By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Lady Lakers (12-6-1) led 1-0 over Helias Catholic in the Class 4 District 13 championship match only to see the Lady Crusaders rally in the second half.
“We hit the crossbar and had a cross bounce over our outside midfielder’s foot,” head coach Chris Byington said. “However, it was one of the most fun games that I have coached, and the team worked extremely hard.”
For Camdenton to get another shot at a district title, it will first need to replace a few key players.
All-region and all-district honoree Natalie Schulte leads the list of Lady Laker graduates. Schulte, the district’s offensive player of the year, tallied 29 goals, 18 assists and now plays at Westminster. Other graduates include Ireland Betta, Karissa Lembke, Abby Brauer and Rayleigh Johns.
While Camdenton has some roster work to do, it also will feature another solid class of returning varsity starters.
Leading the way is sophomore Aeryn Kennedy.
A 5-foot-8 midfielder, Kennedy received all-district and all-conference honors following a freshman campaign that saw her rack up 41 goals and 6 assists.
“Aeryn Kennedy had 41 goals last year and she is ready to continue with the same momentum this year,” Byington said. “Furthermore, Grace Hall, Lucy Sinner, Sasha Prather, Abby Bellew, Skyler Sweezor and Cordia Dallam are all returning starting varsity players. They will add great impact on the team and will help lead the team to great achievements this year.”
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Byington is also counting on a strong core of new players to make an impact this season.
“We have a strong freshman class coming up this year,” Byington said. “A lot of the girls play club ball, which will help the transition into high school.”
After getting so close to a district title in 2017, Byington believes the experience will pay off this season as a road map to success.
“Our team’s biggest strength is knowing what it will take to win districts,” Byington said. “Since we were in the district finals last year, it it helpful for the girls to play in the championship game and know what it will take to get there again this year.”
The biggest challenge for Camdenton may boil down to simply avoiding distractions.
“Staying consistent is always a challenge, especially in the spring,” Byington said. “Our focus will need to stay consistent every game and practice. Our quote for this year is ‘Individual qualities always at the service of the team,’ and we plan on using that to achieve all of our goals for this year.”
Camdenton’s regular season begins March 16 against Bolivar, a game Byington feels will offer a great early-season opportunity.
“Bolivar is going to be a tough team, as they had a great run in the postseason last year,” Byington said. “This will be an exciting first game and will put us to the test.”
