Prep soccer has come a long way in Minnesota in the opinion of first-year Farmington boys' coach Thomas Macmillan, advancing from the "kick and chase" style he experienced when he arrived in the United States. Macmillan grew up in England and played soccer "since I could walk and have loved it my entire life."
               
He believes the Tigers are poised to make a move up the standings. Macmillan sees some strong potential from the attacking corps. The early stages of practice have included piecing together the defensive side after the loss of both center-backs off the 2021 club.
               
"That was probably the toughest thing to fill this year. I'd say [senior captain] Corey [Ley] is the one filling in that role the cleanest right now. Finding him a strong partner is going to be key," said Macmillan.
               
He's looking for better defensive intensity, "My concern is definitely creating players who want to hunt the ball, want to fight for getting it high up the field. And that's a style that I've always liked and the style I'd like to see come out from these boys. That desire to win the ball instead of dropping your head and getting disappointed in yourself when you lose it, is probably the biggest thing I'd want like to see change in this team as I'm coming in."
               
"From the attacking side, I know we are definitely on the more experienced side of things from that end. We as a whole have shown in the tryouts and the short scrimmages we've had that we are aware of how we want to work together to convert scoring opportunities. So, I'm excited to see what that looks like."
               
Macmillan wants his players to get creative on offense, "Honestly from all over the place. I like my outside backs to really push up and get high and be a part of the attack. As of right now, from what I can tell, I have that in my starting outside backs. And I feel I've got several very creative players."
               
With just five seniors, the Tigers are a young team in a rugged league. Ley and fellow senior Logan Opsahl are captains. Sophomore Kalvin Rossate has also left a great impression from a leadership perspective with Macmillan, who is happy to have a deep enough roster to field two strong teams.
               
Macmillan played a year of varsity soccer at Maple Grove High School then shifted to club teams. He's coached for about eight years including club and the last five years at the high school level, three at Lakeville South and a year at St. Thomas Academy.
               
"As a whole, for both club and high school, there's a lot more focus on a coach who's actually played soccer…So it's people who've been through the process. It's people that seem to at least enjoy the sport, if not love the sport. And because of that, it means they're watching soccer, they've participated in it and are trying to bring their own style to the game."
               
"Whereas previously I don't think there was any of that. You had a lot of athletes and very few soccer players getting picked for JV or varsity. It was just who was biggest and who was fastest. And now you've got, at minimum, on a varsity squad…a starting eleven that have all played for a majority of their lives and it makes it a lot more exciting."
               
The Tigers open their season hosting Section 1AAA opponent Owatonna on Thursday, August 25 at 7 pm at Tiger Stadium. Non-conference games hosting Rochester John Marshall (Saturday, August 27 at 12 pm), traveling to Northfield (Tuesday, August 30 at 7 pm) and entertaining Rochester Century (Friday, September 2 at 7 pm) follow before entering South Suburban play Wednesday, September 7 hosting Burnsville at 5 pm.
               
Defending conference champion Lakeville South and runner-up Lakeville North are both part of the Tigers' section. The three Rochester schools, Northfield, and Owatonna round out the field. Mayo upset South in the 1AAA final in 2021. Mounds View beat Rosemount for the state title.

Tweet #WeAre192