This fall the Crawfordsville boys’ soccer team will have a new coach on the sideline. Roger Azar, who guided the Southmont girls program the last seasons and has been active in the local club soccer scene takes over an Athenian program that has won a sectional championship (2022) and multiple Sagamore conference titles (2021, 2023) in the last three seasons.
“As a first-year coach, I am still getting to know these young me,” Azar said. “I’m looking forward to us coalescing as a unit and creating great memories.”
Crawfordsville posted an 11-7 record in 2023, including a 6-1 mark in the Sagamore Conference. Despite losing two of their top scorers, Jaziel Gil returns as the top offensive threat for the Athenians with 17 goals scored as a junior last season. Goalkeeper Alec Saidian (87 saves) and defender Max Brumett return for their senior campaigns.
“We want to win games, while teaching the young men to be respectful, considerate, and passionate about everything they do, including soccer,” Azar said. “Develop the freshman class into great technical players that we can depend on for three more years. And we want to give the seniors a great season to remember.”
Crawfordsville’s success over the years has gained them community support — something Azar says the Athenians will use to their advantage.
“The support we get from our community is our biggest strength,” he said. “Come support the boys in gold and blue this season.”
The Athenians open the season at 5:30 p.m. on August 20 at home against Western Boone.
“We want to play with respect, hard work, commitment, and brotherhood,” Azar said. “We play as a unit. We win together and we fail together.”
