Hough Forward Dylan Cox / Photo by Max Gallagher

Nov. 10. By Ryan Moxon. The Hough boys soccer team heads to Clemmons tonight to take on West Forsyth in the third round of the 8A state playoffs. With two close playoff wins under its belt the team is built on close group of players and a coach looking to build on the legacy of his predecessor.

Last season marked head coach Mike Kutcher’s first as head coach after being elevated from junior varsity to replace David Smith, who retired with a 515-102-31 record and was the only head coach Hough had known since the school opened in 2010.

“David and I kind of built this program together and we have very similar philosophies, so it was a pretty easy transition for the kids,” said Kutcher.

The Huskies roster is old in age but not in experience. The team only returned four starters from last year’s squad that lost in the third round of the playoffs to Charlotte Catholic.

Scoring is led by senior forward Dylan Cox and midfielder Piercon Selland, who have combined for 36 goals and 41 assists. Cox is the team leader in points with 24 goals and 19 assists.

“Dylan is a tremendous leader with the way he carries himself on the field and is a guy we’ve really leaned on this year,” said Kutcher.

Selland has added another 12 goals and 22 assists, and serves as the team’s utility player, often shifting from an offensive to a defensive role when needed.

Junior midfielder Lukas Patrignani has been an important addition in his first year as a starter, displaying the toughness that his former junior varsity coach is quite familiar with.

“He’s our enforcer on the field,” said Kutcher. “You don’t want to get into a tackle with him, or get near him when the ball is in the air, because there’s going to be contact and you’re going to lose.”

Senior goalkeeper Nolan Bosche anchors a defense that often features only two backs and not the four common in high school soccer. He’s played much of the season with a broken hand that’s protected by an old keeper glove he retrofitted to fit the splint on his hand.

Bosche is fronted by another returning senior starter, defenseman Santiago Giraldo, who has also been playing hurt most of the season.

“He’s the heart of our team,” said Kutcher. “He’s just a guy that guts everything out. You don’t see that kind of player as much as you used to.”

The Huskies are 16-7-3 overall and 5-4-1 in conference play, with signature wins against Myers Park and Grimsley, and one of the toughest schedules in the state.

Hough, the No. 6 seed in the west, narrowly escaped Chambers and Providence with one goal wins, and faces the No. 2 seed tonight in West Forsyth.

Kutcher expects his team’s camaraderie to be the backbone of whatever more they can accomplish in the postseason.

“The biggest thing for our team is they’re really a tight group of guys,” he said. “They’ve been friends outside of soccer for years, so they have a sense of loyalty and trust with each other.”