While the Durant soccer girls will be looking to rebuild after losing a ton of experience to graduation, the boys are expected to rely on experience and a ton of depth to return to the playoffs again.
The Lions are coming off a 9-4 campaign in which they reached the postseason before bowing out in a 3-2 overtime thriller to Guthrie. They’ll return six starters and several others that got plenty of experience for head coach John Wilmoth.
On the girls’ side, head coach Katie Williams welcomes back just four starters off a 7-7 squad and will have a host of newcomers having to step into major roles.
Each group will get the season started Tuesday night at Madill.
Girls
Returning starters for the Lady Lions include senior midfielder Lily Ruiz, senior goalkeeper Alex Martinez, sophomore forward Jaylin Patton and sophomore midfielder Kamryn White.
That nucleus will be counted on heavily to carry much of the load, especially early in the season while the team looks to build chemistry as a unit.
Patton is expected to key the offensive charge as has shown by her four goals in preseason action. White will also add a spark after scoring a couple goals as a freshman.
Ruiz’s leadership will be pivotal in the middle of the field while Martinez should be a major factor with her previous experience in goal.
“We lost a big chunk of our starting group and are basically beginning from scratch on the back line,” Williams commented. “Patton has really progressed and will fill some huge roles for us. She has stepped up so far and is goal hungry. Martinez was second in the state in saves last year so we are going to count heavily on her.”
In addition to four senior transfer additions, the Lady Lion coach is expecting contributions from senior Diana Hernandez, who didn’t play a year ago, as well as Riley Standifer on the back line.
At forward, Kira Hoffman returns as well after missing last year with an ACL injury and will provide a spark to the offensive attack.
“We are definitely going to change up our style a little because there’s not much chemistry yet so we’ll probably be more reserved and defensively minded,” Williams said. “We are not as technically sound yet as I would like but feel like midfield will be our strength. We should have a good chance in most of our district games if our back line comes together. We have a bunch of brandnew kids so we will see how it goes.
“We competed well against some 6A teams in preseason scrimmages so have potential to beat anybody. We must build some more chemistry. Hopefully we have that cohesion in district play after getting those early games under our belts. It should show us where we are going to be.”
Boys
With a record 55 players there is definitely plenty of depth for the Lions going into the 2025 campaign.
That group includes six returning starters but the biggest question mark is likely at the goalkeeper position for Wilmoth.
Junior Leland Hardwick, freshman Kaden Cabrera and senior Caden Vickers could all be fighting for time in goal, especially early in the season.
“This is the most kids we’ve ever had so we’ll have to get real creative on playing time,” Wilmoth commented. “It’s pretty hard to work on one thing with that many players all together. We’ve added several extra JV games this year to try and rotate them in because a lot of these young kids are the future of the program.
“We have plenty of players. We just have to see who is going to step up and take spots. There are 11 spots, so who wants them? Competition breeds success and we have a lot competing for spots. They are going to push each other.”
The Lions’ returning cast will include Joseph Flores, Alfredo Hernandez, Jesiah Maynard, Mitchell Palmer, Isaiah Quiros and Kevin Vazquez. Otto Baskin was hurt most of last year but got to play the last couple games of the season.
Also back from a cast that played quite a bit are Shajen Davis, Jonathan Hitchcock and Aiden Polk. They should also be bolstered by move-in Konnor Shenas, who has played a lot of soccer and will join Flores in the center midfield area.
“Baskin and Davis will be key contributors for us offensively,” Wilmoth said. “They have both scored goals for us in scrimmage games. Flores and Shenas are going to be threats to score as well. Traditionally it’s your forwards that score, but we have several that are capable in other areas as well. I am really excited to see these young kids develop.
“We are going to hang our hat on our defense with Vazquez, Palmer and Hernandez back there. We only lost one defender, but you never know what to expect when you’re starting a new keeper until you get out there. We are hoping to get some questions answered before the district starts.”
The Lions’ district schedule will be back with an east flare this season with Bishop Kelley, Tulsa Edison, Rogers, Coweta, Shawnee and Tulsa Hale back on the schedule after being off there a season ago.
“There’s not a whole lot of easy games when you look down the schedule,” Wilmoth added. “It’s a much tougher district than we were in last year. Our goal is to get back to the playoffs but we have to take one game at a time.”