Expectations have evolved within the Caney Creek boys soccer program.
When coach Andrew McGregor took over in 2016, the Panthers had been to the postseason just four times. When the coronavirus pandemic halted the 2020 season, Caney Creek had already clinched its fourth trip to the playoffs under McGregor.
“The last couple years, the kids come in and believe they can play with anybody,” McGregor said in a recent phone interview. “That right there pushes them more. That’s what we train for and that’s the expectation. The freshman coming in expect to win.”
In 2021, the Panthers have some key players to replace including four who earned All-Montgomery County recognition.
Midfielder Joaquin Rodriguez was on The Courier’s first team and was District 20-5A’s Midfielder MVP. Forward Ulysses Cruz and defender Jair Lopez made the top team in the district and county. Defender Mario Rangel was an all-district first teamer and an all-county second teamer.
“The seniors from last year, they were a really good group of seniors,” McGregor said. “They were cohesive, they played well together and they were good kids.”
Leading the way among returning players is a senior that didn’t play for the Panthers last year due to development academy rules. Ulvado Lozano is expected to play a key role in the middle in 2021.
“We gained a player back that we had as a freshman and sophomore on varsity,” McGregor said. “That’s kind of exciting. He’ll be really involved and will really help out.”
Also back are senior wings Jesse Perez and Jorge Jaimes, both of whom were voted captains. Senior Brayan Torres and junior Ariel Palacios are the lone players back with experience on the back line, and Torres will be leaned on as new players are worked into the spot.
“Brayan is our one returning defender,” McGregor said. “That’s kind of our one question mark. We’ll be replacing three guys.”
The Panthers, like most anybody else on the field right now, are thankful to have the opportunity.
“Summer was kind of interesting, obviously, just with the restrictions and stuff,” McGregor said. “Now it feels more normal of a season. The normalcy of a practice every day, seeing the kids every day out and around, it feels good just to be normal. The kids are itching to get playing.”
Caney Creek will compete in the same district by name, 20-5A, but it has a different look. What was a 10-team league now has eight competitors. Gone are Grand Oaks, Tomball, Willis and Huntsville — the former three all jumping up to Class 6A. The new-look league will feature Caney Creek, Cleveland, Dayton, Kingwood Park, Lake Creek, Montgomery, New Caney and Porter.
“I’m not sure anyone would be upset about getting out of a 10-team district,” McGregor said. “Just from the perspective of getting that extra tournament back, that’s really what I’m happy about. With a 10-team district, we wanted to make it fair with everybody playing everybody. With eight teams we get our second tournament weekend back, which is nice. It’s more time to prepare.”
When last season abruptly ended, the Panthers were in second place behind an unbeaten Kingwood Park, something McGregor thought about when reflecting on the 2020 season.
“Last season, just thinking about it, was just unfinished,” he said. “I know Kingwood Park was playing really good soccer and I really wanted to see what they could do, making a playoff run unbeaten. For them not to have a chance kind of sucks, but it’s just the situation we were in.”
As a new season begins, Caney Creek hopes it can compete with K-Park and the rest of its district for postseason spots and beyond.
“The first couple years I took over, it was about whether we could make the playoffs,” McGregor said. “Now it’s why can’t we go the regional final, why can’t be a team at the state tournament. Not saying it’s not every team’s goal, but I think the kids and the program, they believe if we get to the playoffs, we have as good a chance as anybody else.”
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December 11, 2020 at 10:00PM
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BOYS SOCCER: Caney Creek aiming for continued success in new season - Houston Chronicle
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