A new, yet familiar face takes over as head coach for the Mehlville boys soccer team as Todd Lauer looks to put together a plan to help the Panthers recover from last season’s record of 5-12-1.

“I’ve been in the Mehlville program for the last 12 years,” Lauer said. “I’ve been around the program for quite some time.”

Lauer has an extensive amount of coaching experience with Mehlville, as well as his alma mater, Oakville.

“We’re a young group, but everyone is working really hard,” Lauer said. “We’re heavy on the juniors and we only have three seniors. So we’re going to make mistakes because we’re young, but we have some good leadership with our senior captains.”

Senior midfielder Endi Rizvic returns for his fourth season on the varsity squad as a team captain and looks to improve on his three goals and two assists from 2022.

“Endi’s been with us on the varsity team since he was a freshman,” Lauer said. “He brings us leadership as a midfielder and is vocal out on the field and is just a true, team guy.”

Another senior midfielder/striker is Ajdin Ahmetkadic, who returns as the Panthers’ leading scoring threat after recording four goals and one assist last season.

“Ajdin is probably my most technically sound player on the team,” Lauer said. “He’s a playmaker with great vision of the field and is another player that the guys all look up to.”

Alex “Sasha” Postol is a senior wingback that can also be a threat on offense with one goal in 2022.

“His main quality is his speed and his vision of the field,” Lauer said. “He can get up and down the field for us and has the endurance where it seems as if he can go forever.”

Adnan Softic is another senior midfielder who’s poised to have a breakout season.

“Adnan can play both ways for us and can track down opponents on defense,” Lauer said. “Solid guy who’s a good senior leader as well.”

Another Softic to watch in 2023 is junior forward Kenan Softic.

“Brings a good pace to our game and plays well with his back to the goal,” Lauer said. “Has an excellent shot and I’m looking forward to big things from him as well.”

Anel Alihodzic is a senior goalkeeper who posted a record of 5-9-1 last season with a 1.84 goals against average that included four shutouts.

“He’s quick and is the kind of guy that can make the big saves to keep us in the game,” Lauer said. “Solid guy all around I think he’s going to be one of the best goalies in the area.”

One player that is new to the program who Lauer is excited to have on the team is junior midfielder Eddy Muheljic.

“He was actually playing club ball at a high level so he was not allowed to play high school soccer,” Lauer said. “Fortunately for us he decided to quit club ball and our guys convinced him to come play for Mehlville.”

Sophomore center back Connor Puers returns for his second season on the varsity squad and will be one of the cornerstones to the Panthers’ defense this season.

“He’s like a pitbull in the backfield for us,” Lauer said. “He’s got the speed to track everything down and we are definitely looking forward to having him back this year.”