Another season, another position for Tyler Bennett, the new main man in the middle for the Redmond High School boys’ soccer team.
Bennett, a senior center midfielder, triggers the attack this spring for the Mustangs, who are shooting for a Class 4A state berth come May.
“We want to at least make a run at state,” said Bennett, who has played three different positions in his three varsity seasons at Redmond. “We got the players to do it. It’s just a matter of how much we want it and how hard we work for it.”
Bennett joined the Redmond High soccer program as a sophomore defender, but coach Patrick Scheibe switched him to the forward position, where he made an instant impact, scoring nine goals. Then as a junior, Bennett played his natural position of defender before being asked to switch to midfielder for his senior season.
“I’ve always tried to be versatile,” said Bennett, who was recruited by Pacific Lutheran University to play defender. “I’ve been playing midfield for a couple of months now and I’m really starting to like it. … You get to run the show.”
And so far, Bennett has shined bright at his new position, Scheibe said.
“He’s a dominating center mid,” Scheibe said. “He has been outstanding.”
Led by Bennett, the Mustangs have all the right ingredients for success — senior leadership, player versatility, young talent and team chemistry, according Scheibe.
“If they stay on target, they have the potential to be a really solid team that could make a run in the playoffs,” Scheibe said. “There are some really, really good teams in Kingco, so there is a challenge. But these guys have the potential to go far.”
Bennett controls the middle of the soccer pitch, along with fellow senior captain and center midfielder Austin Pope, according to Scheibe.
“They really dictate everything we do,” Schiebe said of his two center midfielders.
Schiebe said Bennett, Pope and the team’s third senior captain, outside midfielder Bryan Forbes are “the heart and soul” of the team.
The Mustangs have plenty of talented threats surrounding their senior leaders, including junior forwards Andrew Leadbeater and Cooper Bilginer, who have combined for 13 goals so far this season. Leadbeater scored both of Redmond’s goals in a 2-0 win against Skyline Tuesday night to help the Mustangs improve to 3-1 in Kingco and 7-2 overall.
Redmond lost 11 players to graduation and two others to academy soccer teams from last year’s Kingco playoff team, but the Mustangs have reloaded with some exceptional young talent.
“We definitely lost a lot of players, but the young new players have stepped in and have shown that they what it takes to play,” said Pope, one of the senior captains.
The Mustangs have four freshman — Brendan O’Brien, Joseph Parish, Jonathan White and Steven Visser — who are contributing to the varsity team this spring. O’Brien, Parish and White have all started at some point this season. Other new impact varsity players include defenders Stephen Jinneman, a sophomore and Conor Boone, a senior who played JV last season.
Schiebe said he has been especially impressed with Jinneman, who has played almost every minute of every game at center back defender.
The Mustangs also have a young, but experienced goalkeeper in sophomore Grayson Raffensperger, who started last year as a freshman. Raffensperger recorded his fourth shutout of the season in Tuesday night’s win against Skyline.
“He’s a natural goalkeeper,” said Schiebe. “He flows really well and just makes great decisions.”
With talent at every grade level, the Mustangs make sure to have fun and build team chemistry with Monday night pasta feeds, during which teammates play video games and review game film of upcoming opponents.
The team definitely likes to keep things loose, but when they step on the soccer pitch, it’s all about business.
“We like to crack jokes and have fun, but when we get on this field, it’s all about training hard,” Forbes said.
