Mike Kraft/MDN Minot High junior midfielder Tayson Solper participates in passing drills during a practice at Duane Carlson Stadium on Tuesday, Aug. 12. The Magicians open their season on the road against Dickinson on Friday, Aug. 15.

To say that the Minot High boys soccer team will look a little different on the pitch in comparison to the one that made deep runs at the 2024 state tournament would be an understatement.

Following the graduation of 13 seniors from last year’s squad, the Magicians enter a reset era for the program with a new roster filled with youthful, raw talent. Minot is looking to fill the void at every position this season, as they lost four midfielders, four forwards, four defenders and their starting goalkeeper to graduation.

Last year’s senior class accounted for 36 goals and 26 assists, with all-state selection Dylan Jackson leading the Magicians in goals with 18. Minot is also looking to replace the contributions from fellow all-state players Samuel Echanis and Vincent Palaia, as well as all-region selection Ethan Dangel.

“It’s going to kind of be a soft reset for the main starting positions,” Minot coach Jordan Foley said. “There’s only one or two positions that are returning from last year. We had 13 seniors graduate last year, so we’re looking at a nearly completely new Minot Magicians boys soccer team this fall.”

While the Magicians may not have the senior-loaded rosters they’re accustomed to, they aren’t lacking in leadership or talent. Junior midfielders Dylan Oswalt, Tayon Solper and Nolan Schmidt will captain a team composed mainly of underclassmen. Oswalt led all returners in scoring with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) and Solper led all returners in goals with seven. The rest of the returners accounted for a combined four goals and three assists.

“I learned a lot from those seniors, trying to be as good of a role model as I can for the younger kids because we have a lot of younger kids this year,” Solper said. “So definitely being a good role model and showing the younger kids how to be prepared. It’s a little different losing a lot of seniors and getting a lot of younger kids in here is a fresh restart for the program. In the next couple of years, we’ll be pretty strong.”

Building chemistry has been a focal point for the team during the offseason with so many new faces on the team.

“We’re all very skilled and we have pretty good chemistry and I think it will work well,” Oswalt said. “A lot of them were here last year, so they know what we expect and know what they need to do.”

The Magicians are coming off a year in which they finished second in the West Region with a 10-4-2 record, finishing 13-6-2 overall. They advanced to the state semifinal for the third consecutive year, where they would eventually finish fourth. Minot has advanced to the state tournament every year since 2010 and 26 times overall. Only Bismarck High (29) and Bismarck Century (28) have more state tournament appearances in their 30-year history. The Demons missed out on the state tournament for the first time in program history last season. It also marked the first time that neither Bismarck or Century were represented in the field.

“We’ve been fortunate enough in the last five or six seasons to have really successful seasons and the last three, we’ve been able to go to the semifinals,” Foley said. “It’s just that one-goal loss that we’ve had in each of those semifinals that have been holding us back. This group has been through a lot of those in the shadows and they’ve seen the experiences. Even though they don’t have the playing experience, they’re going to have the experience of seeing that and learning from those mistakes hopefully to take us deeper in the state tournament this year.”

Minot averaged 2.6 goals per game last season, while allowing 1.15 goals per match. Grayden Wald recorded nine shutouts in his senior season, recording 66 saves. Now, senior Ian Stewart is expected to take over for Wald.

Foley expects the offensive strategy to change with the new-look roster, but the defense to be more status quo.

“Every group of kids you have is a little bit different,” Foley said. “Last year’s kids had a lot of speed and we were able to attack teams differently with a lot of pace on the ball. I think this group is a little better at pinging the ball around. I think our offensive focus is going to shift a little bit. Defensively, we have a couple returners. We’re still going to be able to hold strong against teams.”

The Magicians aren’t the only team in the West Region overhauling their roster. Two of the other three state qualifiers from the region a year ago – Jamestown and Williston – were senior-heavy and will look a bit different this season. Defending West Region champions Jamestown lost 12 seniors to graduation, while Williston – fresh off its first state tournament appearance in program history – lost eight seniors. Defending state champions Bismarck Legacy, however, are expected to contend once again as they return all but four players from last season.

“The rest of the region also lost a lot of seniors,” Foley said. “I think in the final four in the state tournament last year, three out of four had predominately seniors on the roster, so that’s just high school soccer. Everything switches over when those seniors graduate, but Legacy is still going to be a force. They have a lot of people returning. I expect them to have a really strong season. That’s going to be the big giant to go through.”

The Sabers were a near unanimous decision to win the West Region this year in the preseason coaches’ poll, garnering eight of nine first-place votes. The Magicians received the other first-place vote and were picked to finish second.

The roster may look different, but the expectations remain high.

“We’ve got a pretty young team this year,” Oswalt said. “A lot of sophomores, not too many juniors or seniors on the team, but I think they’ll fill the roles of last year. We’ve got pretty big expectations. Make a run in the state tournament, but also go game by game.”