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Fairmont Area boys keep eye on BSC soccer crown

FAIRMONT — Brady Meyer knows that time is of the essence, especially during this fall’s high school soccer schedule that’s been reduced by 30% due to the current coronavirus pandemic.

“In a short season likes this one, every game is very important. There’s not much room for error,” said Meyer, who enters his fifth year at the Fairmont Area Cardinals boys soccer helm. “With a future unknown, pertaining to whether they (Minnesota State High School League) will hold any sectional or state tournaments, the best we can accomplish is to win the (Big South) conference championship.

“I think our core of returning players are on-board with the goal of winning the conference for now.”

Senior striker Joshua Bergt and the senior defensive tandem of Jackson Utermarck and Eli Broomfield return to handle the Cardinals’ leadership duties on and off the field in 2020.

Bergt delivered one of the most pivotal goals of last season when he netted the game-winner in overtime to propel Fairmont Area to a 2-1 second-round Section 2A triumph over nemesis Marshall. Bergt’s net-finding blast helped the Cardinals finish with an eventual 9-9-1 overall record.

The tri-captain will lead Fairmont Area’s offensive charge, along with sophomore forward Isaiah Lebbi, when the Cardinals kick off the season by hitting the road to Waseca on Friday night for a 7 p.m. clash with the host Bluejays.

“We’re looking forward to our first game against Waseca,” said Meyer. “They’re usually near the top of the conference every season, so we’ll get a chance to see how we match up right away.

“Win or lose (the opener), we’ll need to evaluate where we’re at and what areas we need to improve on.”

Utermarck and Broomfield will anchor the defensive wall from the inside positions while serving as vital pass distributors in triggering the Cardinals’ offense.

“We’re looking at Jackson (Utermarck) and Eli to really hold down the middle of the field, while Josh (Bergt) will be our target guy when we advance the ball further up the field,” said Meyer. “We’ve changed our formation a bit, and placing more focus on our mids (midfielders) this year.”

While senior Thomas Klanderud and senior Jackson Francis will flank Broomfield and Utermarck along the defensive wings, the senior trio of Cole Christopher, Ameya Komaragiri and Osvaldo Morales — along with sophomore Matthew Kotewa — will shift the offense into high gear from the midfield.

Senior Bryant Armitage, who earned varsity minutes as a defender in 2019, will handle the goalkeeping duties between the pipes this season.

“He was our junior varsity keeper and backup goalie on the varsity last year, and we’ll look to him to continue to do a good job in goal,” said Meyer. “As of right now, that’s the lineup we’ll start out with, but it can always change.”

After Friday night’s season-opener at Waseca, Fairmont Area plays host to Worthington in its home-opener at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1, at Jeffery Kot Soccer Complex in Fairmont.

Trason Arens will handle the Cardinals’ junior varsity coaching duties this fall, while Andrew Hoaglund will call the plays for the C-squad.

“Now we’ll see if we can outlast our opponents since our overall conditioning is an unknown due to having no games during the spring or summer,” said Meyer. “Usually, we (coaching staff) know the game shape of our own players and the programs we regularly play, but all of us will find out in a hurry which teams put in the time during the shutdown.”

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