Defending tradition

MONTROSE — A lot has changed to the face of Montrose High  soccer during the past few months.

Along with losing 12 seniors from last season, the Indians are also issuing a new head coach in Jim Lewis. With its new coach, Montrose is also working in a new playing style that focuses far more on defense than scoring goals.

But even with their whole new look, the Indians are planning on keep at least one constant from a year ago: winning the Southwestern League championship.

“We expect to be good,” Lewis said. “We’re going to be competitive. These guys have been ready to get in there and get it done, and this is their chance.”

Though Lewis is entering his first year as Montrose’s head coach, he’s no stranger to the program. After several years of helping out the team while his son played, Lewis eventually became an official assistant coach in 2005. Two years later, he seemed like the perfect fit to replace former coach Doug Tea, who stepped down following the end of last season.

In his short time as head coach thus far, Lewis’ players appear to buying into his new philosophy, which focuses primarily on ball control and defense.

“I really like Jim as a coach,” senior wing Clint Richardson said. “He knows a lot about the game and he’s really excited about soccer. Jim has more knowledge about the game, and he has a different style that I really like.”

To put it simply, Lewis’ style is best described as conservative and opportunistic. Whereas Tea encouraged the team to try and score within the first five minutes of the game, Lewis stresses solid defense and patience. Ideally, the Indians will wear out opponents in the first half and take advantage of opportunities to score in the second.

This more controlled style should help compensate for the Indians’ youth and inexperience, as they lose 12 seniors from last year’s squad. With just five seniors on their 16-man varsity roster, Montrose upperclassmen have made it a point to provide similar leadership.

“We’ve been through this before,” senior forward Daniel Schwab said. “Two years ago we only had four seniors, last year we had 12 and this year we only have five again. We know we need guys to be leaders, and we’ve already had guys stepping up.”

The season doesn’t start until this weekend, when the Indians host a home tournament against Telluride, Aspen and Paonia. The tournament begins Friday at 5 p.m. against Telluride at the Sunset Mesa soccer fields. Even so, Montrose has already seen reasons for encouragement this season.

Last Saturday, the Indians traveled to Pueblo for a three-team scrimmage against Pueblo Centennial and Broomfield, two team’s Lewis considered some of the best in the state. After tying Pueblo Centennial in the first scrimmage, the Indians had a 10-minute rest before taking on Broomfield, arguably the second-best team in Colorado.

Despite little rest, Montrose hung with Broomfield and ended the scrimmage with a performance Lewis said couldn’t have been much better. While it was only a scrimmage, it appears the new version of Montrose soccer will be on the same path to success this season.

“This team has had change in the past, and we’ve handled it real well,” Lewis said. “I don’t expect that to be any different this year. I feel this team is going to compete for the Southwestern League title and make a real run in the playoffs. Before Saturday I wasn’t quite sure. But after Saturday, I’m feeling pretty good.”