Faces familiar and unfamiliar will take to the pitch Saturday, when the Powell High School boys’ soccer team opens its season at home.

After two consecutive state championship appearances on either side of the canceled 2020 season, the Panthers come into the 2022 campaign with a mixture of experience and rebuilding.

Losing 13 players from last year’s team, head coach David Gilliatt enters into his fourth season at the helm of a Powell squad that still brings back plenty of experience.

“The guys that I started with in the first year as freshmen are seniors now,” Gilliatt said. “I still have some really focused players that have good skill sets and understand how we want to play.”

Three of those seniors that Gilliatt will rely on this year have become captains of the team: Garrett Morris, Hawkin Sweeney and Reece Bauer.

All three players are returning All-State selections from 2021, and Sweeney returns after leading Class 3A in scoring last season with 22 goals.

Combining with those three captains will be an underclassman with a wealth of experience in sophomore Chance Franks, as well as other players who have varsity experience from a season ago.

Gilliatt knows they must replace talent at each level of the pitch, but he feels the returning experience mixed with the junior varsity players who moved up this year creates the potential to be a contending team.

“I think this is the most focused team I have ever coached, period,” Gilliatt said. “They know what they want to achieve and I am just helping them get organized to do that. I don’t need to tell them what their goals are or what their end game is. They are extremely focused.”

The Panthers will jump straight in the deep end, as they are set to host the Pinedale Wranglers in a 3A West conference matchup on Saturday at noon.

Gilliatt said he doesn’t know what the Wranglers will bring to the contest, but he’s certain the Panthers return enough talent to compete with a well-coached program.

“You can never underestimate a conference opponent,” Gilliatt added.

Heading into the season, many teams around the state — including the Panthers —lost senior talent from last year. 

The Powell boys are hoping to return to the state tournament and make another run at a title, as they continue to seek an ever-elusive first state soccer title for PHS.