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The Spotlight, August 30, 2013 Fall Sports Preview B17
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By JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD
The Spotlight
Head coach Oscar Monte-
blanco doesn’t know how long
he’ll be in St. Helens, but he
definitely wants to make an
impact while he’s here.
“Whether it’s going to be
one year or five years, my goal
is always to make the team
better,” said Monteblanco. “I
want to make St. Helens com-
petitive.”
That goal is a lofty one, as
St. Helens struggled to be
keep up last season, finishing
2-11. The gap grows wider
when it comes to all-stars.
Big teams like Liberty and
Wilsonville had eight players
make the all-star teams, com-
pared to St. Helens’ two.
“These are bigger commu-
nities in which they have 90
percent of those kids play soc-
cer year round,” said Monte-
blanco. “From that perspec-
tive, those are big challenges
for us. It’s unrealistic to think
that we can go there and play
with them unless we make
some big changes.”
There are only a handful of
seniors out for this year’s
squad, with only a few more
juniors, a large group of soph-
omores and a host of fresh-
men. In
spite of
the
youth,
Monte-
blanco
said it
is his
hope to
have
the kids
pre-
pared
for
match-
es so they can step on the field
against bigger competition
and not feel overwhelmed.
“I remember going to the
kids and asking them ‘If we go
into Sherwood and lose 2-0,
will you
be satis-
Lions look to improve from last season
St. Helens may not be
able to challenge for title
but they will compete
Quick Notes:
•New coach Oscar Monteblanco
thinks the Lions can improve this
season.
•Team is young with just a handful of
seniors and a host of freshmen.
•Squad will try to compete in NWOC
against players that play year round
on club teams.
See LION SOCCER, Page B21
Quintin Galvin
St. Helens Forward
SPOTLIGHT FILE PHOTO: JOHN BREWINGTON