Bronchos Soccer Has the Skill, Defense is Key

Bayless’ new head soccer coach Dave Pozzo has a couple of things going for him with the team this year. The first thing, is he inherited a team from last year’s Missouri Public High School Class 1 Coach of the Year, John Houska. It's in good shape, and it’s a team that went pretty deep into playoffs.

“We worked together 3 years, and he really left the program in really good condition,” Pozzo said. “We’re just picking up where we left off last year.”

And secondly, “skill is never a problem, that’s the one thing I know we have,” Pozzo said. “It’s just getting them to buy into hard work, and the other workman qualities of the game, tackling, just being physical and working on the all-around game, not just the skill part of the game,” Pozzo said.

He said a late-summer tournament was a wake-up call to the boys that they have some work to do fitness-wise and defense-wise. Assistant coach Doug Markus said in a word the tournament went “bad.” So the whole first week of practice was fitness training.

The Bronchos lost three starting backs from last year to graduation, four starting seniors in all, Pozzo said. He said there are guys to step in, but defense is going to be the hardest part to figure out.

“We’re finding guys to replace the guys who left,” he said. We’ve got a lot of skilled, quality players. We have a good group of seniors and juniors, so that’s how we’re going to go about it.”

Junior, Fazlo Alihodgic, who played ODP soccer (Olympic Development Program) over the summer, will be the Bronchos’ top scorer, Pozzo predicted. He said after that “it will be kind of a committee thing."

Defensively, four-year starter Edmir Oric will be either midfield or defense. Pozzo is expecting good things from senior Ramo Mesanovic. “He’s been a contributor, but he’s never really broke out, and it really seems like this can be his breakout year. Hopefully he’ll drive us in the midfield.”

Junior, Dzenis Krivic, “is just fit,” Pozzo said. “So we’ll use him either in the midfield or maybe sweeper, if we need. But he’s a guy who wants to learn, and he’s constantly working.”

Seniors, Mahir Omeragic and Enis Brdarevic are big physical guys with skill too, Pozzo said, who will contribute in midfield or on defense.
The Bronchos goal is to get to the final four, Pozzo said. Last year they lost to Whitfield 3-2 after winning their first sectional game. Whitfield went on to win state. No one else scored on Whitfield in their state run.

Bayless will play Whitfield in their first game of the season, at Fort Zumwalt East on 8/27. Here's their complete schedule.

“If we can get them playing that team defense, the skies kind of the limit.” Pozzo said, “and it really depends what they want to make out of the year, but I think they’re buying in, I would say.

“They know what we need to work on, too. Hopefully the skill is there. Hopefully we can get them to work on the other stuff and get them ready to go.”