Rebels tuning up on soccer field
Published 12:02 am Saturday, June 20, 2015
BATON ROUGE — Riverside boys soccer coach Jonathan Reed has a lot to be excited about next season.
After a breakthrough season that saw the Rebels win the first two postseason games in the program’s history, Riverside will bring back all 11 starters in 2015-16, and 21 of the 22 players on last year’s roster.
This summer, the Rebels are participating in a 7-on-7 league in Baton Rouge. The league will extend to mid-July. Riverside is currently 4-0.
“So far, it’s been really good,” Reed said. “Right now, obviously it’s tough to get everyone out there at once during the summer, with things like baseball and football going on as well. We’re a little rusty, but you can see a lot of the things we set out to work on improving, and that’s the most important thing.”
Ryan Roussel, Reed said, has been one of the top contributors through four games.
Roussel, a midfielder, has scored at least one goal in each contest. He’s expected to be a key offensive cog next season alongside Tyler Gauthier, the team’s leading striker in each of the past two seasons.
On the defensive side, Elliot Veron has been impactful, Reed said, and has looked sharp throughout the summer process.
The coach believes the summer league is mostly about continuing to build on-field chemistry, and to that end, he thinks it has been a big success.
“Really, for me, this league is more of a thing where I sit back and watch, almost like a fan,” Reed said. “We usually have about 15 guys, so I can rotate. The things we felt we needed to work on, like spacing, are things our guys have made a clear goal to focus on, and that’s very good to see.”