Hackworth, Bousselot stand out in Eagles preseason soccer jamboree

by Michael Smith
 
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The Grain Valley boys soccer team had a mixed bag of results in Wednesday’s preseason jamboree.

It was a final tune-up before they start the regular season on Aug. 31 in the Harrisonville Boys Soccer Shootout. The jamboree featured Raymore-Peculiar, Platte County and Blue Springs at the Blue Springs soccer field.

The Eagles showed flashes of brilliance in a 1-0 win over Ray-Pec but had some struggles against Blue Springs in their second scrimmage as they fell 3-0. In the jamboree, each scrimmage lasted 35 minutes and there was about a 2-3 minute break while the clock was running for a water break.

While the Eagles had mixed results, they had two players who stood out who were major bright spots – sophomore Cooper Bousselot and junior Cohen Hackworth. Both play on the back line and showed they could be key pieces for the 2024 version of the Eagles.

During Grain Valley’s 1-0 victory over the Panthers, Bousselot scored the team’s only goal. He blasted a 25-yard from the middle of the field and perfectly placed the shot inside the top right corner of the goal.

“I knew I was going to shoot it after my first touch,” Bousselot said. “I saw that the goalkeeper had come off his line and just had a well hit and clean shot.”

Grain Valley head coach Brett Lewis mouth was left agape for a few seconds as he was in shock at how impressive Bousselot’s shot was.

“Cooper is only a sophomore, but he plays like he’s older,” Lewis said. “He has a high IQ and he’s good on the ball. If he gets time and space, he can put the ball in a dangerous area for the goalie.”

Grain Valley had a bend-but-don’t break defense against the Panthers led by Cohen Hackworth, who had some excellent recovery runs on defense as he often chased down Panther players on breakaways to make stops.

The Panthers had a few opportunities to score but missed some shots wide and high of the goal and senior goalkeeper Alex Tuttle made a diving save on a hard-hit shot with 10 seconds left against Ray-Pec.

“You saw how comfortable he is back there tonight Lewis said of Hackworth. “He played up top for us late last year, but his natural position is center back.

“He’s one of our top defenders with how athletic he is and how quick he can recover.”

There are some things the Eagles can shore up before their season-opener, according to Lewis and his players. Against the Wildcats, Grain Valley surrendered a hat trick to senior Will Ahring, who scored all three of his goals inside the Eagles’ penalty box.

“I told the team they were going to press more than Ray-Pec and they were going to be more intense and try and win the ball in the attacking third. We had some guys that were shying away when they should have been trying to get the ball. We just have to mature a little bit and get some confidence in our younger players.”

Even following the loss against Blue Springs, the Eagles had some positives to take away, especially after a strong performance against one of the strongest programs in the Kansas City area – Ray-Pec.

“That gave us confidence as a team that we can play well against them,” Hackworth said. “It gives us some chemistry and hope.”

Grain Valley junior Cohen Hackworth, left, and sophomore Cooper Bousselot had strong performances at the preseason jamboree Wednesday at the Blue Springs soccer field.  Photo credit: Michael Smith​