Greene County’s high school soccer teams open the 2022 season next week. Both teams have season opening matches on Tuesday, March 29. The girls host Grand View Christian (Des Moines) in Grand Junction while the boys play at Boone.

Carl Behne is the head coach of the boys’ program and he and assistant Chad Black started the high school program here in 2018 and they both remain on the coaching staff. The program has seen success including Class 1A State Tournament appearances in 2019 and ’21, the last two times a soccer season was held in Iowa high schools. COVID-19 wiped out the 2020 season.

Coach Behne talked with Raccoon Valley Radio about the upcoming season, which sees quite a few starters return from a year ago. “We had some changes in formation, so we’ll have some pain points, probably, for a little bit of the first part of the season. I think we’ll get it together, and even with those pain points, I think we’ll come out with quite a few wins early in the year, as we historically have.”

The coach talked about the tough middle part of the schedule. “We’ll have a tough middle ground with Des Moines Christian, Perry, Nevada, and the Nevada tournament where we usually see Iowa City Regina, but that will challenge and push us. Hopefully, we win the vast majority of those games, but if we don’t, there will be opportunities for film study and learning, and at the end of the day, it’s really about getting ready for that first Substate match, which we always want to host at home.”

The Rams were 14-7 a season ago with eight of the 2021 starters back for this season.