File photos by Rick Nation and Kevin Nagle
Taylor Matthews (Photo by Rick Nation)
They came tantalizingly close to — just a win away — from playing for the Class 7A State Tournament championship last year, so with the core of that team returning and the addition of some promising freshman, the Bryant Lady Hornets soccer team enter the 2014 season with what you might call very lofty goals.
“That is the goal this year,” acknowledged Bryant head coach Julie Long, “to get to that last game.”
The Lady Hornets finished 19-3-1 overall last year and swept the South Conference, going 10-0 to capture the league title. They open their 2014 quest with a jamboree at Russellville on Friday. They’ll make their official season debut on Tuesday, March 4, when they host Little Rock Christian.
“If you had asked me this time last year if I thought we were going to be as good this coming year, I would’ve told you that we weren’t going to be,” Long said. “But I feel like I got some freshmen that came in and the seniors have stepped up as well as some of the juniors to fill some of those leading roles. You always hope that’s going to happen but you never really know. I would say my expectations have gone above and beyond what I thought would happen at this point. I’m looking forward to this season.”
The team includes Whitney Brown, Caroline Campbell, Haylee Campbell, Hadley Dickinson, Kayla Dreher, Maddie Hawkins, Allison Hughes, Sarah Kennedy, Hailey Levinson, Anna Lowery, Taylor Matthews, Jacie McMahan, Kara Moser, Natalie Pierce, Peyton Ramsey, Victoria Rose, Britney Sahlmann, Callie Schalk, Kendall Selig, Kierra Solinger, Ashley Sparks, Kara Taylor, Thirza vld Weyde, and Rori Whittaker.
Jacie McMahan (Photo by Rick Nation)
“Pre-season is going well,” Long said. “It’s a lot different than it has been any other year. I took a new approach to things as far as their fitness level. They’re in shape but they’re not where we normally are at this point in the season so it’ll help them to keep getting better throughout the season. I’m trying not to have them peak too early. I feel like in past years we’ve kind of peaked too early.
“I feel like I have a lot of depth again but I don’t have a very big squad for JV so that’s going to be a big part of the problem, trying to maneuver people around to get everybody the playing time that I’m going to need them to have,” she added. “It is going to be a challenge with having so few players. It’s the first year I haven’t kept about 30. We have 24 and one of them is out with an ACL injury.”
Asked what she’d like her team to improve on, Long said, “I would always like to see our passing — our one- and two-touch on how we move the ball — get better and just how quick we play. I feel like sometimes we get used to playing slower against certain teams. I have been trying to get them to play quicker. That’s probably the biggest thing then as always our transitioning, getting back, moving as unit up and down the field. That’s always been a big challenge for us.”
But the plusses trump that, the coach related.
“Something that we’ve never had, our finishing,” she stated when asked what she been pleased with. “I actually have some girls that know how to find the back of the net. When they have the shot, they’re going to take it and it’s going to go in. I haven’t had that before. I remember last year when we lost against Central, it was 15 one-v-one’s we had and we didn’t finish one of them. So that’s probably the biggest thing, that we can just finish.”
Kierra Solinger (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
A pair of freshman have Long excited in that regard.
“At forwards, it’s pretty much going to be all freshmen and sophomores,” she explained. “I have two freshmen who have really stepped up, Caroline Campbell and Hadley Dickinson. Anna Lowery, my sophomore, has been there. She’s really our only true forward that’s coming back. She made a huge impact for us at the State Tournament last year. She scored half of our goals at State including one against Mount (in the semifinals).”
Brown and Solinger will see time at forward as well, Long said.
“Hadley’s also a midfielder so it depends on what formation we play,” she mentioned. “I’ve got a couple of different formations that we’re going to run, which is also something different from what I normally do. We have always run a 3-5-2. I’m looking at running a 3-4-3 this year. I’ve got some very fast players up top that help make up for losing Bailey (Gartrell) and Shelby (Gartrell) from last year. It makes a big difference.”
There’s experience in the midfield spots.
Hailey Levinson (Photo by Rick Nation)
“In center-mid, I have a good rotation,” Long said. “I have several that can play different positions. Jacie McMahan and Rori Whittaker are both back from last year when they played center-mid for me the whole time. Kara Moser is a sophomore that’s going to be a big-time player for us. She’ll either be playing at center or out on the wing, depending on where I put Rori. Kara Taylor is back. She had shin splints the entire season last year. We had high expectations for her but she’s back in full swing this year. She looks good.
“Taylor Matthews will rotate in some out at wing as well as Haylee Campbell; Allison Hughes and Hailey Levinson too,” she said. “I’ve got quite a bit of depth across the midfield.
“At defense, we’re going to have Callie Schalk who will start back at the middle and Tori Rose who’s started for me on defense for three years now,” continued the coach. “Britney Sahlmann is probably going to step in and play that third spot for me. Haylee Campbell can be one that goes back there. I’ve been working Kierra some back there as well as Peyton Ramsey.”
Maddie Hawkins and Kayla Dreher are competing for the starting nod at goalkeeper.
“I’m really please with how the girls are constantly pushing themselves,” Long stated. “They don’t stop. It’s just a whole different mentality.
“I’m pleased with my seniors,” she said, referring to Haylee Campbell, Matthews, McMahan, Rose, Schalk, Taylor, Weyde and Whittaker. “I’ve never had a group of seniors that could step up and lead like this group. They lead by example. They lead verbally. Sometimes they call the team out. They hold them accountable. In five years here, I haven’t had a group that holds the team accountable. They have a goal in mind and they’re going to do what it takes to get there. They have set expectations for themselves and they’re willing to do what it takes to get them.”
