Previewing the 2022-23 Powhatan boys soccer season

ROBBY FLETCHER

Editor

Sports

After a historic, program-defining 2021-22 season for the Powhatan boys soccer team, the latest chapter of the team’s saga finds them with multiple returning players from last year’s run, but questions surrounding who steps into the shoes of their star forward Parker Sloan.

Last year, the Indians were one penalty shootout save away from an appearance in the Class 4 State Semifinals, falling to Great Bridge in an instant classic in the quarterfinals, which was a week after they finished as the Class 4, Region B runner-up.

A lot of that success had to do with the team’s incredible depth, plethora of scoring threats and the star power of current UVA forward Parker Sloan, who left Powhatan as arguably the program’s most decorated athlete to grace the pitch.

Replacing Sloan along with All-State defender Carter Hubley and seniors Keegan McCullough, Hunter Stoddard, Conner Donnelly and Jacob Hymel will be difficult for the Indians, but head coach Willie Miles brings out a roster that seems up to the challenge to carve out their own reputation as a team to beat in the Dominion District.

All-State seniors Fischer Daniel and Colton Hiatt are at the top of the totem pole this year, coming off excellent junior seasons where they consistently made impacts on the field while also complementing the team’s other stars. Now, it’s their show to run, with Daniel slotted in as the team’s go-to on-ball creator and Hiatt controlling the game as a center midfielder.

Daniel, who recently committed to the Lynchburg Hornets, was Powhatan’s second leading scorer last season, often being relied on to handle set pieces and runs down the sideline. Those responsibilities will likely fall to him again this year as well, as he enters the season as the bonafide alpha dog leading the attack.

The team’s back line also features multiple seniors, including Connor Nicker- son, a senior captain coming off a season where he was named a second team All-Region honoree, centreback Paul Bonner, Cole Whiting and Shaw Stancil. While last year’s Indians could get into high-scoring shootouts with their stars delivering goals on the offensive attack, they also could manage in games that came down to one or two goals. That’ll be the case once again this year, with a reliable group of defenders that will likely need little time to get back into the form

The inaugural girls state tournament featured 284 wrestlers across the Virginia wrestling landscape, with wrestlers ranging from teams represented in classes 1-6. Virginia now joins 32 other states that have sanctioned girls championships, with most of those having started since 2018 according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

Powhatan senior Natalia Sanchez, who has fought to bring a larger group of female wrestlers to her Indians team, was a part of that history, competing in the 112-pound weight class and coming away a third place medalist with a 5-1 record.

Sanchez won her first three matchups on the way to the semifinals, but fell in a tight 7-0 decision in that round to Cosby’s Jenna Anderson, forcing her to battle through the consolation bracket. She responded from the loss well, winning her next match and finishing with a victory in the third place match to take the bronze.

All of Sanchez’ five wins came by a pin, two of which came within the first period. Her opening wins against Dinwiddie’s Langston Partin and Spotwood’s Brittany Roadcap started the tournament off strong, with Sanchez needing just 1:16 to beat Partin and 3:19 to beat Roadcap.

Roadcap gave Sanchez a good fight before she ended things in the second period, picking up an escape and a two-point near fall against the Powhatan senior. Sanchez was the superior wrestler though, recording two takedowns, a reversal and a three-point near fall 46 seconds into the match, helping her lead 9-4 before the pin.

Then in the quarterfinals, Sanchez only needed 52 seconds to advance to the next stage, beating Page County’s Kaylee Campbell. After the loss to Anderson, Sanchez was back to her dominant displays of getting an opponent pinned to the mat, beating Henrico’s Madison Wilson in 3:49 and claiming her place on the podium with a final win over