ROBERTSDALE, Alabama - Coming into this season the confidence and the expectations of the Central Christian Saints soccer team had never been higher. So far this season the expectations have equaled the success.

To start the season the Saints soccer team has a combined record of 8-1 and a conference record of 3-0. There lone loss came at the beginning of the season when they made the trip up to Auburn to play Trinity.

There have been a lot of playmakers for the Saints that have contributed to the success of the team including junior Jesse McCarty who has amassed a total of 28 goals so far this season. It’s been his success and leadership that leads the way for the Saints.

“This kid is a really great player; he has a lot of talent,” Saints head coach Dan Crotts said. “You can take a lot of shots but he scores on most of them. He always seems to be on target.”

Other players such as senior goalie Brad Yockers, and reigning conference tournament Most Valuable player senior Timmy Shelton have also stepped up to play a major role on and off the field.

“He (Yockers) has provided us with senior leadership all season long,” Crotts said. “Timmy Shelton controls the middle for us as a center he distributes the ball for us and scored a few goals.”

With a total of 20 games on the season the Saints only play five of those against conference opponents making it very important to make sure they don’t take a single game for granted.

“We graduated four of our backs so we need to work on playing good solid defense,” Crotts said. “They have improved so much since the beginning of the year I am looking forward to seeing how we develop from here.”

Due to lack of depth staying healthy will also be very important if they want to see a run of success.  Anything short of reaching the National Tournament will be a disappointment.

“Offensively this is easily the best team I have ever coached.” Crotts said.

The Saints have four more games remaining in the regular season before they play in the Regional Tournament starting on Oct. 12 with the final four being played on the 19.  The Saints’ next game will be on Sept. 25 when they play at home against Trinitas.