losing Fynn Bukschat. The foreign exchange student from Germany had a blast playing here and he brought a lot to the team, especially on defense.
The Navarre soccer cupboard, though, is anything but bare.
This team is built to win next season.
The top three goal scorers will all be back. Kobe Banks led the area with 20 goals. Hayden Richard scored 12. Jack Patching punched in 11.
They should be even better next season with another year of experience under their belts.
A total of 15 players scored at least one goal. Eleven will return.
Goaltending shouldn’t be an issue either. Kalvin Coppock, Korey Betts and Shaun Hughson all have experience in goal and if there is one position where you can’t put a price tag on depth, goalie is it.
Sure, luck plays a part in success. So does staying healthy.
On paper, though, the Raiders look poised to have a big year.
And I think they will. This team has the potential to be the best in program history.
The expectation this season was to compete for a district title and then see how things went in the regional. If the Raiders made a run, that would have been a bonus.
The expectation for the 2019-20 season is to not only win the district and get to the regional but to make a run at getting to state.
The Raiders have the pieces in place to do it.
It’s going to be fun seeing just far they can go.
