Prep Soccer Preview: New Pirate In Charge Hopes To Chart New Course

After Tom Iffrig decided to turn the reigns to boys soccer over at , the Pirates turned to a wily veteran who is the epitome of been-there, done-that when it comes to prep soccer in the area.

Ray Stahl, who's better described to have coached in decades rather than years, was named the new boys soccer coach at Pattonville this summer after Iffrig (35-40-1) relinquished the role after three seasons to spend more time with his family.

"I wanted one more shot at a situation where we have enough guys and it looks like we can field three teams," Stahl said. "That's what intrigued me as much as anything else.

Stahl, who coached the boys program the past six seasons at St. Charles West, has been coach of the McCluer North Stars girls program the past 16 seasons. Prior to joining St. Charles West, Stahl coached the Stars boys for 17 seasons (1981-1998), where he won seven conference titles and earned four state berths, losing to CBC 1-0 in the Class 4A state championship in 1983. He has also spent time coaching Junior Varsity at CBC (2000-02) and as an assistant at Hazelwood Central (2002-04)

"The unique thing about this is they don't know much about me and I don't know much about them," said Stahl, who is impressed with what the school district is doing with facility improvements. "They're willing to work. That's a good place to start. They've been willing to do what I've asked of them to this point. I'm going to ask them to do more," he said of his players.

He inherits a Pirates squad that went 10-16 a season ago (2-3 in the Suburban North Conference).

"It's a situation that's unique. Whatever my problems are, in turn, are the players' opportunities. There will be plenty of opportunities to play this year."

Offense

The Pirates, who fell in the district semifinal 1-0 a season ago, only return six players from a team that boasted 15 seniors a season ago. But two of those returnees include the team's leading scorers: senior striker Robert O'Keefe and junior midfielder Kalidou Sarr, who both scored six goals and added three assists.

"It never hurts to have guys that put the ball in the net coming back," Stahl said. "I know they want to do better than they did last year. We want them to do better. "Those six guys (including Ryan Fagan, Bryan Lopez and Tyler Yarnell) who were through this whole experience, hopefully they'll lead by example. And the rest of us through hard work an the willingness to give everything they have for 80 minutes."

Defense

The Pirates will have limited experience in goal with junior Eric Solario, who was 0-2 with a 2.48 goals-against average a season ago. Solario will compete for the starting job in goal. They also must replace an entire backfield that graduated.

"We'll have plenty of building to do early on," Stahl said of the backfield.

The Pirates open on Aug. 29 at Lafayette.

"We start out in the deep end of the pool," Stahl said. "We see Lafayette and Eureka and both of those programs are serious about where they want to end up in their conference. And we're serious about what we want to do in the Suburban North."