We finished last year in the quarterfinals and our goal is to be back in the quarterfinals this year if not farther!
We started in early May, having an open play at the Gibney Center, allowing the girls to play during early summer. Our incoming freshmen group was very consistent in their attendance and really showed a bright future for the program.
We went to a 6 on 6 tournament this season in Hidden Valley, that allowed us to have two teams and get lots of shots on goal.
Then, we opened up our pre-season by doing two weeks of conditioning prior to the official season.
Went to the Jamboree and faced Phoenix, Molalla, and Henley.
Lost our midfield from last season and we are looking to find the girls that will fill those missing roles of Anna Serna, Elena Morosky, and Sandra Sullivan. Defense will remain strong even after losing the wheels in the back, Mickey Fulton.
The girls have some big shoes to fill but with persistence, those shoes will soon be filled. We are very young and have already seen great execution from Freshman Marissa Scott, Sophomore Faith Burton, Sophmore Hannah James and Freshman Lily Strahm whom teammates celebrated in the first home game vs. Marshfield that ended 8-0 in our favor. We are still strong upfront with our lead striker Avana Pettus with a full-throttle Hannah James leading with her. We return two seniors, Avana Pettus, and Cecilia Hilton and we have our three-year goalkeeper Annie Nation who will keep us strong in the back!
Passing and Situational plays are something the entire team is working on right now to make our game stronger. We are also playing back through our keeper to keep the defense spread and open up passing lanes for our offensive attack. We are looking to exploit opponents mistakes and make those our attacking points. We are using a new formation that allows the girls to move freely and play off of each other more making it tougher for the defense and playing together and building that chemistry will be key for us!
We have been inviting the girls to push themselves during practices and make mistakes so that we can learn and grow as a team and continue to push our team to new heights of expectation.
Also we brought in Brian Carlson as the JV coach this year who will really be working on fundamental development! Our passing and control of the ball is the foundation of keeping control of a game and capitalizing on other teams triggers of mistakes. Looking ahead, we are excited to bring St. Bernards to Brookings on September 7 which will be a team that will show us another type of pace that we are capable of playing at. They will also give us a better idea of where we are at with our ball control passing that will continue to be a priority of ours!
Really excited to see where this group goes as a program with a hardworking class of freshman coming in to help push them to the next level!
