West Ashley article

in today's newspaper:

quote:
Dedication is a good word -
Wildcats proving they're not just another easy win

BY BILL HENLEY
The Post and Courier

Not too long ago in boys' soccer, a date with West Ashley was considered a winnable game for most programs, if not a walkover for the elite teams.

But the times, they are a-changin'.

"Teams definitely come out a lot harder and more physical than they have in the past," junior sweeper Alex Pennekamp said. "Usually Wando would come in, score two or three goals and then not play that hard."

It was against the Wando Warriors, a perennial state championship contender, that the Wildcats locked up a 2-1 victory that might serve as a benchmark for the program's continued success.

"It was huge, because that just showed everyone we weren't just another win on everyone's schedule," said junior Brady Johnson, who has seven goals and seven assists this season. "When we beat (Wando), it made us realize we have a chance to get pretty far in the playoffs."

"It gave us more confidence in ourselves," Pennekamp added.

The Wildcats are 9-3-1 overall and 4-0 in Region 7-AAAA, which includes top-10 teams Wando and James Island.

Pennekamp and Johnson said attitude has been the biggest key to the Wildcats' success.

"We're playing as a team and everybody works hard," Pennekamp said.

Said Johnson: "We didn't have everyone working hard last year. Dedication is a good word because we had some slackers last year.

"I thought we would be pretty good (this year), but not as good as we are. We have more people who wanted to be here."

West Ashley coach Stephen Jackson said another key is getting more year-round travel players involved in the program.

"I have more quality players on the field," he said. "In the past, I've had a couple of quality players and the rest were rec players. This is the first year I've had nearly everyone play classic or select level soccer in the offseason."

From the players' perspective, Johnson and Pennekamp are impressed with the freshmen who have joined the team.

"Some of them are better than the guys who have been here," Johnson said.

"They've all been playing together since U-10," Pennekamp said. "I think next year we'll be a lot better."

Freshmen Robbie Owens and Trey Hilton start, with Owens in goal for the Wildcats.

Sophomore Robert Wright leads the team with 10 goals and three assists. Foreign exchange student Victor Olsson has five goals and eight assists.

With a lot of young players on the team, West Ashley has a good chance of sustaining its success, but getting strong representation from the area's club players will be a key.

"It's hard to maintain in high school unless you have your own feeder system," Jackson said. "We have a lot of kids going to Academic Magnet or who choose to go to Bishop England. The next few years, we could do well, but the key is to keep getting the kids in."

Reach Bill Henley at 937-5595 or bhenley@postandcourier.com.

Great article. Glad you are getting the recognition for all your hard work. WA, Wa, JI, HH, BFT, FtD, S'ville.....lots of real good teams down that way this year.

i dont understand. everyone is making the win against Wando such a huge deal. It's Not. it's A game. Big Deal, ya'll beat Wando. well HH beat wando too. WA wins one game and makes it out to be like the World Cup. I could understand if it were in the playoffs or something, but it's not. It's a region game. Besides they still have to play JI twice and Wando one more time. If WA wins all of those games, then they'll have something to talk about. But as of right now, why can't it just be a win and leave it alone. I know WA never beats Wando, but all this hype makes it sound like Wando has never lost before.

wow 4A...I don't think the WA team asked the post and courier to come to do an article on them. Settle down and show some respect because as of now WA sits on top at 4-0.

Actually I wouldn�t be surprised if they did...I guess they are savoring on their recent success, but don�t get too cocky � there are many games left

It was a great win for WA and they earned it. They definately wanted it more against Wando but I do kinda agree with 4adefender. They are sorta hyping it up and making it a huge deal. It is only one win. We'll see how they do against JI tonight and then we'll see if they are for real.

why don't they write an article about it now. Wando 5 WA 0.

The article would read Wando 5, WA 0 because an adult would be writing it and not attempting to take glory away from anyone as the first article did. It's sad when a team is playing together as a team and receives recognition that people can't be happy for that team at that given time.

Glory comes to everyone at different times, let's be happy for those when it comes and pray that other's will receive it.

wow...talk about bringing a thread back from the dead....