While the Spanish Springs boys soccer team enjoyed its most successful season last year and even reached the postseason for the first time, there is still much room for improvement.

The Cougars benefited from a very weak High Desert League and four wins was good enough to make the playoffs as the fourth seed.

Spanish Springs clearly showed improvement throughout the season, but first-year coach Rob Moreland is taking over and wants more than just slight improvements.

“That’s (making playoffs) my goal every year. If that’s not your goal, you should not be coaching,” Moreland said. “Playoffs are like a second season. We have a couple redshirts that will give us strength. After nine weeks, is when Zone is, and that’s when they’ll be eligible to play.”

Moreland started coaching at Wooster in 1992 and has been at Reno the last nine years, so he brings experience to the pitch.

“They’re excited to have a new coach and I’m excited to have a new team,” Moreland said. “Last year I coached the girls and for three years before that, so it’s nice to be back to the boys. It will be fun. I have a feeling if I stayed at Reno, I’d be all ‘hum drum’ but now it’s exciting.”



The veteran coach values discipline, class, touch and fitness. He’s also working on vision with his players, so they can see the field and not have to watch the ball.



Senior all-leaguer Garrett Fausett returns and will be one of the key players. Moreland also likes what he sees from seniors Francisco Soto, Luis Guzman and Corey Tague as well as freshmen Irvin Somera and Alex Garcia.

Moreland admits there has been an adjustment period getting to know his new players and vice versa. He plans on using a 4-4-2 formation, which most players are familiar with. But he also plans on switching things up a bit during the season.

He said at first the kids tested him, but now there seems to be a mutual respect as the team comes together.

“Our strength is our cohesiveness. We’re getting more like a team. I think that’s what they were missing last year,” Moreland said. “When you have a lot of Latinos and white guys, you have to try to get them together, and they’re doing really well with that. They’re working hard.”

Spanish Springs competed in the annual Howell Memorial Invitational this weekend and will open up the regular season at 7 p.m. Wednesday at home against Wooster in a non-league affair.