The girls’ soccer program continues to grow at Aurora, which begins its fourth season this spring.
The program launched in 2014 and won three games that season. Aurora’s best season occurred in 2015, when it won seven games.
The Houn’ Dawgs are seeking to bounce back from a rough 1-14 campaign a season ago. Optimism surrounds the team.
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Aurora’s led by senior and Evangel signee Samantha Sharpe. She was second on the team in points last season.
Sharpe won the team’s rookie of the year award in 2015 as a sophomore. She was a defender that year but shifted to a left wing last season.
“She worked hard to make the adjustment over the season and has spent much of her offseason focused on practicing finding the back of the net, in addition to sending a strong cross,” said coach Carrie Stone. “With her discipline and dedication I expect to see her stats improve this year, in major ways.”
Senior Silu Morrison is expected to move up to Aurora’s front line this season. Despite playing defender last season, Morrison led Aurora in assists.
“She’s tiny but moves fast and can find the holes right in front of the goal,” Stone said. “She has come out this preseason, ready to lead, encourage and unite her team in the hopes of seeing our best season yet.”
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Defensively, junior Victoria Johnson begins her third season as the team’s starting goalkeeper. She averaged 13 saves per match last season and has benefited from extensive offseason training, Stone said.
Aurora still has one of the youngest programs in the Ozarks. Stone, who has been head coach of Aurora since the program began in 2014, won’t have her first four-year senior class until 2018.
“We’re excited to push ourselves and see how much we can improve as we gain more athletes who play soccer as primary sport as opposed to those who play soccer to keep in shape,” Stone said. “We will be in a conference starting next year.”
