The Mid-Prairie boys soccer team takes the pitch on the road Friday for their first live action of the 2023 spring season. The Hawks travel to Benton to meet the Bobcats in a scrimmage. Mid-Prairie is coming off of an 11-4 campaign a year ago that ended in the Class 1A Substate semifinals. The Golden Hawks won their first nine matches of the season, rising to No. 1 in Class 1A, staying there for four weeks. The Hawks were eighth in 1A with 226 shots on goal and ninth with 70 goals scored.

Four Golden Hawks were named to the Class 1A Academic All-State team including senior goalkeeper Justice Jones, who finished with 59 saves and an 80% save percentage between the pipes. Senior midfielder Jack Pennington led the Golden Hawks with 14 goals and had eight assists. Senior forward Gunnar Gingerich finished with 11 goals and four assists and junior defenseman Braden Hartley helped the Golden Hawk defense post nine shut outs. Pennington was also named honorable mention all-state and represented Mid-Prairie in the senior All-Star game.

This season, Mid-Prairie has to replace their top two scorers in Pennington and Gingerich who combined for 25 goals a year ago. Leading returner is Alex Bean, who is back for his senior season after 11 goals as a junior. The team’s assist leader Owen Trimpe is back after 10 helpers a season ago. Andrew Kaufman saw limited time in goal last year, stopping all seven shots he faced in 154 minutes. The Golden Hawks will also be under the direction of new head coach Wyatt Cady. Cady, the son of former head coach Pat Cady, has served as assistant on the team since 2020. He recently spoke with KCII Sports about what has him excited about this year’s team. “I think we’re going to have a lot of fun! The core group of kids that are returning have come great teammates playing together over the past few years. Before practice, after practice, they’re hanging out. Riding the bus home. Talking to each other. I think the wins will be there. When we beat good teams 2-1 or 3-2, we’re going to have a lot more fun than when we’re beating other teams 10-0. The kids are really dedicated this year. It’s a lot easier to be a coach when the kids are the ones pushing you for extra practice and workout routines. They definitely fuel me to keep going!”

These two teams also met in a scrimmage last season. Benton finished the year with an 8-11 overall record, 4-6 in the WAMAC Conference. Action begins tonight at 5:30p.m. at Benton High School.