SEAN BOSTON
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson High School boys soccer team is off to an 8-1-1 start to the 2024 season, already securing more wins than the Salthawks had the entire 2023 season.
The Salthawks won seven games last year, finishing 7-8-2.
"I wouldn't say it's to be expected, but last year our team was young and we returned a lot of starters from last year," head coach Tyler Lawrence said. "We've got a really good player pool with a lot of talent this year."
The Salthawks will host Maize South (9-1-0) this evening at 6:30 p.m. at the Salthawk Soccer Complex. The Mavericks are the current No. 1 seed in the 5A west regional.
"They're the reigning state champs and right now they're leading the west region in class 5A," Lawrence said.
Lawrence says the Salthawks have the home field advantage with the natural surface.
"We're one of the few grass locations in the state," Lawrence said. "To be honest, I think the guys are mentally prepared and ready to go."
Lawrence, who played at Hutch High was thrilled when he was hired in 2022 to coach the program that he once had played for.
"It's fantastic," Lawrence said. "I have great memories of Hutch High soccer, it was really the highlight of high school for me. I played under a really good coach while I was here, so I'm just trying to return the favor to these guys. I've coached a lot of the guys in the junior and senior class for some of them seven or eight years, so I'm just trying to give them the best experience possible."
The Salthawks have played a challenging schedule thus far, and it is only going to get even more tricky over the next week. Hutchinson will host Maize South tonight, travel to Derby on Thursday and then host Maize next Tuesday.
"Last week was tough simply because we had three games during the week," Lawrence said. "That was a lot physically and mentally on the players. This week and next week are tough just simply because of the competition that we have. We're going to have to be on it for the rest of the year, we've got tough games the next three weeks."
The only blemish on the Salthawks' schedule was a loss to Dodge City on Sept. 4. The Red Demons remain undefeated and atop the class 6A rankings.
"I think the game against Dodge was kind of a wake up call for us," Lawrence said. "Last year, we struggled with confidence in big games and I think that kind of reared up in the Dodge match. I'm glad that happened early in the season, because we've had a few matches since then where the game is close and you can tell the guys are growing and learning from those experiences."
The Salthawks are currently in third place in the 5A west regional standings behind Maize South and Salina South.
"It's nice to see the guys riding high on confidence and enjoying their success," Lawrence said. "I will say, especially when we're talking about regional seeding in 5A west, there is not really a soft spot."
Hutchinson has outscored its opponents 22-18 so far this season, including six games decided by one goal or fewer.
"Offensively we have a lot of good attacking players this year," Lawrence said. "One of our key players up front is Griffin Galyon, he's only a sophomore, but he's extremely talented and naturally gifted, but he also works really hard and has a great attitude. We also have some great upperclassmen in our attack. We have Landon Nusser who's a senior this year, he's a big physical presence, he's a great finisher and scored our first two goals of the season and really set a tone for us as a team. Probably another player in our attack is Hayden Waymire, he's put a lot of work in individually and grown a lot as a player."
The Salthawk defense is the tone setter that makes the team goes.
"We have some depth in our midfield, in the starting positions, Jack Yoder and Cole Bleything provide great leadership and they coordinate well together," Lawrence said. "They're just a great engine for our team and can cover the whole field."
"We also have a really strong senior class," Lawrence said. "We have Lucas Witt, Alex Johnson and Daniel Prichard, they're all great leaders for the team and have big game experience. We also have Jason Prichard, Jair Maciel and Alex Mendez. They're juniors and are getting a great experience this year and really contributing to the team, as well."
Lawrence says he is grateful for the community support his team has received to this point.
"Our parents and fans have been great this year," Lawrence said. "We always have a really good showing at the games and myself and our players really appreciate their support."