Tam Soccer Squad Heads to Tourney With Gusto

After losing a host of starters from last season's squad, the Tam High soccer team opened its season last week with more questions than answers. But while coach Dustin Nygaard knows a week doesn't make a season, a 3-0 start and an of perennial North Bay powerhouse Santa Rosa High School has answered many of those questions.

"I like the way we're playing right now," Nygaard said.

They take that early-season momentum into the Bay City Invitational, the fledgling tournament created by Nygaard and his close friend Jon Schwan, the coach of the Santa Rosa Panthers.

Tam hosted the first two tournaments, with both winners, Maria Carrillo in 2008 and Marin Catholic in 2009, going on to win the North Coast Section championship later that season.

This year, the tournament features 16 teams divided into four brackets, with each team playing all three teams in its bracket once and the winners of each bracket advancing to the final round. Games will be played at Santa Rosa High and Santa Rosa Junior College.

Tam's bracket includes Grant Union High from Sacramento, Sonoma Valley High and Elsie Allen High in Santa Rosa. Each will test Tam's early season momentum.

Nygaard, who took over coaching duties in 2007, led the Hawks to the best full season of his tenure in 2009. The team finished the regular season with a record of 12-3-2, losing in the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) semifinals to Terra Linda in a marathon game that went to double overtime and seven penalty kicks. The team advanced to the second round of the North Coast Section tournament before losing to Santa Rosa.

The season also included a huge win over Branson, which had knocked the Hawks out of the playoff hunt in both 2007 and 2008.

"It was a huge, huge win for the team," assistant Shane Kennedy said. "Knowing our history with Branson, this victory meant the world for us (coaching staff) and the players."

This year's Hawks lost a number of players to graduation, including Ely Washauer and Emil Barkovich on the wings, Max Nichols at the goalkeeper position and Nick Pastuhov in midfield.

"The most important thing is to make these players gel together as a team," Nygaard said. "Maybe teams won't put us on our radar this season. We can surprise them here and there."

Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Panthers may have surprised some people, especially on the heels of a pair of 4-1 wins over Petaluma and El Molino.

Defense has been the key, said Nygaard said, who made defense the hallmark of the 2009 Tam girls team that conceded only 11 goals in a 25-game regular season. The team has hoisted the NCS trophy two times in the past three years.

For the boys team, Nygaard said defense will help initiate the offense.

Imran Nana, Sean Wilkinson, and Spencer LaBay are the key returning players from the 2009 squad. Nana, a junior, was the team's top goal-scorer last year. LaBay, a junior, will be used as a forward and as an attacking midfielder, mainly due to his outstanding speed in transition. LaBay started as a right-back for the 2008 team in which he was the only freshman to be part of the starting 11. Senior center-back Wilkinson will continue to be the leader of the back-line for the Red-Tailed Hawks.

"Soccer is a team sport, but these three players have experienced it all last year," Nygaard said. "They went through some tough spells where we could not score for two games in a row. But they knew how to deal with the situation, and I think they'll gain more and more experience as the season goes on."