SOCCER: Skidmore, Devils off to a good start

By: Brad Norman | Mooresville Tribune
Published: August 24, 2010

Mooresville’s boys soccer team didn’t quite know what to expect early in the season, but it certainly didn’t take long to find out.

The Blue Devils are coming off quite an impressive showing at their annual season-opening trip to Morganton for the Freedom Invitational.

Mooresville officially finished the tournament with a 1-0-2 record, but those two ties were considered victories for the tournament itself because Mooresville won during penalty kicks.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association only uses penalty kicks to determine victory during the playoffs.

“This tournament was a big challenge for us this season,” Blue Devils senior Josh Skidmore said. “It gave us an idea on how we would do the rest of the year. Everyone stepped up and played really well.”

Skidmore ought to include himself in that group.

He was one of two Blue Devils players who made the all-tournament team (Kevin Anderson was the other), and also was voted as the top defensive player in the tournament.

“It feels pretty good,” Skidmore said. “But I think there (were) numerous players that could have been on there. We had a lot of guys play really well. We played a couple scrimmages before the tournament, and we did all right. We tried to figure things out during those three games.

“I think we did pretty well, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

Skidmore is one of nine seniors on a Mooresville team playing without longtime coach Steve Stith for the first time since 2001.

Stith resigned during the summer after leading the boys team for 18 years during two separate coaching stints.

The Blue Devils also lost 11 seniors from the 2009 team that finished 13-7-1 during its first year in the 4A classification.

Enter Jim Caudill, who was hired in late July.

He has the Blue Devils playing strong despite limited time on the pitch.

Skidmore noted that Mooresville does conditioning after practice every day and that when scrimmaging during practice, Caudill observes from the field and coaches extensively during the intra-squad play.

“I really like what he’s doing,” Skidmore said.

Mooresville’s next game isn’t until Sept. 2, when it plays at Hickory Ridge. The Blue Devils play their first home game Sept. 8 against Northwest Cabarrus.

Then I-Meck 4A play starts, and the conference is up in the air this year.

Lake Norman (No. 15) is the only team ranked in the N.C. Soccer Coaches Association 4A poll.

North Meck is typically strong, but there are plenty of opportunities for Mooresville to make some noise.

“I think we’re going to surprise a lot of teams,” Skidmore said. “No one really knows what we got, but we’re going to come to play.”