Jacob McClain is among a slew of seniors for Nixa who are finally getting their chance to be starters.
They found themselves in backup roles to older players the past few years. The Eagles’ Class of 2023 was well represented in Nixa’s starting lineup the past two seasons.
The Class of 2024 is being rewarded for their resilience this season.
“I think it’s our love for the sport that has kept us here,” said McClain, a midfielder/defender. “We’ve all played together and we play (soccer) for fun, so we all kind of naturally stayed.”
“There's a lot of those,” coach Evan Palmer said of his seniors who are first-year starters. “That’s kind of the story of the year. Some of these guys played jayvee through their junior year. They are dedicated. They love their team and now they're going to get their time now. We want them to make the most it.
“We want to see that hunger from them,” he added. “They're good students, they've listened well, learned and set a good culture.”
In addition to McClain, Nixa’s seniors are Lucas Green, Sam Sellenriek, Ben McGehee, Loui Fuentes, Gavin Ward, Eli Krueger and Matt Price.
Green was a starter at left wing for most of last season.
“We need him to score a bunch of goals,” Palmer said.
Palmer is also counting on McClain to make big contributions.
“He's smart and intelligent, a very crafty kind of player,” Palmer said.
Other Eagles to look out for include Caeden Cloud, Jayden Tate, Blake Reynolds, Aiden Morris, Robert Jordan and Logan Fielder.
Sophomores who figure to play are Conner Sharr, Keagan Pycior and Cameron Abernathy. Pycior topped the jayvee in scoring last year.
“Defensively, I think we're pretty good,” Palmer said. “Can we get the goals, can we finish? We're moving off the ball pretty well, we’ve got to work on our movement on and off the ball, as well as putting the ball away. I got the guys. I know they can do it.
“We don't change our expectations,” he added. “We want to win a conference championship, win a District championship and go as far as we can. That never changes. It's just that the way we go about it might change. We might change our tactics some to reflect our players and put them in position to be as successful as they can.”
