Fresh off an 8-12-2 record and bi-district title in head coach Michael Westerman’s first season, the expectations are even greater this year as the Brownwood Lions host the Burnet Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to kick off the 2023 soccer campaign.
“First and foremost the numbers from this year compared to last are significantly higher, which is awesome,” Westerman said. “That just tells me that we made some noise last year and we got a little bit of attention and a couple more guys are interested in playing. Last year we were restricted by being able to just construct a varsity team, so that gets difficult with people fighting for spots and some people lacking in minutes. Being able to construct a JV and varsity is phenomenal.”
The Lions return 18 members of last season’s team, including 11 seniors.
“Our biggest strength is our senior group,” Westerman said, “We have a lot of leadership, a lot of athleticism, a lot of kids that are willing to work and are coachable. We don’t have any negative seeds or attitude issues. Overall we have a solid group, but we do still need to work on finding the right group that works well together and finding the perfect mesh.”
Players to keep an eye on, according to Westerman, are 2022 District 4-4A Midfield MVP Caleb Nelson and first-team all-district selection Noah Barron, Brownwood’s leading scorer a year ago.
The Lions finished second in district a year ago, but in the not too distant past Brownwood has qualified for the playoffs as the fourth team in a four-team district. This year, Brownwood will be competing in a seven-team league, and a playoff berth is not already guaranteed.
“The last couple of seasons it’s been a four-team district and the benefit of that is everyone makes it into the playoffs, but that’s not what we want,” Westerman said. “Coming in last season I wanted the standard to be that finishing fourth is just not good enough. Last year we addressed that at the beginning of the season and we attacked that and finished in second place. Being in this larger district the goal hasn’t changed, we don’t want to finish fourth, we’re still aiming for first or second place.”
The new District 5-4A will be comprised of Brownwood, China Spring, Gatesville, Lampasas, Little River Academy, Salado, and Stephenville, with the top four squads advancing to the postseason.
“It’s a much tougher district,” Westerman said. “Stephenville does stay and they’re ranked No. 7 in 4A and Salado is No. 10. Having two of the top 10 4A teams in our district provides a challenge and I think we’re all onboard and we know what we want to do and we all have the same goal. We had a little taste of success last season and for those returnees they have a sense of and know what we’re capable of doing.”
Before district begins, however, Brownwood has a gauntlet of a pre-district slate, which Westerman feels will better prepare the Lions for league play and beyond.
“Our pre-district will be tough,” Westerman said. “We’ll face tough teams and be in tough tournaments with the purpose of needing to be challenged physically and on the metal aspect as far as facing adversity and being exposed. So much of it is a mental battle and your perseverance when you face adversity.”
Brownwood Lions 2023 Varsity Soccer Schedule
| Jan. 3 | Burnet | 7:30 p.m. |
| Jan. 5-7 | at Georgetown tournament | TBA |
| Jan. 10 | Abilene Cooper | 7:30 p.m. |
| Jan. 12-14 | at Alvarado tournament | TBA |
| Jan. 17 | San Angelo Lake View | 7 p.m. |
| Jan. 20 | at Burkburnett tournament | TBA |
| Jan. 27 | Lampasas | 7 p.m. |
| Jan. 31 | at China Spring | 7:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 3 | BYE | |
| Feb. 7 | Salado* | 7:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 10 | at Stephenville* | 7 p.m. |
| Feb. 14 | Gatesville* | 7 p.m. |
| Feb. 17 | at Little River Academy* | 6 p.m. |
| Feb. 21 | at Lampasas* | 7 p.m. |
| Feb. 24 | China Spring* | 7 p.m. |
| Feb. 28 | BYE | |
| March 3 | at Salado* | 7:30 p.m. |
| March 7 | Stephenville* | 7 p.m. |
| March 10 | at Gatesville* | 7 p.m. |
| March 14 | Little River Academy* | 6 p.m. |
* District 5-4A Game