Another season is beginning for the Varsity Girls? Soccer team, and although the team suffered some adversity last season, the Wildcats hope to rebound this year under head coach Val Cerato.
Last season the team only consisted of 15 players, making competition difficult on many nights when the team could dress just enough players to play. This season, however, the team will count on contributions from new additions such as Christine Stannis, Chelsea McIntosh, Melissa Brownrigg, Anneliese McKeown, Kira Griffin, Shana Jones, Sam Bono, Otila Theobold and Gene Nelson, most of whom played on the Junior Varsity team last season.
The new players will bring the team roster up to 20 players for the 2004 campaign. The grueling season left the girls in last place in the Flint-Metro League, but Cerato and the team hope for better this season as they prepare to work hard to achieve their goals. Returning stars Christine Fortier, Cortney Vassall and Lisa Reile, as well as sisters Sam and Holly Marshall will lead the ladies. The team will vote on its captains next week.
Team play and conditioning will be the major focuses this year, according to Cerato, who stated that her main goals were to play ‘small sided games that would get the girls playing as more of a team.?
Cerato also said it was important for the girls to learn how each of their teammates plays on the field.
‘They come from different backgrounds. Some have played club (soccer) together, and probably the majority have played for different teams,? explained Cerato. ‘In order to get them playing together as more of a team, I think we’ll do a lot of conditioning.?
The team has already begun the season, playing two games in addition to a tournament that resulted in a 2-3-0 record. Because of a three-way tiebreaker in the round robin games with Oakland Christian and Frankenmuth, the Wildcats finished 5th in the tournament, beating Luthern North on the final day of competition, 2-1.
The ladies will take on the Davison Cardinals next at 6:00 p.m. on April 7, before coming home to play the Holly Bronchos on April 9.
Mike Stechschulte is a junior at Oxford High School who plans to major in the field of journalism.