Wildcat soccer looking for improvement

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – The Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference is really good in some sports, not quite so good in others. One of its best, from top to bottom, is in boys’ soccer and that makes for a formidable challenge for the Central Mountain team of head coach Bill Hook.

How good is the Heartland? Lewisburg took a PIAA title in its division a year ago, Selinsgrove advanced to the state quarterfinals in its class; Warrior Run was exceptional, Williamsport made the state playoffs. In addition to those teams, Milton and Jersey Shore both look to be good this season. As coach Hook notes, “There are no breaks in our conference, so we will need to be ready to battle every night.”

What the Wildcats do have this year is a full roster and quite a few returnees. Among them, coach Hook said, are 13 seniors who “are doing a nice job setting examples for the team, both playing and building on our culture and expectations,” adding, “We have a great group of guys.”

That experience, the coach said, means the soccer IQ should be higher than previous years and easier to build upon. One area for improvement this season, he said, is scoring goals, what he called “a point of focus…we have to improve on.”

So far practice has gone well; he said attitudes are high; “lots of running so far and the boys are handling it well.”
The Wildcats will kick-off the 2021 season in a non-conference opener, Saturday, Sept. 4 at Tyrone, game time 11 a.m.