Missouri Military Academy soccer is coming off a memorable season.

The Colonels finished with a winning record for the first time since their 2018 district title team with a record of 9-6-2 and were ranked in the Class 1 top 10 at one point. MMA’s season came to an end with a 2-1 district loss to state champion St. Francis Borgia after a goal was scored in the final 5-10 minutes.

Head coach Elliot Goodwin said MMA had several games against tough opponents that could have been wins but got away from them. If the Colonels want that kind of success and more this season, they need to take advantage of scoring opportunities.

“You’ve got to be strong defensively, but you also have to punish teams when we have the opportunity to do so,” Goodwin said. “There were tougher games last year where maybe we didn’t pick up the result is because one chance changes a game.”

Some of the schools in higher classes MMA is paying attention to is Father Tolton, Fatima and Battle as the Colonels will face all of them this year after going 1-2 last year against them. These are just a few of the tough schools MMA will face, Goodwin said, as the academy does play a tough schedule with the hope they can learn to seize scoring opportunities.

Goodwin said “chances come and go” in soccer but ones that materialize in front of goal should always be converted. He said MMA should look to create more chances this year.

“I want to create an attacking team,” Goodwin said. “I want us to be a fun team, but we have to do things right on both sides of the field. Giving guidance to those individuals to be creative as we’ve got a lot of players that like the ball at their feet in good areas so we’ve got ton get those players around the goal.”

The Colonels need to adapt to any situation and be able to shoot and pass in the right situations, Goodwin said, whether it’s early or late in the game. An example Goodwin remembers from last year when it comes to adapting to the situation is when the now graduated Lucas Almeida scored two goals to send a home game against Kirksville into overtime only to complete his first career hat trick to win the game for MMA.

Goodwin said MMA has several cadets returning that gives the team a solid foundation, especially on the defensive end. Two of those returners are defensemen like hometown native Avin Hernandez and Gaston Gastelum and will play a part in a unit that will have a new goalkeeper this season.

“(Hernandez) has been with me for two years now so he has a really good understanding of my expectations of how the team works together,” Goodwin said. “I gave (Gastelum) the most improved award. He hadn’t really been on a team before, and I couldn’t take him off the field near the end of the year because he was just doing everything I asked of him.

“In that defensive area, we’ll be really strong. Hopefully that tracks where we pride ourselves upon is not making mistakes in the back. That will be something I will make those guys work on.”

A key offensive player returning that has shown prowess in other sports, like Hernandez in baseball and Gastelum in golf, is Nathan Dempsey. The basketball player will be a midfielder/forward again for MMA soccer this year.

“He’s got real pace, and he’s got a raw ability to get past players,” Goodwin said. “He’s a basketball player, but I can transfer some of the qualities he has to the field for us.”

Players like those three will be important as MMA welcomes its newcomers because Goodwin said a key part to the Colonels’ success is the understanding of what makes a team at the academy special. Goodwin said it involves setting individual standards high and then playing for the jersey, meaning each Colonel fights for the sake of their teammates.

Goodwin admits to having “sleepless nights” thinking of tactics or ways to improve the team because he is proud to be the coach of a program with MMA’s type of environment. He is excited to get started with the Colonels’ first game at 5 p.m. Aug. 29 at home against Warrenton and believes the players feel the same way.

“We have some returning players that will continue that foundation and understand their role and duty and what it means to be on the MMA soccer team,” Goodwin said. “In terms of players coming in, we have international players who are always going to help us and that have played before and are now coming into our new environment.”