Green Bay Preble girls soccer is exceeding expectations under first-year coach Justin Callan
GREEN BAY – Justin Callan told the Green Bay Preble girls soccer team before the season that he expected the Hornets to compete for the Fox River Classic Conference championship.
Nobody could have blamed the players if they had given their first-year coach some awkward stares and a few raised eyebrows.
Title contenders? Preble?
The Hornets hadn’t won more than five games in each of the previous three seasons and hadn’t produced a winning record since 2019.
Just look at them now.
Winning conference still will be difficult with upcoming games against the other top teams in the Fox River Classic Conference. But Preble already has exceeded expectations heading into the stretch run of the season, at least other than the ones from its leader.
The Hornets stood at 8-0-2 entering a showdown at Green Bay Notre Dame on Tuesday and have allowed one or zero goals in eight contests.
“I did believe if you can really create the culture of the community, that you can have a quick turnaround,” Callan said. “I was looking at how they did against the top competition in our conference last year. They played De Pere twice very closely. One was a nail-biter, 1-0, where they had opportunities. Another one was 2-0 and sort of went back and forth. Notre Dame, they played close.
“I saw that there was potential. We had the seniors coming back, and knowing them and their leadership style, I felt right away there is a lot of talent here. It’s really putting them together, getting everybody to buy in with my style, my systems. At the same token, I’m sort of open to what is best for the team.”
Which is why Preble has shown an ability to adapt this season. It used one formation early on, then switched to another. Either way, it has flourished.
The Hornets have a young roster. There are only six seniors on the team, although at least they had their best players returning.
Senior forward Johanna Thompson and senior midfielder Yesenia Zacarias were second-team all-conference picks last season, while junior defender Jolee Geason and sophomore midfielder Olivia Wiemasz were honorable mention selections.
Thompson and Zacarias have been the influential figures Callan needed them to be as two of the team captains.
Thompson entered the week leading the Hornets with 12 goals and 29 points.
She has enjoyed a dominating stretch the last four games, scoring two goals in a win at Sheboygan South, four against Sheboygan North and three combined in wins against Eau Claire Memorial and Eau Claire North at the UW-Eau Claire Tournament last weekend.
Zacarias continues to emerge as one of the league’s better players and has been the ultimate “sponge” for Callan by displaying a strong desire to learn and help teammates.
“They have a rather relentless attack, led by Johanna Thompson,” said Green Bay Southwest coach Jay Draves, whose team lost to Preble 3-2 in a tightly contested match April 23. “They look to play at a tempo that forces the opponent to adjust to them.
“They are much more confident in what they are trying to do and seeing results.”
Preble’s rookie coach has helped turnaround
Callan never has been a varsity head coach until this season, although he has been involved in the game his entire life.
He played in high school at Hartland Arrowhead and college at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee. He also has coached club teams of various age groups for more than a decade.
Callan is not a stranger to Preble. His son, Aiden, played soccer at the school before graduating in 2022.
One of his biggest supporters, and the man who wrote his letter of recommendation, is longtime Preble boys coach Chris Becker.
“I think this team is so much better than years past,” Becker said. “He has done such a good job giving them an identity. He is so good with team building, and these girls believe in themselves.
“It’s huge in high school sports to have confidence in yourself.”
Callan has three young daughters in the game, including one who is a few years away from high school. He already helps coach his girls in different capacities, and getting the chance to do it at the high school level someday is fun to think about.
There is no question their father is in serious contention for FRCC coach of the year in his first season.
It’s been quite the home run hire by athletic director Dan Retzki and the administration.
“They have bought in,” Callan said of his players. “With the leaders on our team, they have probably been the crucial part of getting everyone else to buy in.
“They have grown. They all come from good clubs. Most have been playing the game for a long time.”
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Preble will be tested to end the FRCC season
The Hornets have clinched a winning campaign with just six regular-season games remaining.
It’s clear at this point that, just like their coach, they want the top spot in the FRCC.
If they do defy the odds and end up league champions, they will have earned it after a daunting upcoming schedule.
Along with Tuesday's game against one of the top Division 3 teams in the state in Notre Dame, the Hornets face conference unbeaten Bay Port on Thursday, a Pulaski squad with a big-time scorer in senior forward and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay recruit Veronica Decker next Tuesday and defending conference champion De Pere next Thursday.
Preble has not won the FRCC since sharing the league title with De Pere in 2014.
“I’m very confident,” Callan said. “It’s sort of a gauntlet we are going through. I almost wish it was a little more split up. But it’s what’s in front of us. We have some injuries we are working through. I try to take it only one game at a time with them. As much as I see what’s in front of us, we have to take it that one-game approach.
“We can’t worry about too much that next game or that game, because that’s not what is happening here. If we take that approach properly, I feel we can come out of this really good.”
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay Preble girls soccer enjoys big turnaround with new coach
