Holden Coghill has high expectations in third year at Crossroads
• By Brandon White bwhite@hendersondispatch.com; 252-436-2840
2021 soccer season at Crossroads Christian has not gotten off to the start that head coach Holden Coghill had envisioned during the offseason.
The program has failed to crack the win column in their first four games, with their most recent contest being a tough 4-3 loss against Neuse Christian Academy at home on Thursday after they were outscored 3-1 in the second half.
Despite the four-game losing streak, Coghill said Crossroads is in a much better position to succeed after three years with the team and knows that the roster is strong enough to shake off the early struggles and finish 2021 strong.
“This is a young team but there’s a unique balance of young and old,” Coghill said. “We’ve grown a little bit slower because of the player pool we have to work with but there’s so much continuity now. We all understand each other better now than we did in year one.”
Coghill admitted that the previous season was one of the hardest he has experienced as a head coach, which started off with a positive COVID-19 test on the program that left Crossroads without four players for their season-opener.
Crossroads managed to work through their early-season COVID-19 issues and blossom into a program that could be competitive on a regular basis. Their three victories in 10 games eclipsed the win total they accumulated in 2019, which consisted of 14 matchups.
A big part of Crossroads’ growth for Coghill stemmed from the leadership provided by seniors Ryan Adcock and Gage Edwards, along with sophomore Will Alston.
Adcock and Alston combined to score 15 goals for Crossroads while Edwards accumulated 172 saves in the net. Edwards and Adcock each earned Mid-Carolina All-Conference honors for their work on the field while Alston was selected to both the All-Conference and NCISAA All-State teams.
Like Coghill, Edwards has been disappointed by how the first four games of the season have turned out but is optimistic that Crossroads can make another trip to the NCISAA 1A Playoffs if he and his teammates put more emphasis on communication.
“I think we need to be more vocal, especially on the back line,” Edwards said. “We also need to listen to what our coaches are saying to us. If we can communicate, we’ll be able to pass the ball and make better connections with those passes.”
As one of four seniors on the roster, Edwards has fully embraced the leadership role when it comes to mentoring the underclassmen, adding that helping instill the qualities that Coghill expects out of everyone is going to be important once he, Adcock and the others graduate in a few months.
Adcock said that the amount of interest middle school students and freshman now have in soccer at Crossroads is indicative of the positive culture Coghill has built in three years and is confident that the younger players will help transform the program into a perennial playoff contender.
“We’ve grown so much,” Adcock said. “Not only do we have better competition on the team but there are younger guys coming out that are going to build this program even more. Everything is looking up with this team’s future and I think we’ll get better as the season progresses.”
Coghill wants to lead Crossroads back to the playoffs again this year but attributed some of his team’s struggles to the turnover from 2020, as Crossroads lost six seniors to graduation, which included key contributors in Asher Fulk, Isaac Corrigan, Noah Brantley and Jesse Leonard.
Junior Sam Boyd has been tasked by Coghill to step up as a leader for Crossroads on defense alongside sophomore Noah Newbern. Coghill believes Boyd and Newbern are adjusting well to their new roles but is expecting more efficiency from his players over the next few weeks.
“We’re in the Vanco Showcase again, so we’ll get to see some local teams there like Oxford Prep and Henderson Collegiate,” Coghill said. “Grace Christian is another very good team that we’ll have to play twice this year but I’m looking forward to the challenges.”
With many more tough opponents ahead of Crossroads, Coghill is focused on ironing out the issues that have hindered them through the team’s first four games so they can make a proper playoff push.
Having Adcock, Alston, Edwards and many other talented players is something that Coghill knows will be beneficial to Crossroads as they continue to develop cohesion and embrace the winning culture that has been embedded into the program.
“I want to see us continue our development,” Coghill said. “Everyone is getting better with each game and practice. I try not to define success by wins and losses because that can be a culture killer. Everyone runs their own race and if we all improve every day, then the win-loss column will reflect that growth.”
Crossroads will stay in Henderson through the entirety of next week. They will travel to Henderson Collegiate on Monday before making a shorter trip to Kerr-Vance Academy for a 4 p.m. matchup on Thursday.
