Bell, Trinity expect young rosters to pay dividends

With the 2015 season behind them, the L.D. Bell and Trinity boys soccer teams have next season to look forward to.

And given the youthful look of their rosters, there is reason to be hopeful about next season.

Bell returns eight starters and 13 players in all from this season’s squad that, along with Trinity, made a run at reaching the postseason out of the powerful District 7-6A. That includes six juniors and a pair of sophomores.

“We were young the last two years. The next three years we should be pretty competitive,” said Bell coach Scott Campbell.

Down the road at Trinity, his good friend Tracy Duren is also excited about the 13 players he will have returning next season.

“We were very young. They got tons of reps, and that will pay off down the line,” Duren said.

While each team was 2-8-2 in the district race, a play or two here or there going differently might have put one of them in the postseason.

For example, if the two ties had been victories for either squad, that would have given them four more standings points. Toss in a win or two over fourth-place Haltom, and it would have been the Buffaloes who were staying home in the postseason.

“We’ve got to learn how to compete, turn ties into wins and losses into ties,” Duren said.

“You’re almost playing a playoff game every single night in this district. But I’ve never been one to shy away from that, and I don’t want our kids to.”

Trinity’s close losses includes 1-0 to playoff-qualifying Southlake Carroll. They were also down to mighty Coppell – a favorite to win state – 1-0 at the half in each game.

“Who are you going to see who’s better than Coppell?” Duren asked.

Campbell also used Coppell as a measuring stick for his team, which improved its deficit by four goals from the first to second meeting.

“Just the improvement we showed, being down 2-1 at the half. We didn’t get the end result we wanted, but we looked so much better,” Campbell said.

“I’ve played against three state champions, and they (Coppell) the best team I’ve seen.”

Both coaches have enjoyed success with their programs and anticipate more. Campbell, who has been at Bell 10 years, has guided the Blue Raiders to three postseason appearances, the most recent being in 2013. Duren took over the reins at Trinity in 1997 and has led the Trojans to 12 playoff appearances.

Senior Naxhi Semo led Bell with three goals. For Trinity, junior Omar Salgado and freshmen Angel Lopez and Jardel Kuate each scored two goals, while senior Lewis Buenrostro had three assists and freshman Mateo Gonzalez registered two assists.

“Assists and goals were pretty even for us, and that’s a good thing,” said Campbell. “I’ve got a lot of versatility, more depth than I’ve had in a while.”

Duren said among his team’s key losses is senior captain Dylan Yu.

“He’s been an instrumental part of our program,” Duren said.

Cambpell said he’s excited about the sophomore class that feeds into his varsity system. He also credited the feeder system that comes from the Hurst United select team and Hurst United Soccer Association recreation program.

Duren said most of the players at Trinity do not play select ball, but they will have ample opportunity to work on their game during the summer.

“We get them as many touches as we can,” he said, noting availabity of the facilities is consistent.

As for highlights to the now-finished season, Campbell cited, “Quality players I’ve enjoyed coaching. It’s been a fun year.”

Duren said his highlight was the team finishing strong and the experience the younger players received from that.

“We had to learn to play at a high level, and watching the development that came from that was nice,” he said. “We’re working hard to take a young team forward.”

This story was originally published March 30, 2015 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Bell, Trinity expect young rosters to pay dividends."