Coming back from a dream season during which the boys' soccer team won the Northern 4A Regional title and finished as state runner-up, Douglas High has a number of key components already in place.
The rest, as far as coach Milko Vasquez is concerned, will be determined only after this year's squad has a number of games under its belt.
"It comes to a point where you don't know anything about what your team is going to be like until you play," Vasquez said. "That's the big determiner, that's where you figure out how you stand."
Losing nine senior starters from last year's squad leaves a lot of question marks, but Vasquez constructed the first two weeks of this year's schedule specifically to help answer those questions.
"We're going to play the games we need to play," Vasquez said. "We'll see a lot of teams with good speed and we need to see how we respond to that. We'll see a lot those first two weeks. We'll see where we need to be."
In total, Douglas will have played at least eight games by the time it hosts Galena Sept. 10 for the Sierra League opener for both schools.
"I wanted to be prepared physically and mentally heading into league play because it will be a very tough fight every game this year," Vasquez said. "Sometimes, just being in competitive games will force you to play at a higher level. I like the fact that we have that many games before our league opener."
Douglas opened the year 2-1 at Galena's Howell Memorial Tournament over the weekend.
The Tigers beat McQueen 1-0 with a goal on a penalty kick by Edgar Arceo. The shot was set up after senior forward Jeff Crozier was taken down in the penalty box by the McQueen goalkeeper. Vasquez noted the play of Ross Gardner and Brian Randall defensively.
Douglas suffered a 3-0 setback against Incline in the second game. Vasquez put most of his new players in after Douglas fell back 2-0 and said he was impressed with Edgar Gonzalez and Tyler Bankofier.
The Tigers bounced back with a 2-1 win over Spanish Springs. Crozier scored on an assist from Gardner in the first two minutes of the game and Kegan Rahe added another later on an assist from Gonzalez.
The Tigers travel to Reno today for a nonleague matchup and will play in the Del Campo tournament in Sacramento this weekend with games against Del Campo, Galt, Burbank and Casa Robles.
That is all a precursor to what will be one of the toughest league slates the Douglas soccer program has ever had to face.
Perennial powers South Tahoe and Carson return a host of starters while strong High Desert programs Galena and Fallon join the league. Manogue, another new team to the league this season, surprised many this weekend with a runner-up finish at the Galena tournament.
"It's a tough draw, but that's how we want it," Vasquez said. "This year is different, last year everyone was right there pushing each other. This year the older kids will have to show the younger kids how it is done early on. With this league, you can't rely on 13 or 14 guys. By the end of the year, you need the whole team ready to go because you just don't know what is going to happen.
"These first two weeks, we're going to go out and be as competitive as possible, but we also want to figure out where we are at. I need to see what we have all the way down the bench. We aren't going to these tournaments necessarily to win. The younger kids need to get the experience during these tournaments, so they'll see a lot of playing time."
Douglas isn't without some standout returners.
Arceo, who tied for the team lead in goals last season with 14, will be shifting from his forward position to more of an extender role.
"He needs to have more contact with the ball this year so he can make things happen," Vasquez said.
Crozier had seven goals despite missing a good portion of last season with an injury. He'll be playing up top with junior Cole Cline.
"Cole Cline has a foot that can really rip the ball," Vasquez said. "He can really put some shots on net. Both of those guys will be solid up there."
Andrew Andraski saw significant playing time on the outside last season and will be integral in the Douglas midfield again this season
"Guys like Andrew and Jeff are great to have," Vasquez said. "They are crazy. They go all out all the time. They don't stop. I don't think they know how to slow down."
The defense will sport two of the team's most significant returners in Ross Gardner
and brian Randall.
Gardner also missed much of last season with an injury, but he'll be expected to shore up the middle of the defense this year.
"You look at how good last year's team was and Ross was out best-rated player overall. He is just so good, his mechanics and his vision. He is an impact player.
"Brian is a really quality player as well. Having those two in the middle of the defense will be huge. Finding the other two to play fullbacks will be key. We'll be going up against a lot of good forwards. I'm not hesitant to go by committee."
In net, Douglas returns Ivan Gonzalez, who started a bulk of the team's regular season games last year, and Corbin Zumpft, who saw some time in net and on defense during the regional and state playoffs.
Christian Salazar also saw some time in the midfield last season, scoring one goal to go with one assist.
The rest of the lineup will be a mix of the remaining newcomers for the Tigers, including Banokfier, Rahe, Edgar Gonzalez, Dylan Colbert, Morgan Clancy, Gavin Fitzhugh, Luke Prinz, Carlos Cordova, Fernando Ramos and Fabian Ramos.
"I like the kids we have," Vasquez said. "They like the game. We just have to find a good combo."
