By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
As it enters its sixth season as a program, New Covenant Academy girls’ soccer already has a district championship under its belt.
The Lady Warriors, who finished their fifth season with a 13-9 record, knocked off back-to-back Class 1 District 6 champion Mountain View-Birch Tree Liberty 1-0 for their first district title in program history. They went on to defeat Crocker 4-3 in the state quarterfinals before falling 3-0 to St. Vincent in the semifinals and ending the season ranked fourth in Class 1.
The program has made great strides since that first season (2014-2015) when the Lady Warriors finished 0-19. That season was followed by an 8-10 record in 2015-16, 8-11 in 2016-17 and 7-11 in 2017-18.
Multi-sport athletes were one of the keys to last season’s success, according to head coach Eric Crain.
“A lot of our success came from us having multiple-sport athletes (volleyball, basketball, swim, cross-country, cheer, softball) that brought another level of competition throughout the season and a good freshman class of soccer players,” said Crain, who was named Class 1 Region 3 Coach of the Year. “Our goal was to get in the championship game and see what could happen.”
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Two of those players who led the Lady Warriors in their senior seasons were Madeline Michaliszyn and Claire Cannefax.
Michaliszyn was a four-year starter at center-mid and was named to the Class 1 Region 3 team and the Class 1 District 6 first team. She also scored four goals and had three assists.
“She was a great leader through her actions on the field,” Crain said of Michaliszyn. “The players looked to her for guidance.”
Cannefax was one of those multi-sports athletes for NCA. She was a two-year starter at center-mid, earned all-district second-team honors and scored four goals with three assists.
“She was a competitor,” Crain said. “She was the MVP in volleyball in our conference, and was also an all-conference basketball player. Once she got the concept of soccer, she made the center-mid her own.”
The Lady Warriors have a great deal of experience returning to the pitch this season.
“Experience is our greatest strength,” Crain said, “and since a lot of the players play multiple sports, they come into the season with the right mind-set.”
Key players returning for NCA, include:
• Hannah Isbell, senior, goalkeeper – Class 1 All-State first-team; regional goalkeeper of the year; all-district first-team; recorded 73 saves. “She is great at her position, gives her teammates confidence and is a four-year starter.”
• Whitley Farquhar, sophomore, defender – All-region and all-district first-team. “Even though she is just a sophomore, she has a lot of experience on the field – a very intelligent player. She missed all of postseason due to a sickness. She received the team MVP award.”
• Anna Crain, sophomore, forward – All-state first-team; all-region; all-district first-team. Scored 18 goals and had 4 assists. “She is another player with tons of experience on the soccer field. She has a great touch, speed and a knack for finding the back of the net.”
• Alicia Batten, senior, forward – All-state second-team; all-region; all-district first-team; team captain. Scored 7 goals, had 6 assists and is a four-year starter. “She was our second-leading scorer last year with a great touch on the ball. She is the heart of our team.”
• Aubrey Klemish, junior, midfielder – All-district second-team selection, who plays all positions. “She works hard!”
• Sarah Seibert, senior – All-district second-team; four-year starter. “She is a smart player that understands the game.”
• Aidyn Sikes, senior, defender – All-district second-team; four-year starter. “She does a great job as a defender.”
• Lillie Bodeen, junior, defender – All-district second-team. “She did a great job with helping control the backfield. She understands the game. She had to move positions at the end of the season when Whitley got sick and did a tremendous job.”
Crain thinks that freshman Katelyn Barstead will be able to come in and fill the hole in the center-mid left by Michaliszyn and Cannefax.
“She works hard, has a good touch and knows the game,” Crain said.
It is not uncommon for the Lady Warriors to play larger-class schools during the regular season, which Crain said helped his team in the postseason last year. This spring, the majority of their games will be against Class 2, Class 3 and Class 4 schools, including Cassville, Lebanon, Rogersville and Central among them.
They will participate in a jamboree on March 13 at Evangel University with Central, Parkview and Camdenton before opening the regular season on March 24 at McDonald County.
Crain says it’s important for his players to know they can’t rest on last season’s laurels.
“(We need to) make sure the players understand that the success that we had last year doesn’t carry over,” Crain said. “We will have to re-establish ourselves and work harder than we did last year. We will need to establish a new norm.”
