Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Longtime Regina coach Rick Larew made a few offseason adjustments after the Regals reached the Class 1A state semifinals last season.

Atop the list of tweaks for Larew’s Regals was a formation change designed to result in more offensive production.

The new look Regals didn’t create many scoring opportunities in their season opener on Tuesday but cashed in on an opportunity when they needed it most.

Sophomore Laird Holden snapped a scoreless tie with a goal with 2:49 remaining to lift Regina to a 1-0 win over Solon in the season opener for both teams on a cold and windy evening at Spartan Stadium.

“We’ve made some changes and it’s a lot to adjust to especially with such a short preseason but I think we have a lot of bright stuff in our future,” Holden said. “I think it will get more people scoring and in the box and hopefully it creates more opportunities and better chances on goal.”

Regina hardly fit the mold in need of an offensive overhaul.

The Regals scored 89 goals last season while winning 18 matches and advancing to the 1A semifinals for the 13^th time in 15 seasons.

The top three goal scorers from last year’s state semifinalist all return this season in seniors Eddie Petersen, Jack Hoover and Quinn Warren.

Yet Larew felt the Regals needed a slight adjustment.

“The last couple of years we had went to the 4-2-3-1, where we had six guys in the defensive end and our problem was we weren’t scoring enough goals,” Larew said. “We were dominating teams but we weren’t scoring enough and then all of a sudden you get a bad call or you make a single mistake and you lose 1-0 so we went to a 3-5-2 and I love the 3-5-2 and I think that will create more opportunities for us but it takes awhile.”

Regina averaged nearly 3.9 goals per game last season but scored one goal or less eight times.

Larew believes the formational change will open up chances for Regina once the players become comfortable.

“We’ve changed formations, we’ve changed a little bit how we are playing and that’s different for the guys,” Larew said. “I thought we did well, I think we were looking for opportunities we were just playing a little too direct but there is a lot to adjust to.”

Regina looked a little out of sorts early in the opener on Monday.

Playing with a strong wind at its back the Regals were scoreless in the opening half, failing to put much pressure on the Solon defense.

“When we were going with the wind we were playing a lot of through balls and on the turf it was just going way to fast,” Hoover said. “We had to make that adjustment and adjustments to the weather.”

Regina got better as the game went on.

The Regals mounted several solid offensive chances in the second half but the game remained tied until the final minutes.

Hoover ripped a shot from inside the box that bounced off the Solon keeper.

“We talk about it a lot that a lot of goals especially in high school soccer are scored off the rebound or the second ball,” Hoover said. “We practice that a lot.”

Holden was there to cash in on the loose ball as he hammered the rebound shot into the back of the net from point blank range with just 2:49 remaining.

“I was kind of dragging at the end of the game and I thought I might as well crash on that play,” Holden said. “I was just happy it went in and we didn’t have to go to OT.”

The win was second in a row for Regina over Solon after the Regals defeated Solon 3-0 in the season opener last year.

“We aren’t quite adjusted to it yet and tonight wasn’t our best game,” Hoover said. “We’ll watch the film and sit down and talk about what we can do better but the win feels nice.”

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.