• By Brandon White bwhite@hendersondispatch.com; 252-436-2840
2021 soccer season at Crossroads Christian has not gotten off to the start that head coach Holden Coghill had envisioned during the offseason.
The program has failed to crack the win column in their first four games, with their most recent contest being a tough 4-3 loss against Neuse Christian Academy at home on Thursday after they were outscored 3-1 in the second half.
Despite the four-game losing streak, Coghill said Crossroads is in a much better position to succeed after three years with the team and knows that the roster is strong enough to shake off the early struggles and finish 2021 strong.
“This is a young team but there’s a unique balance of young and old,” Coghill said. “We’ve grown a little bit slower because of the player pool we have to work with but there’s so much continuity now. We all understand each other better now than we did in year one.”
Coghill admitted that the previous season was one of the hardest he has experienced as a head coach, which started off with a positive COVID-19 test on the program that left Crossroads without four players for their season-opener.
Crossroads managed to work through their early-season COVID-19 issues and blossom into a program that could be competitive on a regular basis. Their three victories in 10 games eclipsed the win total they accumulated in 2019, which consisted of 14 matchups.
A big part of Crossroads’ growth for Coghill stemmed from the leadership provided by seniors Ryan Adcock and Gage Edwards, along with sophomore Will Alston.
Adcock and Alston combined to score 15 goals for Crossroads while Edwards accumulated 172 saves in the net. Edwards and Adcock each earned Mid-Carolina All-Conference honors for their work on the field while Alston was selected to both the All-Conference and NCISAA All-State teams.
Like Coghill, Edwards has been disappointed by how the first four games of the season have turned out but is optimistic that Crossroads can make another trip to the NCISAA 1A Playoffs if he and his teammates put more emphasis on communication.
“I think we need to be more vocal, especially on the back line,” Edwards said. “We also need to listen to what our coaches are saying to us. If we can communicate, we’ll be able to pass the ball and make better connections with those passes.”
As one of four seniors on the roster, Edwards has fully embraced the leadership role when it comes to mentoring the underclassmen, adding that helping instill the qualities that Coghill expects out of everyone is going to be important once he, Adcock and the others graduate in a few months.
Adcock said that the amount of interest middle school students and freshman now have in soccer at Crossroads is indicative of the positive culture Coghill has built in three years and is confident that the younger players will help transform the program into a perennial playoff contender.
“We’ve grown so much,” Adcock said. “Not only do we have better competition on the team but there are younger guys coming out that are going to build this program even more. Everything is looking up with this team’s future and I think we’ll get better as the season progresses.”
Coghill wants to lead Crossroads back to the playoffs again this year but attributed some of his team’s struggles to the turnover from 2020, as Crossroads lost six seniors to graduation, which included key contributors in Asher Fulk, Isaac Corrigan, Noah Brantley and Jesse Leonard.
Junior Sam Boyd has been tasked by Coghill to step up as a leader for Crossroads on defense alongside sophomore Noah Newbern. Coghill believes Boyd and Newbern are adjusting well to their new roles but is expecting more efficiency from his players over the next few weeks.
“We’re in the Vanco Showcase again, so we’ll get to see some local teams there like Oxford Prep and Henderson Collegiate,” Coghill said. “Grace Christian is another very good team that we’ll have to play twice this year but I’m looking forward to the challenges.”
With many more tough opponents ahead of Crossroads, Coghill is focused on ironing out the issues that have hindered them through the team’s first four games so they can make a proper playoff push.
Having Adcock, Alston, Edwards and many other talented players is something that Coghill knows will be beneficial to Crossroads as they continue to develop cohesion and embrace the winning culture that has been embedded into the program.
“I want to see us continue our development,” Coghill said. “Everyone is getting better with each game and practice. I try not to define success by wins and losses because that can be a culture killer. Everyone runs their own race and if we all improve every day, then the win-loss column will reflect that growth.”
Crossroads will stay in Henderson through the entirety of next week. They will travel to Henderson Collegiate on Monday before making a shorter trip to Kerr-Vance Academy for a 4 p.m. matchup on Thursday.
