University Heights Academy looks to slide into a new role this season — 8th District favorite.
The Blazers were close to claiming the top spot in the district last season, but dropped a pair of one-goal decisions to a strong Hopkinsville squad. The second of those was a 5-4 overtime setback in the district championship game.
But Hoptown lost 12 seniors to graduation off of last year’s roster, perhaps opening the door for UHA to get its turn as the district’s best.
“With Fort Campbell out this season it’s just us three — Hoptown, County and UHA,” noted Blazer coach Frankie Thomas. “I would say we would be the team to beat this year. Both Hoptown and County lost some very valuable players and they are hard to replace.”
UHA was 14-8-1 last season and shook off a pesky Trigg County team 3-1 in the regional tournament before falling to eventual champion Madisonville-North Hopkins 3-0 in the semifinals.
University Heights won’t just be the favorite in the 8th District, but a major player in the 2nd Region in 2020 as well.
Senior William Bryan will spearhead UHA’s efforts after scoring 38 goals and recording 12 assists last season. He was fifth in the state in goals scored and brings lots of energy to the pitch.
But Thomas says Bryan is one of just many key returners for the Blazers.
“William Bryan was one of the top scorers in the state last year. Elvin Wagner gave us a lot of minutes last year and provided a spark on the field. Riley Simmons, our top defender, gave us a very big push last year and stepped into a different role as center back.
“Two other seniors, Noah Shouse and Shahyan Khan, are expected to come in and provide us with senior leadership and experience. Connor Dill will be returning as well and hopefully providing us what we lost last year in Tanner Thomas. Connor has some big shoes to fill but I believe with Connor’s determination he should do just that.”
Thomas was also in the Top 20 among state scorers last year with 30 goals and 18 assists.
A couple of sophomores figure to move into bigger roles this season for the Blazers.
“Ethan Hale and Preston Thomas are expected to provide us with bigger minutes than last year,” said Thomas. “They both have put on some much-needed weight as well as height to provide us with some pieces we will be missing from last year’s team.”
Junior William Maxwell is back in the net after making 184 saves in 23 games last season.
“William Maxwell is one of our top returners as our goalie,” noted Thomas. “William kept us in a lot of games last year and was an unsung hero in a lot of our games. We’re expecting William to step up and be a leader out on the field.”
With strong senior leadership and depth in the roster, it’s easy to see why the Blazers are excited about the coming season.
“The outlook for our team this year is to become a good passing and defensive team,” said Thomas. “We’re very solid in every position this year. The boys have gotten used to my coaching philosophy.
“Our team’s strength is we can put anyone pretty much anywhere on the field and we should succeed. We also actually have a good number of players this year we can actually sub numerous playersthis year. I’m really excited about that.”
Even though the season is getting off to a late start, Thomas said there are lots of reasons to be excited.
“With everything going on in the world today from COVID-19 to race relations, I think it’s a good thing our governor and KHSAA allowed Kentucky high school sports to play. This will not only help the players but the parents as well to get out of the house and enjoy some fall sports by cheering their favorite team and players.
“This is going to be a season for the history books for all sports involved and I’m looking forward to it.”
