New position. New jersey number. New team dynamic.

Chesterton senior Sam Weller is welcoming all the challenges.

He moves to center midfield from central defender. He earned the illustrious No. 17 after having worn No. 21.

And he's one of two returning players who started in last season's Class 2A state championship game as the Trojans' lineup included nine seniors in a 2-1 loss to Evansville Memorial.

"It's been a lot different, but it's been good," Weller said.

As a junior in his first varsity season, Weller anchored a stingy defense that allowed 16 goals in 22 games. This season, his second as a captain, he'll shift to midfield.

With limited opportunities last season, Weller scored one goal. But over the summer and in the preseason, Chesterton coach James Sensibaugh liked what he saw from Weller in his more advanced role.

"Past teams needed him more as a defender than to put the ball away, but he has an uncanny ability to finish," Sensibaugh said.

Weller has played almost exclusively central defender growing up, including in club ball. But he got a taste of center midfield last year.

He also has drawn on the attacking experience of brother Trent, a former star forward/midfielder for the Trojans. Trent Weller's resume includes scoring a then program-record 23 goals as a junior in 2014, when he was named the Post-Tribune Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

"I've always asked my coaches how I should play or what they need me to do, and I try to do it," Sam Weller said. "We have guys in the back we can trust, and coach liked me orchestrating in the middle."

That type of selfless attitude helped lead the coaches to select Weller for the No. 17 jersey this season.

To honor the late Mitch Winey, the Trojans each season designate a player to wear the number of the 2014 graduate. Winey, a team captain and the class president, was a cadet at West Point when he lost his life in June of 2016 during a military training accident at Fort Hood.

Last season, Owen Hallas was the inaugural recipient. The former No. 8 scored a program-record 27 goals as he was named the state's player of the year, an All-American, the Region's first boys soccer player to win the Mental Attitude Award and the Post-Tribune Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

"I was just joking with him, it's OK, it's a prestigious deal, then the last player ended up having the season he did, so no pressure," Sensibaugh said of Weller. "But he was so honored in a genuine way."

Indeed, Weller takes it seriously.

"I have to step up in a big way," Weller said. "I'm not only playing for myself, but I'm playing for Mitch and for Owen a little, too. He represented the number very well and I have to prove myself.

"I met Mitch a couple times and he was one of the best people I ever met. He talked to me about being a leader and being a positive person. He always had a smile on his face and he always put a smile on my face. He was a happy and energetic person. I hope I can push his number on in a positive direction."

Sensibaugh has no doubt.

"Sam's lived in the shadow of his brother and now in the shadow of that number that comes with quite a bit of success," Sensibaugh said. "But he's managed to come along and make his own name.

"He's a kid willing to take on any challenge. He has respect for our program and history. He thinks beyond himself and sees a bigger picture."

mosipoff@post-trib.com

Twitter @MichaelOsipoff

Read more:
Chesterton midfielder Sam Weller flourishes amid changes for state runner-up - Chicago Tribune