Dunwoody Boys Soccer off to Rocket Start

DeKalb County teams own 16 boys state soccer titles. Dunwoody wants its first.

"These guys believe that's possible," Wildcats coach Mike Fleming said. "They're actually the ones convincing me of it. They keep saying it, and the more they do, the more I'm believing they're right."

The Wildcats have had winning seasons in Fleming's previous three seasons as head coach, following his nearly 20 as an assistant. Still elusive, however, has been barging in among DeKalb stalwarts Lakeside and Southwest DeKalb, the county's leaders among active schools with seven and two state titles, respectively.

"I really believe in this team strongly," Fleming said. "This is probably our best team since 1996."

Fleming recalled Dunwoody's '96 squad finished 16-3 with superstar Jordy Broader, who went on to play at Appalachian State and internationally. With no such superstar in the Fleming's first three seasons as head coach, the Wildcats still finished 8-5-1, 11-7-1 and 9-6, respectively, and sense greater heights are possible at 3-0 entering games this week against River Ridge and Douglass.

Already this season, the Wildcats have beaten North Atlanta (5-4) and Redan (5-0), before squeeking out a 1-0 win over Tucker in overtime on Friday. Facundo Gurdi has led the way with five goals, followed by two apiece from Wesley Dixon and Rodrigo Perriera and one each from Ian Angstadt and Kamran Ahmad. Dixon's goal was perhaps the most propelling, coming late in the first five-minute overtime against Tucker.

"That Tucker game was kind of a yardstick for us," Fleming said. "That showed we have what it takes in the very end to beat an excellent team."

So far the going has been rugged, though. Fleming said Perriera's nose was broken against Tucker, and keeper Gray LaRose's jaw was dislocated by, oddly, a kicking teammate.

"The first couple games were pretty rough, but that (Tucker) game was the most physical one we've played," LaRose said. "We like playing physical games, though. We're stronger than other teams, so in physical games, I feel we'll always win the battle."

Last year the Wildcats were eliminated by Grady on penalty kicks in the region tournament and failed to reach the state playoffs. Key to emerging one of Region 6-AAAA's four state playoff teams this season is beating perennial powerhouses Marist and Lakeside, and perhaps even Chamblee. They all come down the pike next month, beginning with Chamblee on March 15.

"Because we've already beaten Tucker, we feel we're in a good position to beat all of them," said fullback Yagesh Panta. "If we keep playing like we have, and keep our feet on the ground, we can beat anybody in the state."

Fleming said challenging this year is melding the play of 25 players, including 10 seniors, three of whom start. Unlike past seasons, where players' styles spanned 13 nationalities, this year's comprise about seven, so Fleming said play seems comparatively more homogeneous. The coach added that, unlike last season, when players might have shot selfishly, this team had no problem resisting that and stalling away the second overtime against Tucker.

"It's a winning attitude, instead of a self-serving one," Fleming said. "Our guys know to shoot if they have an open opportunity on the net, but now, they're being calculating and working the system better. We have guys laying the ball off to somebody else, instead of just blasting a shot without thinking as much about it."