Attacking mentality, improved defense and confident mindset push Greene County boys’ soccer to brink of state tournament
~by Noah Rohlfing, special to The Scranton Journal
Greene County High School boys soccer’s unlikely run to the brink of 1A state tournament qualification is one for the history books.
In just the team’s second year of existence, the Rams have formed a formidable attack behind the state-high (in all levels of boys competition) 52 goals and counting from junior attacking midfielder Junior Gutierrez. It was Gutierrez who scored the winning goal with less than 12 minutes to play against Riverside to send the Rams to the substate finals against AHSTW (Avoca). The Rams play Saturday at noon with a state berth on the line.
It’s a remarkable rise, from nothing to a No. 8 Class 1A ranking in 24 months, but coach Carl Behne hasn’t been shocked by it.
“We’ve taken steps to build from last year,” Behne said. “You gotta believe in yourself and have that confidence. If you put the work in and believe in yourself, the sky’s the limit.”
The Rams are 13-5 heading into Saturday’s contest, with a bulk of their losses coinciding with the absence of their starting goalkeeper, junior Cael Fisher, after an appendectomy. Fisher’s return just a week ago was a big boost for the Rams heading into substate.
Behne made sure to praise Fisher and the Greene County defense as well, as he said the improvements the backline made from the team’s first season helped the team take another step forward, almost halving the number of goals the Rams conceded.
“We certainly are a very attack-minded team,” Behne said. “One of the key focuses we had as a team was a bigger commitment and focus to our defense.”
The increased stability of the team came from a tactical shift from Behne.
That change? Going from a 4-3-2-1 “Christmas tree” formation to a more stable midfield in a 4-3-1-2, allowing Gutierrez to run free behind the striker duo of Luis Velazco, a sophomore, and senior Isaiah Losee.
Behne said the Rams would not have been where they are now without Gutierrez, and not just because of his goal-scoring abilities.
“With Junior it’s really about his selfless intentional focus on every match,” Behne said. “He is certainly a very strong offensive threat and brings great technical and tactical ability and mindset.
“He brings another element to the table.”
The unselfishness of Gutierrez and the adjusted formation has put Velazco in position to score 26 goals of his own in 2019. The frontline’s connection has been key to the Rams’ growth, and it began well before the season kicked off.
It was a show of commitment from the players in the off-season that was at the heart of the team’s cohesion, according to head coach Carl Behne.
“I knew we were going to be a stronger year for us, the boys did a lot of preseason work on their own,” Behne said. “You couldn’t go a couple days without seeing on social media a bunch of them in the gym or somewhere playing soccer.
“The boys have formed a nice bond and work really well together.”
All these adjustments and developments have put Greene County in a position of strength heading into the future, with Gutierrez and Velazco among many returning contributors for the 2020 season.
Greene County is new on the scene of Class 1A high school soccer, but the 2019 Rams have put the rest of the Heart of Iowa Conference on notice: The Rams are for real.
