After a successful 16-7 season, there is a lot of optimism at Bolivar as this season gets underway. The Lady Liberators have been building momentum the past couple of seasons and believe this is the year that they take the next step.
Of course, the “next step” will be unseating perennial state powerhouse Springfield Catholic, both in the COC-Small and in Class 2 District 9. It is a challenge that Bolivar is prepared to meet head on.
“This team wants a district championship,” said first-year head coach Steve Fast, who has coached the boys soccer team at Bolivar for the past 20 years. “Several things have to work out for us to achieve this, but we believe we have the ability to compete. We have a very competitive district with Catholic being in the mix. It will be a challenge to knock them off, but we have several highly skilled players and we feel we can compete and challenge for a title.”
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The Lady Liberators have several highly skilled players, but one player in particular is one of the best in the entire state in junior Brionna Halverson, a two-time all-state selection.
Halverson, who has already committed to play collegiately at St. Louis University when her prep career ends, has spent time in the National Olympic Development Program that led to time with the U-17 Women’s National Team last June. Halverson followed that up by being named to the 25-player U-17 camp held last November at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, Calif.
While Halverson will garner plenty of attention, the Lady Liberators have several other key players returning to the fold. Key returnees for Bolivar include seniors Hannah Sheppeck and Nicole Lawson, junior midfielder Grace vanHoornbeek, and sophomore defender Sarah Peterson.
“We have a good mix of experience and youth for this year’s squad,” said fast. “I am excited to see these girls compete on the game field. We have talent and skill at every position and we have good depth. We have several girls that can play multiple positions, which will help us as we compete against some great competition.”
The Bolivar roster is deep and features several goal-scoring options. This versatility will cause problems for opposing teams.
“Our strength will be that this team will play with high energy and competitiveness,” said Fast. “We have several girls who can provide scoring, which will make it difficult for our opponents to just focus on one player. We need to become a cohesive unit defensively, as well as offensively, and be willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team and learn to play all 80 minutes of the game. We need to improve our toughness and tenacity and take each challenge or obstacle head on.”
The prospects for improving upon last year’s 16-7 record are high. However, in order to get to the next level, the Lady Liberators will need to find a way to unseat nemesis Springfield Catholic. It will help that this group of Lady Liberators have come together and bonded already, which should pay dividends on the field.
“We will need to come together as a team and develop a strong bond with our teammates,” said Fast. “I have witnessed several great things already with this group and I believe they genuinely care for each other. It will be fun to watch them progress as a team over the course of the season.”
Bolivar will open the season with a trip to Monett on March 28, with the home opener slated for March 31 against Branson. A key two-game home stand in mid-April will feature potential district opponents in Catholic (Apr. 12) and School of the Osage (Apr. 14). The Class 2 District 9 tournament, which is slated to begin on May 14, will be hosted by the Lady Liberators.
