By Jim Lockwood
Staff Writer

Things looked bleak for Bedford's Mount Zion High School boys soccer team at the start of the season.

The Lions, with athletes from Auburn, Bedford, Goffstown, Hooksett and New Boston, lost 11 players to graduation or school transfer. In addition, the team had players with little or no experience at the varsity level.

However, the squad erased its slow start, resulting in a Class S state tournament berth.

"We started the season with not enough players to field a team," said sophomore halfback Corey Walker of Bedford. "We thought we'd stink pretty bad."

Mount Zion freshman Sam Perry of Auburn (background, No. 5), tries to keep pace with Derryfield's Dan Carlson during MZ's opening-round Class S tournament win. Perry is one of three MZ ninth-graders who played a key role in the Lions. 2005 varsity campaign. (Jim Lockwood Photo)

The Lions began 2005 with only 10 players and no junior varsity squad, according to head coach Ryan Shaughnessy.

Despite drawing from their small talent pool - just 67 boys attend Mount Zion - the athletes already on the team encouraged enough people to play so the Lions could compete.

Eventually, Mount Zion's roster was a mix of experienced athletes who play for offseason club teams, first-time participants and competitors who only play for the school.

The players. wide range of skill levels forced Shaughnessy to focus on the fundamentals, he said. But the head coach also placed extra emphasis on physical fitness because he knew conditioning was critical.

Shaughnessy made sure each player could run three miles in under 22 minutes. Still, physical fitness didn't result in early season wins. The Lions started their campaign 1-4, blanked on the scoreboard in three of those contests.

"We were discouraged," said senior forward Joey Lever of Goffstown. "We got nervous when we got the ball."

At the time, the Lions also had difficulty making crisp passes, Walker added. However, Mount Zion finished the season on a much different note. In its final 11 matches, the team was 7-4.

"You have to get more mentally tough and give 110 percent all the time," said Hooksett's Chris Tuttle of overcoming adversity. "It comes with experience, practice, toughness and having confidence."

The team's turnaround meant it finished the regular season 8- 8, claiming the No. 9 seed in the '05 state tournament and earning a visit to No. 8 Derryfield of Manchester for opening-round action on Friday, Oct. 21.

The Lions and Cougars battled to a scoreless tie at the end of regulation. But midway through overtime, Lever dribbled down field, forcing the DS goalie to leave the net and attempt to make a save. The goalie's decision allowed Lever to deposit the game's only goal and push Mount Zion into the quarterfinals against No. 1 Pittsfield.

"The challenge is that you have some kids who have played soccer other than in the fall and you have a bunch of players who have never played the game," Shaughnessy said. "The neat thing about coaching a small school like this is taking those three groups and (helping) them become one."