IHSAA boys soccer: Season predictions for Martinsville, Mooresville, Monrovia
The high school soccer season is officially three weeks from starting.
Here's an overview of three of Morgan County's boys' soccer squads, Martinsville, Mooresville and Monrovia, what their schedules look like and a set of season predictions to top it all off.
Martinsville
2021 record: 8-10 (2-5 Mid-State).
Last outing: 4-0 loss to Bloomington North, sectional semi-finals.
Schedule overview
There's little variation in the Artesians schedule in 2022, compared to last season's slate of games. They'll kick things off against Edgewood, Mooresville, Brown County and Plainfield before visiting rival Bloomington South on August 30. Those five early games will be important in building momentum for the season. Plainfield and South possessed high powered teams last season, with the Panthers making the regional finals. The Pioneers are also a legitimate threat within the Mid-State. Getting wins in any of those three games would bode well early.
The middle of the season will see the Hoosier Cup tournament, followed by matchups against Bloomington North, Terre Haute South, Monrovia and remaining Mid-State challengers, with Perry Meridian and Franklin being the strongest of the bunch.
Key returning players
Martinsville is fortunate to have graduated few, bringing back the majority of its roster from 2021. However, one of those that graduated was leading scorer Sam Foley (7 goals, 2 assists). Regardless, the talent coming back will be more than enough to fill his absence. For starters, there's senior Ethan Haenlein, who finished the year with 6 goals and 4 assists, and he's more than capable of shifting to the lead role.
Also anticipating an increased piece of the action are juniors Martin Barco and Luke Gamble. Barco produced five goals and team-high five assists last season, while Gamble scored four times. With bigger roles, those numbers could increase.
Outlook/Expectations
The Artesians built a lot of momentum heading into the 2022 season. While last season had its ups-and-down, including a spell of six consecutive losses, Martinsville ultimately maneuvered back to its starting form (5-3) by finishing the year winning its final two regular season matchups and its sectional opener against Terre Haute North.
Assuming the Artesians can continue the momentum, the outlook for this season is a positive one, especially considering the majority of the team's core is back. Being in the Mid-State where soccer is often competitive, Martinsville will need to assert itself in conference play to prove itself a legitimate threat.
Record prediction (non-tournament): 8-5 (3-3 MSC).
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Mooresville
2021 record: 9-8 (3-4 Mid-State).
Last outing: 2-0 loss to Ben Davis, sectional opener.
Schedule overview
The positive of Mooresville's schedule is that it gets all the tough conference teams out of the way early. Starting with New Palestine in its first game, the Pioneers will take on Martinsville, Perry Meridian and Plainfield in consecutive fashion before entering the Hoosier Cup.
Showdowns with Whiteland and Franklin late in the season, two conference teams that beat them last year, will pose a challenge. Additionally, its nonconference features tough opponents in 2021 sectional champ Avon, Terre Haute South and Bloomington North. The match against the Orioles is the finale of the season and capturing a win over them could be a significant boost for the postseason.
Key returning players
The most important piece of the Pioneers' squad, Jai Dindiyal, is returning for his junior campaign after leading the team in scoring with 17 goals last season. It's safe to assume he'll lead Mooresville in scoring once again this season. The one who set up many of those goals, Kenny Curry, is also returning for his final season. Curry dished 15 assists, scoring four goals of his own in 2021.
Cadyn Iacoli, a senior who totaled three goals and an assist last season, could play an important role this season as well.
Outlook/Expectations
After starting last season 7-3, the Pioneers limped into the postseason, having lost four of its last six regular season matchups before losing to Ben Davis in the sectional opener. Given the way things ended in 2021 and the returning talent on the roster, the Pioneers should be primed for another winning season.
Much of that will require consistency. Mooresville showed the ability to score, and even compete with some of the conference's best teams but could never quite top them, losing to Plainfield 2-0, Perry 3-1 and Franklin 4-1. With more overall experience, perhaps this season finds the Pioneers with an improved win-loss record.
Record prediction (non-tournament): 10-5 (4-3 MSC).
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Monrovia
2021 record: 4-12-1 (1-4-1 Indiana Crossroads).
Last outing: 4-1 loss to West Vigo, sectional semi-final.
Schedule overview
Once again, the Bulldogs will not be tasked with an easy schedule, though this year's rendition of teams will be a little less daunting than last. Monrovia still opens its season with Greencastle (11-4-2 in 2021), who defeated them 8-2 last year. Also featured early are teams such as Crispus Attucks, North Putnam and conference opponent Cascade.
But where things tend to ease is against teams like Owen Valley, Southmont, Scecina, Bethesda Christian, Beech Grove and Greenwood Christian, who all combined for a record of 10-60-4 last season. The Bulldogs beat two of those three teams (Owen Valley, Scecina), while tying with Beech Grove. The others are new additions to the schedule.
Other challenges will include Morgan County teams Martinsville and Mooresville, along with the team that eliminated them from tournament play last year in West Vigo.
Key returning players
The goal should be well defended this season by senior Riley Corona, who's proved valuable for the Bulldogs throughout his four seasons. From a scoring perspective, fellow senior Malychi Brown showed strides last season and should be more of a focal piece for Monrovia this season.
Outlook/Expectations
With a new coach and a fairly young, yet balanced roster, the Bulldogs could be in line for an improved season in 2022. Much of what made last season difficult was COVID-19. A lot of the games during the early season tilt were without key players, and it affected the team's chemistry and confidence as the season progressed.
Just the season before, the Bulldogs shocked many by winning three consecutive games to claim a sectional championship in 2020 after a 3-13 regular season (6-14 overall). The talent is there, and the team has shown its capable, it's just a matter of gelling early on. As long as the Bulldogs can stay healthy, they should be competitive.
Record prediction (non-tournament): 8-9 (3-3, ICC).
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Contact reporter Devin Voss at dvoss@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @DevinVoss23.
This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: IHSAA boys soccer: Season predictions for Martinsville, Mooresville, Monrovia
