By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
As the New Covenant Academy girls’ soccer program enters its fourth year of existence, the Lady Warriors aim to keep the program moving upward.
In its first year (2015), New Covenant did not win a game, but the following two years (2016 and 2017) the Lady Warriors won eight games each season.
“My expectations are that the girls work hard, and that is something the girls did game in and game out,” said head coach Eric Crain (16-39 at New Covenant Academy).
The Lady Warriors won their opening game of the Class 1 District 6 tournament with a 3-1 victory over Laquey before falling to 2017 district champion, Mountain View-Birch Tree Liberty 3-2 in double overtime.
“The one thing I love about our team is that they never give up,” Crain said. “The girls will work hard every minute of the game.”
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Gone from that team is All-District selection Cara Henson, who was New Covenant’s goalkeeper for the past two seasons, and Nancy Wei, who graduated last May. The Lady Warriors lost one player to early graduation – Anna Reinhard, an All-District honoree and center midfielder, graduated in December.
New Covenant Academy returns four key players from last season’s 8-11 squad.
• Jacey Lamb, senior, center midfielder – “She is hard-working, and is the engine to the team.”
• Jocelyn Gamble, senior defender – “A smart player, who does a great job controlling the backfield.”
• Madeline Michaliszyn, junior midfielder – “A great team leader and smart player with a good touch on the ball.”
• Alicia Batten, sophomore forward – “A hard worker with great touch on the ball.”
“The last two seasons, we have continued to improve on our team defense, so that will still be our main focus,” Crain said.
The Lady Warriors will not be participating in a jamboree this spring. They open their season at home against McDonald County on March 22.
“With this being our fourth season, we have girls on the team who started the program for us,” Crain said, “so we are continuing to improve and adding our own milestones.”
