Looking to continue a streak of state tournament appearances the Powell High School boys’ soccer team has a number of new faces, but with a strong early season buy-in the Panthers are hoping to make it to state and contend in an open 3A field this season.

Powell’s strengths come at the back, as senior goalkeeper Ryan Rivas returns in net for the Panthers while fellow senior Owen Hill and junior Calvin Opps return as defenders.

“I’ll rely on them to keep the backline organized, and honestly probably help keep as much of the field organized as they can. Players like Owen, who is very vocal, I think he’ll help keep the back line organized, which is important to me,” coach David Gilliatt said. “Calvin will help as well. We’ll probably play him either centrally or as an outside back.”

While the Panthers bring back plenty of experience they will need to adapt quickly up top and in the midfield. Players with varsity experience include seniors Tim Hosein, Hugh Carpenter and Ethan Frame, juniors Sean Ferguson, Knox Johnson and Michael Horner as well as sophomore Gianreye D’Alessandro.

“I think it’ll be important for them to get some success early on, to get some goals. I think that’ll boost their confidence,” Gilliatt said. 

He said early chemistry will be key to the season for the Panther attack, as he feels if they can find that connection early on they’ll be able to find success in the final third of the field.

“If they can figure out where each other’s movements are, and kind of instinctively know where people are going to be, play the ball into those spaces or play to their feet. I think the more they can play with each other and create some chemistry, the better they’ll be,” Gilliatt said. “We’ll definitely rely on some of those returning players that have a little more club experience to get some of our goals.”

Gilliatt said that he’s not sure if the Panthers will be a high possession team or a high goal scoring team, but feels if they can stay organized and capitalize on their chances they can find some success.

“I think if we can be organized in defense and capitalize on opportunities that we create and be efficient there, that we can find some success with that strategy,” Gilliatt said. “I think we have to be the team that’s first to the ball, that outworks our opponent, that’s more organized than the opposition and has more desire. I want us to be excellent at the fundamentals. I want us to be excellent at how hard we work.”

While the Panthers hope to find ways to capitalize on their chances and create ways to find success, Gilliatt is pleased with his team’s buy-in this season and commitment to the program.

“I go into every season a little bit cautious, not sure what I’m working with. There’s always maybe a couple players that you look at and know ‘OK, I need to be patient with this player,’” Gilliatt said. “But for the most part, this group is really all-in, and it makes me excited to work with them. We just have a lot of buy-in, a lot of commitment. It’s mostly positive, which is great that we can focus on soccer and on the team building aspect. I think that’s been cool.”

He said this year’s team is willing to learn, and that is a reason he believes this team can accomplish plenty this season.

“Everybody wants to be here, which is cool. I think the work ethic is high. This is a very coachable group,” Gilliatt said. “I don’t have a bunch of kids that think they already know everything. I think they’re ready to learn. They’re ready to get better. They want to accomplish as much as they can this season. I’m optimistic, it’s a cool group to work with because of how coachable they are.”

Heading into this season, there are a number of teams that could have a shot at lifting the trophy in May, as defending champion Buffalo has talent but Gilliatt also expects Cody and Lander to be in the mix at the top.

“Buffalo when they came to the college indoor tournament, I think they’ve got some really technically good players. I think Cody will be a strong team and I think Lander will be a strong team,” Gilliatt said.

Powell was originally scheduled to start its season at home against Newcastle on Friday, but that has turned into a junior varsity only contest.

That means the Panthers will host 3A East opponent Douglas at 2 p.m. on Saturday to open the season, with Gilliatt looking forward to playing a team likely similar in skill to begin the year.

“I have an idea of some guys that are returning. They’re always a really physical, athletic team,” Gilliatt said. “I think it’ll be great to get a look at one of the teams from the east — I’m definitely not overlooking anybody. I think it’ll be a good matchup, it’ll be a great first varsity game for us. I’m looking forward to it.”

The Panthers continue their early season home contests with a matchup against Buffalo next Thursday before taking the rest of Easter weekend off and starting conference play on the road the weekend of April 10-11.