The 2006 varsity girl¹s fall soccer campaign may be one of the
most competitive in years, if a consensus among Sonoma County
League coaches holds up.
Among those teams that figure to be the most improved are Analy
and El Molino, both of which will field a good blend of young and
veteran players.
Lady Tigers ready to assume dark horse role
Memo to the rest of the SCL: Any teams that take the Lady Tigers
lightly this season will pay a price for their complacency. Analy,
under first-year head coach Joseph Heil, should be among the most
improved teams in the league as they ratchet up expectations for
this season and beyond.
³I would say we¹re in a rebuilding mode- we have a two-year goal
to improve on last season and compete for a league title by next
year,² said Heil, who will be assisted by current JV and former
varsity coach Jane Mays. ³Overall I¹d say we¹re moving in the right
direction.²
The Lady Tigers finished in the middle of the SCL pack last
season and lost four-year stars Tracy Webster (2005 defensive MVP)
and Ashley Perlman to graduation. However, the team should benefit
greatly by the return of nine quality players and the addition of a
few more.
Analy returnees include: senior defender Dominique Blanc-Brodie,
juniors; forward Brittany Lynch (transferred back from El Mo),
forward Sophia Garcia, forward Kate Ferland, mid/def Breanna
Varnadore, mid/forward Emily Schuster, def/mid Olivia Weber,
defenders Jeanna Cadby, Hannah Whiteside and Emily Amos, and
goalkeeper Ashley Erdmann. Moving up from the JV squad are junior
midfielder Kristen McKoin and junior forward/mid Emily Wells.
In addition, the Lady Tigers will get a big boost from seniors
Lea DeLuca and Christine Byrne, who were all-league cross-country
runners who have made the switch to soccer. Both have been
long-time standouts on the club soccer circuit. Other players
looking to make an impact are sophomore midfield transfer Dalva
Dayton and freshmen mid/def Annie Ragusa, and forward/def Nicole
Mouille.
Analy has posted a 3-3 record so far in pre-season action,
having posted wins over St. Vincent¹s (7-0), Piner (3-1) and El
Molino (OT, 3-1 on penalty kicks). The ladies fell in games to
Ursuline, Casa Grande and Piner. Analy opens the SCL campaign at
Windsor next Monday, Sept. 11 with game times set for 5 and 7
p.m.
Lady Lions looking to roar in SCL title
chase
El Molino will also benefit from the return of nine solid
players from last season¹s injury riddled squad. Second-year head
coach Crystal Howard has the team on the right path, with renewed
focus and confidence.
³I definitely think we¹re better than last year, with more
experience on the field,² said Howard, who may be the busiest coach
in the North Bay, assisting at SRJC and leading a Santa Rosa United
squad in addition to her El Mo duties. ³The girls have shown a lot
of improvement since last year, especially with our defense and
midfield. It¹s been nice to see us play so well in the
pre-season.²
Leading this year¹s varsity squad is senior midfield star and
leading scorer Emily Lambert, who has verbally committed to play at
UC Riverside next year. She is joined by returning teammates:
senior all-league defender Kora Wood, senior outside mid Anna
Sundberg, senior forward Katya Zaharoff, junior outside mid
speedster Brittny Escamillia, senior goalie Sheena Urie, sophomore
defender Hillary Sparks, junior forward Katie Havsted and junior
outside mid Laura Briano.
The key to the team may lie in the development of eight players
moving up from last year¹s JV squad that include sophomore outside
mid/forward Katie Clark and sophomore defender Anna Wood. Also
expected to make a big contribution is talented freshman midfielder
Taylor Blechel.
The Lady Lions are 1-2 in the pre-season, including an
impressive 1-0 win over Petaluma. They will open the SCL campaign
at Casa Grande on Friday, Sept. 8. Game times starting with the JV
are 4 and 5:30 p.m.
