“I wish it worked that way,” senior Quinton Roach said. “Obviously, making the districts is very tough. And us doing that against Greenon after losing to them the first time was pretty sweet.
“It definitely made up for some stuff we did. But not everything. It was pretty rough. I’m looking forward to this year and having a better team and better record.”
Roach should get his wish. Though Foley has graduated (he’s attending the University of Cincinnati and may play soccer there), the Cougars return six starters and three others who played regularly.
Foley’s scoring prowess will be missed — he notched 10 goals in his injury-plagued senior season and a whopping 36 goals and 17 assists in 19 games as a junior — but the Cougars may have enough offensive firepower among the returnees.
“Nobody is going to replace Colin. It’s going to be by committee,” said coach Chris Slagle, who is in his 23rd year. “Some guys will have to step up defensively. That will be some of our biggest focus. Defending not just individually, but as a group. That’s what we’ll really need.”
The Cougars have an extensive offseason program, and Slagle was encouraged by his team’s showing in a summer tourney at Yellow Springs.
“We were in a better spot than what we originally thought we were in,” he said. “These guys really care for one another, so their hard work and dedication in playing for each other will make up for some lack of skill.
“Somehow, we’ll get goals. We may not get a lot, but we’ll get our share.”
Senior Josh Marcum is the new goalkeeper, and classmates Colton Jackson, Noah Long will fill holes elsewhere.
Versatile sophomores Tristan Slagle (the coach’s son) and Ahmad Salhieh also started last year.
Competition is keen. The Cougars have a robust 32 players on the roster.
“They hold each other accountable,” Slagle said. “Everyone’s bought in. They’ll tell someone if they’re kind of messing around and not going wholehearted, and they let them know they’d better get there quick.”
Slagle is expecting a breakout season from Roach, who had four goals last year.
“He’s got great speed and quickness and a really good work ethic,” Slagle said. “He just makes a lot of stuff happen. He’ll start our attack up front and look to cause some chaos.”
Slagle, 45, took over the program his first year after graduating from Rio Grande University and has the Cougars on a roll. They went 70-30-8 from 2010-15.
But CBC titles have been elusive. The Cougars’ last crown came in 1999, and Roach and his mates are looking to end that drought.
“I think about that every day,” Roach said. “Winning a league championship is almost like winning a World Series for us. We don’t have a lot of them, but I know we can add one on this year.”
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