There’s no substitute for experience, and that rings especially true for the Mansfield boys soccer team.
The Tigers lost 13 seniors from last year’s team, and coach John Fazekas has been figuring out a way to get his new players into shape and form. So far it’s been a little bit of a struggle, with Mansfield out of the gate with a 3-5-2 record.That’s a far cry from last year’s team, which made it to the Class 5A state semifinals and finished with 21 wins. Fazekas said this is a different and younger team and he hopes that it can improve.“We’re still trying to find our identity,” Fazekas said. “We have a brand-new team out there. We’ve got guys playing new positions. They’re trying to get it together.”Mansfield opened District 7-5A with a 1-1 tie against South Grand Prairie last week. But before that result, Fazekas said his Tigers have been showing promise with some good wins against quality teams.Fazekas said he just wants his team to keep getting better after each game. He wants to keep taking steps forward.“Our focus has been great, hopefully that’ll come together,” he said. “I think we’ve had tremendous progress. We went from barely being competitive at the start of the season to much more competitive now.”The progress shows. Mansfield beat Fort Worth Paschal and Arlington Lamar toward the end of its preseason schedule. The Tigers took down Paschal 2-0 and beat Lamar 3-1.Mansfield’s defense stepped up in those two wins, an area Fazekas said is in the most turmoil. Fazekas said he has only one returning starting defender and has three goalies. He’s worked each in and hasn’t yet decided on a full-time starter.Up front, Fazekas has two new players leading the charge. With so many new players in new positions, he said his midfield, which has the most returners, has to be huge for the Tigers.“We’re asking a whole lot of them,” Fazekas said of his midfield. “They’ve got to get back on defense and be there to help the offense. Our midfielders have been scoring quite a bit of our goals this year.”For his forwards, Fazekas is hoping they can be more assertive. Right now, he said they need to be more confident and take more shots on goal.“Our forwards are little nervous out there,” Fazekas said. “They want to take it a step too far instead of taking the shot when they have it. It’s all mental. Once they start shooting from the outside, everything else will open up and be easier for them.”Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
