A year after it made a run to the state’s Elite 8, Strongsville’s boys soccer team had what by that barometer might be considered a disappointing season.

The Mustangs didn’t contend for a conference championship, lost a heart-breaker in the district final and fell short of a lot they set out to do.

Failures and disappointments, though, are created by expectations and standards.

The Mustangs’ are lofty in both cases, so while a year that ends with a 13-4-2 record and a district runner-up finish might be a resounding success elsewhere, at Strongsville it’s pretty much meh.

It was, though, a good year for the Mustangs and a great one for senior Jared Anderson.

The record-setting striker set school season and career records for goals.

He totaled 31 this year and wound up with 67 in a Mustangs uniform.

Anderson had one incredible six-game stretch in which he scored two or more times in each game and totaled 18 goals in all.

They included three of his six games when he scored three or more times.

Critics might point out that he failed to score against Brunswick, Medina and Shaker Heights – the three teams that beat Strongsville in GCC play. Well, nobody else scored much against those teams, either.

Anderson led a senior class that includes Ben Hryszko (8 goals, 8 assists), Brandon Price (1 and 7), Robbie Marko (2 and 1), Bachar el Halabi (0 and 4), Brandon Hajduk (0 and 3), Mitchell Wright (1 and 1) and Jake Bell (4 and 2), among others.

“They were a joy to work with,” Strongsville coach Tobey Cook said. “Got down to business when necessary but had a great attitude and fun mentality to be around. A very tight group that will be hard to replicate.”

Among the seniors were three of four starting defenders, starting goalie Alex Gyerman, who had five shutouts, and four midfielders, and that doesn’t even include Anderson.

So the upcoming classes will have some work to do. Among their ranks are eight letter-winners.

Joe Popik (1 goal, 4 assists) and Trevor Hamm each lettered this year as juniors. They will be counted on as leaders both in production and example next, when the Mustangs are almost guaranteed to have a young team.

They had plenty of youth this year, though, with three sophomores and three freshmen lettering. Among the 10th-graders were Parker Disalvo (2 goals, 5 assists), Trevor Ohmer (2 and 2) and Nolan Kellogg (two shutouts in six starts in goal).

Michael Neumann (6 goals, 5 assists) is off to a start similar to the one Anderson had as a freshman. His classmates Jack Canonico (3 and 5) and Marco Laquatra each lettered as ninth-graders this season.

The Mustangs’ two JV teams combined to go 25-5-2 this season. The top JV team allowed just four goals, while the JV-B team started the year with 10 shutouts. Replacing missing defenders may be less of a challenge than finding scorers.

“It’s hard to put your finger on next year at this early a stage,” Cook said. “We got valuable experience for several freshmen and sophomores. The junior class will need to step up significantly.”