Trevor Shea says he has been planning out in his head for over seven years, back to when he began coaching junior varsity at Oakland Mills, how his first season head coaching a varsity program would play out.
Never in his wildest dreams, however, could he have envisioned the kind of start that his Wilde Lake boys soccer team has had this fall.
The latest triumph came on the road Friday night, with the Wildecats earning a 3-1 victory over Reservoir to improve the team's record to 4-0-1 overall. Wilde Lake has now scored at least three goals in every game and already owns more wins than last year's squad finished with.
"We've far exceeded my expectations for these first few weeks, and honestly I'm just riding the rollercoaster at this point. These guys are just all stepping up," Shea said. "It's as much about the chemistry and believing in what we are doing right now, as it is about skill. The way they've embraced me, listened to what I'm saying, it's just been amazing and they deserve a ton of credit.
"For all the injuries we have — we were down four starters today — the guys have come in off the bench and made sure we don't miss a beat."
Riding high after opening county play with a 3-0 victory over Hammond on Tuesday, Wilde Lake was ultimately able to keep the ball rolling against Reservoir. But it took overcoming a little bit of adversity early on.
It was the Gators that struck first, getting a goal from Debruyn Cedeno following a broken play outside the box on the heels of a failed clear with just over 18 minutes left in the first half. With Wilde Lake goalie Gerald Van Tassel out of the goal, Cedeno was able to get a good foot on the ball and direct it into the empty net.
The response by the Wildecats, however, was immediate.
On a free kick by Jackson Pittman from the right side of the goal, the ball ricocheted off a few players before eventually going into the net. The goal, which tied the game at 1-1, came with 15:46 left until halftime.
"Their goal was kind of a wake-up call. It was just really back-and-forth for both teams and then suddenly they scored and I think it hit us that it was time to really start playing," Shea said. "I think their goal, it turned us on. We got that free kick there and executed it exactly how we've practiced it."
The game stayed tied at 1-1 until midway through the second half when again a Wildecats' set piece proved fruitful. This time Kevin Comeaux got on the end of a bouncing ball in the box following a corner kick, firing it under the crossbar for a 2-1 Wilde Lake lead with 17:49 left.
"I just knew that I had to get into the goal and crash the ball," Comeaux said. "I just got to it after a few bounces, made contact and got it on goal. That's all we needed."
Not satisfied with a one-goal cushion, Wilde Lake tacked on another just over two minutes later when Denzel Pinyen tracked down a ball in transition and scored to make it 3-1.
Scoring all season for Wilde Lake has come from a number of different faces and Friday was no different.
"We've had nine or ten kids that have now scored for us through our first five games … it's kind of crazy," Shea said. "It just shows how well they are working off one another."
Wilde Lake's defense, anchored by Van Tassel (5 saves) in net, did the rest over the final 15 minutes to secure the victory.
Moving forward, Wilde Lake returns to action on Tuesday against Marriotts Ridge. The team is banged up, including losing senior captain Alex Michel to a potential ACL tear in the game against Hammond, but the players aren't letting that deter them at this point.
"I think everyone, including ourselves, didn't expect this hot of a start and we've just wanted to do it for all of our teammates," Comeaux said. "We've got a few injuries — Alex Michel is out now — so this was a big night. We won this one for him. He's a captain and we are going to miss him.
"But (overall) we're out here to prove to the league that we are here to play."
Other scores:
Centennial 7, Howard 1
Goals: C – Narmouq 2, Keppler 2, Taylor, Good, Breedlove; Ho – Bruner.
Assists: C – Haskins 3, Taylor, Pellegrini.
Half: 4-1 C.
Long Reach 3, Marriotts Ridge 1
The Lightning picked up their first county win, evening their record at 1-1, on the strength of goals from senior Kobe Bofah and juniors Jonathan Fawole and Robyn Valencia. Valencia also added an assist on Bofah's goal.
Long Reach will be back in action on Monday at home against South Carroll.