Mexico boys soccer lost offense from a year ago but is focusing on what it has gained this season.

The Bulldogs will be without 2020 all-state player Haden Frazier and Dominic McKeown following record-breaking careers. Frazier holds the school record for eight consecutive games with a goal and missed the single-season goals record by two with 33 his senior year, and McKeown set the single-season assists record last year with 20 helpers to go along with his 13 goals.

Head coach William Gleeson said it is easy to focus on the goals Mexico is losing but are making good additions to hopefully improve a 3-19 record.

“We’re losing some key scorers in our seniors that have graduated,” Gleeson said. “We’ve got some guys who were injured last year that are coming off of that. We’ve got some good scorers, and kids that are willing to pass and work together. That’s pretty key for soccer.”

James Branson is a senior forward that spent all last season out with injury and is a good scorer that the Bulldogs will rely on, Gleeson said, and he isn’t the only one. Senior midfielder Fernando Guzman and sophomore forward Gage Walker are also part of the offensive core.

Guzman and senior defender Declan Gleeson earned spots on the all-North Central Missouri Conference team along with Frazier.

Junior Jalen Johnson is someone that considered playing soccer last year but didn’t follow through until this now, which Gleeson said will be a good decision on his part because he has been “looking really strong.” Among the freshman Mexico has is forward Alex Rodriguez, who has some “good ball control, just needs a little bit more confidence,” defender Jace DeVault and forward Kalvin Smith.

Johnson can play midfielder and defender and DeVault is a defender and midfielder, which Gleeson said gives Mexico more flexibility.

“If you run into some issues with injuries, or things like during the game, you’ve got these guys that you can stick into any of those positions and play,” Gleeson said.

Having several key young players means building new team chemistry, which is what Mexico wanted during summer scrimmages. The Bulldogs played Moberly and Chillicothe at the end of June and Fulton and Boonville at the end of July to primarily give younger players varsity experience even if they didn’t win.

Gleeson said Mexico has been helped by the leadership of the team’s six seniors but will need to have trust and patience to succeed. He said he noticed, during the second half of the scrimmages, his players slipped back into a “I’ll just do it myself” attitude rather than passing.

“We’re working on our gelling and passing, but sometimes, when we get frustrated or whatever, we just, ‘Oh, I’ll do it myself,’” Gleeson said. “Be able to trust your teammates so that you know that if you pass it to them, they’re going to be able to keep it or do what they need to do with the ball. It’s not just, once they get it, then they try all on their own and try to score, and you got two or three guys on you.”

Mexico does expect the defense to gel better this year after having several inexperience players last year that now have that varsity time under their belts, Gleeson said. Varsity offense tends to be coordinated and calculated rather than having more one-on-one situations.

“Communication is key,” Gleeson said. “If they have to go out to get a ball, being able to tell, ‘Hey, take my spot’ and somebody rotates back into that spot. It’s all about the rotations.”

If the Bulldogs play with a togetherness, Gleeson thinks they could make history.

“Mexico soccer has never won districts,” Gleeson said. “That is my goal for this team this year. I think we have the talent. I think we could do really, really well if we work together and if we play like I know we can play. That is my push for these boys.”

Mexico plays its first regular season game at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 30 at Elsberry with Silex and hosts Fulton at 5 p.m. Sept. 1.