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By Jay Spivey

For the Clemmons Courier

Change is inevitable no matter the circumstance. 

So, having a new coach is a common occurrence. However, Jeffrey Williams, who is still the girls soccer coach at West Forsyth, announced his resignation as the boys soccer coach this past January just a few months after the team finished 20-1-2, finishing with a record of 130-53-21 as the boys coach. The team didn’t lose until Charlotte Independence won 3-1 in the second round of the NCHSAA Class 4-A playoffs early last November. 

Enter John Blake, the new boys soccer coach at West Forsyth, who was introduced this past February. Blake previously coached at Ledford, in which he was the boys soccer coach for 12 years and the girls coach for seven years.  

“It’s a nice change knowing kind of how to start a program again,” Blake said. “When I first started, I didn’t really know exactly where I was. Now, I’ve got my footing and I kind of know what I need to bring to the table to help the team reach its full potential.” 

The team has been working out ever since Blake was hired, but practice officially started on July 31 in preparation for the season. 

“I was always happy at Ledford,” he said. “The change was not to leave Ledford. Ledford made me the coach I was and am. And, you know, I really appreciate my time there. But West, it reinvigorates my competitiveness. It gives me a chance to challenge myself as a coach a little bit and take what I learned at Ledford and hopefully help West Forsyth grow.” 

The cupboard is certainly not bare for the Titans.  

“I think the expectations are super-high,” Blake said. “The pressure is there. Preseason rankings came out and we’re up at the top. And I think pressure’s a privilege. So, for us, can we take the pressure, learn from it, use it to our advantage, and grow. I don’t think we’re trying to be perfect by any means, but definitely have a growth mindset and peak at the right time towards the end of the season so we can make a little run.” 

West Forsyth has a tough nonconference schedule before Central Piedmont 4-A begins Sept. 11 with a home game against Parkland. Before that, West Forsyth is scheduled to play Lake Norman, Mooresville, Watauga, Greensboro Page, Concord Cox Mill, Northern Guilford, Asheboro, and Cornelius Hough. It’s also scheduled to play host to Oak Grove on Sept. 13.  

“We use our schedule to stretch us both mentally and tactically, which we’re really trying to stretch out all of our weaknesses and grow as much as we can before conference play,” Blake said. “You know, the goal’s always to win every game, but that’s not always possible. We want to make sure we find all of our weaknesses out now and fix them before we get into (conference) play.” 

According to MaxPreps.com, West Forsyth lost eight players to graduation, which includes both goalkeepers – Grant Tally and Matthew Barghout.  

“We lost some good leadership. We lost some pieces,” Blake said. “I know Grant in goal was super-instrumental for the team. That’s some big shoes to fill. You know, we lost some key components, but with that, I think we’ve got some good young players and some good guys coming back who are hungry to win.” 

Abiel Lopez-Dominguez, Alexis Palaez, Tally, Joshua Medel-Ayala, Ryan Penaloza, Haegen Paschold, and Hayden Wolverton were all named All-Conference last year. In addition, Penaloza was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year and Paschold was named Offensive Player of the Year.  

Seniors Lopez-Dominguez, Paschold, Medel-Ayala and Penaloza are all back.  

“I think offensively, we’ve got Abiel Lopez and Haegen Paschold are two returners who had big years last year,” Blake said. “And we’re looking to kind of go in their direction. They’re our captains. They stepped up in the offseason and really led tje team. We’ve got other guys that have stepped up as well, but I think it’s going to go through them.” 

Junior Riley Powell and senior Milo Lester are listed as the goalkeepers, but Blake said Powell will likely start. 

“(Powell’s) been outstanding,” Blake said. “Riley’s gaining confidence. Last year, he played on the JV, had a great offseason and summer and continues to just get better. We look to just fill him in and not miss a beat.” 

As for how the Central Piedmont 4-A looks, West Forsyth finished 14-0 last year, well ahead of Reynolds (9-4-1), East Forsyth and Parkland (both 9-5), and Mount Tabor (7-6-1). Glenn, Reagan and Davie County finished sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively. 

“There’s no off nights and I think we’ve got a target on our back, obviously, after winning conference last year,” Blake said. “I think everybody wants to give us their best shot. So, it’s just about staying fresh physically and mentally and emotionally and taking each game one at a time, but also making sure you’re prepared going into each game, not overlooking or thinking.” 

 

Roster:

0 – Riley Powell

1 – Milo Lester

2 – Haegen Paschold

3 – David Perez

4 – Ryan Penaloza

5 – Joshua Medel-Ayala

6 – Steven Kwak

7 – Ethan Barghout

8 – Karim Chaaban

9 – Abiel Lopez-Dominguez

10 – Nate Garcia

11 – Elijah Powell

12 – Panayoti Demopoulos

14 – Josue Saguilan

15 – Sebastion Medina

16 – Omar Brahim

18 – Owen Bandy

19 – Diego Castaneda-Calderon

20 – Peyton Hopkinson

 

Schedule:

8/12 – Lake Norman, W 4-1

8/14 – @ Mooresville, W 4-0

8/19 – Watauga

8/22 – Page, 7 p.m.

8/27 – @ Cox Mill, 7 p.m.

8/29 – @ Northern Guilford, 7 p.m.

9/3 – @ Asheboro, 6:30 p.m.

9/5 – Hough, 6:30 p.m.

9/11 – Parkland, 7 p.m.

9/13 – Oak Grove, 7 p.m.

9/16 – @ Glenn, 7 p.m.

9/18 – @ Reagan, 7 p.m.

9/23 – Davie, 7 p.m.

9/25 – R.J. Reynolds, 7 p.m.

9/30 – @ East Forsyth, 7 p.m.

10/2 – Mount Tabor, 7 p.m.

10/9 – @ Parkland, 7 p.m.

10/14 – Glenn, 7 p.m.

10/16 – Reagan, 7 p.m.

10/21 – @ Davie, 7 p.m.

10/23 – @ R.J. Reynolds, 7 p.m.

10/28 – East Forsyth, 7 p.m.

10/30 – @ Mount Tabor, 7 p.m.