By Dan Barile
EAGLE TIMES CORRESPONDENT
Head Coach: Justin Parrott (5th season)
2022 Results: 5-9-2, made the preliminary round of the Division 3 playoffs
LANGDON, NH — Despite losing Division III All-State defender Derek Bader (honorable mention), Coach Justin Parrott expects defense to be a strength for Fall Mountain again this season.
“We are very organized defensively, which shows how coachable this group is,” he said. Parrott, a former coach of the Fall Mountain girls soccer team and at Keene State College, also mentioned that team speed is another strength for the Wildcats.
A challenge from last season is capitalizing on scoring opportunities, and it’s something the Wildcats have been working on. While a strong defensive unit kept them in games, being held scoreless in nine of their 16 games prevented further success.
Fall Mountain returns a senior laden team led by goalie Aidan Parrott, midfielder Aiden Belden and forward Troy Tenney. Aidan Parrott led the team with 127 saves last season and has been named a team captain. Belden provides strong support defensively, while Tenney uses his speed and strength to create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. Coach Parrott also expects Lennon Doescher, a talented sophomore midfielder, to be a key contributor. The Wildcats return 10 varsity players and have 30 players between the varsity and junior varsity rosters.
In Division III, Fall Mountain has some history with Mascoma Valley after falling to them in the first round of the playoffs the past two seasons. Mascoma Valley proceeded to advance to the state championship last season where they fell to Gilford.
Another division foe for Fall Mountain is local rival Stevens. The Wildcats and Cardinals split the season series last year with each team winning a game by a score of 2 to 1. Fall Mountain hosted Stevens on Saturday, Sept. 2 and travels to Claremont on Monday, Oct. 2. In addition to their win over Stevens last year, Fall Mountain also defeated Kearsarge, Manchester West and earned two victories over Monadnock.
Fall Mountain had a scrimmage scheduled against Keene on Monday, Aug. 21st before they opened the regular season on the road against Conant on Friday, Aug. 25. Last season Fall Mountain played Conant to a scoreless tie at home and suffered a 1-0 defeat on the road.
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