By Denise Tucker (OzarksSportsZone)
Last year’s record may not reflect it, but the West Plains High School girls’ soccer team sees the silver lining.
“We realized that we can compete,” said third-year coach Amy Marshall. “It has been a struggle to change the mentality of our program, but I feel like last season was a move in the right direction.
“Several of our losses were one-goal games where we had a chance to win, and we are hoping to build on that this season.”
The Lady Zizzers, who finished 3-15 overall and 0-10 in the Ozark Conference, lost five seniors who played significant minutes, including All-OC first-teamer, forward Shelby Foster, and second-team pick, defender Sierra Holstead.
“The seniors who graduated were strong leaders on and off the field,” Marshall said. “It will be difficult to replace that leadership on the field.”
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Marshall will be looking to returning juniors Emmy McDaniels, a midfielder, forward Julie Hawkins, and goalkeeper Amelia Anderson to lead the Lady Zizzers.
“These ladies work hard and are aggressive,” Marshall said. “I am really looking for Emmy and Julie to have an impact offensively this year. Amelia has been our goalie for the past two seasons and has gotten stronger each year. I am confident she will do a fantastic job this year in goal.”
West Plains will field a young squad with only three seniors on the roster, but Marshall is confident in this group.
“I want to see a lot of growth throughout the season,” Marshall said. “We need to make sure that we are getting better with each game.
“Our inexperience is one of our biggest challenges this year, and the only way to overcome it is to progress throughout the season. The biggest X-factor for our team is how well the incoming freshmen play. We need them to be ready for varsity-level play in a short amount of time. We will be asking for a lot from our underclassmen.”
The Lady Zizzers’ 2017 season ended with a 5-0 loss to conference foe Glendale in the Class 3 District 10 semifinals, and Marshall is setting the bar high for her team.
“Our conference is tough, but we have worked hard this summer and hope to win more our games in conference this year,” Marshall said. “In districts this year, we want to make it to the championship game. We know that if we can make it to that game, anything can happen.”
But first, West Plains will host a jamboree that includes Parkview and Mountain View-Birch Tree Liberty on March 14. The Lady Zizzers open the regular season on March 16 at Poplar Bluff.
“One of our biggest strengths is how aggressive we play,” Marshall said. “The girls on this team are not afraid to battle and that should really help us this year.”
