By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Last season, the Greenwood Lady Bluejays fielded a young roster of mostly freshmen and sophomores.
While those players have a year of varsity experience under their belts, the Lady Bluejays still have some growing to do.
“Last year was a building year for our team,” said second-year coach Shelby Setzer. “We were, and still are, a very young team. Our biggest discovery was seeing that we could beat the more dominant teams in our district and be competitive.
“The biggest challenge, for us, was figuring out who we were as a team.”
A key loss from last season’s team is first-team All-District defender Yaeso Kim.
“We will miss Kim’s leadership on the field and her experience as a defender,” Setzer said.
But the Lady Bluejays return senior sweeper Molly Jones, senior midfielder Gina Zubair, and Emma McCall, a junior center fielder/forward.
“Molly is a solid defensive player, as well as a strong team leader,” Setzer said. “Gina brings life to the team. As a left wing, she provides us with many opportunities at the goal.
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“Emma is our top returning goal scorer. She is a key leader in our offensive attack. When she’s ‘on,’ there’s no stopping her.”
Greenwood finished 4-8 last season, falling 1-0 to Fair Grove in the Class 1 District 6 semifinals. Setzer will be looking to the freshmen to add depth to this year’s squad.
“I will certainly be looking to our more experienced players to guide these newcomers,” Setzer said. “It will be their leadership on and off the field that brings us success.
“I’m hoping to build off the returning sophomores and use their experience to just keep getting better.”
The Lady Bluejays open their season on March 27 when they play host to Willard at Greenwood’s home field at Cooper Soccer Complex.
“Our biggest strength is our will and desire to win games,” Setzer said. “We are going to be a young team again this year, so we are going to need that competitive spirit and drive to put games away.”
