Mt. Pleasant, IA- The spring sport season is upon us, ushering everyone back outside and for the girls’ and boys’ soccer teams back on the pitch. The Southeast Conference (SEC) is ready to clash again with the Burlington girls’ team and Mt. Pleasant boys’ team looking to defend their conference crowns. Here’s part two of an early preview of the SEC.
Mt. Pleasant
The Panthers will look to defend their first SEC Championship since 2013 after going 8-1-1 against the conference. Mt. Pleasant was able to win in multiple ways last year, with four games of four or more goals and 10 games of allowing one goal or less.
The best part about it, Mt. Pleasant returns All-SEC First Teamers Dylan White, who has led the team in points the past three seasons, Xachary LeBlanc, who led the league in saver percentage, and Abraham Cass, who played a big role in helping the Panthers just 1.4 goals per game.
The Panthers will still have to figure out how to replace key pieces like Samuel Schaapen, Jonah Zimmer, and Kohen Cass but for a team that was one game away from their first trip to the state tournament since 2013 expectations remain high.
Fort Madison
The Bloodhounds was the only team to beat Mt. Pleasant last year, taking down the Panthers 4-2 late in the season, resulting in an 8-2 mark against the conference. Outside of SEC play, Fort Madison struggled going 2-5-1, which included four loses by three goals or more.
Fort Madison depended upon their big three for offense in First Teamers Connor Horn, who led the league in goals with 18, Henry Graham, and Jacob Shottenkirk, who led the SEC with 18 assists for the season. Altogether, the Bloodhounds averaged three goals per game.
Fort Madison will have to improve their defense if they would like a better shot outside of conference play with Keelynd Ross touting a save percentage of 75.5% but needed to produce 83 saves to get there. Nonetheless, the Bloodhounds have continued to find a way to hang out on the top of the conference leaderboard over the past several seasons.
Fairfield
The Trojans had Mt. Pleasant on the ropes twice, each time allowing the Panthers to score a late goal to either steal the victory or enact a tie. It was a sour note for a team that finished 10-6-2 overall and 5-3-2 in the SEC for their first winning record since 2021.
Now, Fairfield will have to figure it out after Binh Truong, the SEC Player of the Year, graduated after leading the team in assists and finishing the year with 26 points. Nevertheless, this team was incredibly young with Ian Richards carving out a spot on top of the team’s point totals as a freshman.
Throw in a returning goaltender in Henry Swan, who was a freshman last year, and Fairfield may prove more difficult than most. Offense will need to be increased with eight games last year where Fairfield was held to one goal or less.
Burlington
After back-to-back years hanging out around the top of the conference standings, the Grayhounds crashed to a 4-5-1 record in SEC play and just a 1-6-1 record outside of conference play.
Adding in some more strain to a lackluster season was graduating their two top playmakers in Mateo Weir and Alexander Schroeder, who contributed half of the team’s goals for the season. Moreover, Sheltyn Anderson, who stopped 80.2% of shots he’s faced, and Will Steamer, who notched 27 saves in relief, both graduated from between the pipes.
For a team that averaged only 1.6 goals per game, the loss of their two stars on offense does not make things any easier and with their one strength graduating the Grayhounds will have an entirely new look to their team this season.
Washington
It was a tough year for the Demons after winning the conference the season before and collecting 11 total wins in the 2023 season. Last year, Washington went 3-7 in the SEC with a victory over Burlington and just 4-13 for the season.
The Demons were a young, inexperienced team last season that saw Edwin Cortes shine as a junior with nine of the team’s 15 goals. Unfortunately, that inexperience was felt on defense with Kaden Read getting peppered with 253 shots on goal and amazingly coming away with 200 saves for the year.
Unfortunately, Washington will have to find a new goalie after Read graduated last season. This team could be looking at a similar result this year.
Keokuk
The Chiefs opted to forfeit the season after a multitude of red cards against Central Lee in the third game of the season would keep them out of postseason play. A senior led squad last season will now lead to an inexperienced squad this season.
Mason Baker is the only underclassmen who produced any points for the Chiefs last year. Someone will have to step up both on offense and defense for a program that has not produced a winning record since the 2017 season.