By Nolan Epstein/For OzarksSportsZone.com
April 19, 2016 was perhaps the most impactful date for the Rogersville Lady Wildcats last season. That day not only marked the first win of the year for the club, but it also propelled them to a strong 9-5 record to finish the campaign and ultimately led to a district tournament title with a victory over MV/BT-Liberty after losing their first 11 games.
Now, the Lady Wildcats are looking to that late-season surge as fuel to put together a banner year in the COC-Small and districts.
Head coach Brett Wubbena, now in his ninth year at the program, believes he has the right pieces in place to build off what the second half of 2017 brought.
“I like the players that are coming back and the new ones coming in,” said Wubbena. “I think we are improved from last year.”
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Rogersville graduates just one player, but a good one in defender Allie Pell. In fact, Pell’s athletic ability was the reason Wubbena was able to put three players in the back rather than the traditional four.
Although Pell is gone, the offensive numbers for Rogersville are primed to only get better this season. Led by sophomore sensation Taylor Overstreet (15 goals, 9 assists), the Lady Wildcats are sporting one of the better scoring attacks in the conference.
“If [Overstreet] continues to get better, she could start breaking season records in goals and assists,” Wubbena noted.
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Overstreet will be joined by seniors Lexi Christopher (4 goals, 7 assists) and Jaiden Leonarduzzi (5 goals, 3 assists). Both Christopher and Leonarduzzi are very effective on the ball and carry an abundance of confidence.
Jenn Branstetter, Shawna Clement, Alyssa Johnson and Katie Jones will also see significant playing time on the pitch, as well as a pair of freshmen in Lexi Vernon and Sophia Nixon. According to Wubbena, Vernon has great field vision while Nixon is extremely quick.
Like last year, the roster contains a mix of youth and experience, which presents an intriguing challenge for the ninth-year head coach.
“It’s my hope to be able to bring the new in with the old and have them become a team,” Wubbena said. “I really like the girls coming out this year, but very few of them are year-round soccer players.”
The Rogersville soccer program needs just five more wins to reach 100 victories overall. If things go the way Wubbena believes they will, there should be no problem reaching the milestone.
“I expect to compete in every game that we play this year,” Wubbena added. “I believe right now that we should end up above .500 barring any unseen catastrophe.”
Rogersville kicks off the season by hosting Willard on March 21.
