By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Even before the 2020 spring soccer season was called because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kickapoo Lady Chiefs coach Phil Hodge said there was an “uneasy feeling” during their jamboree with Nixa and Glendale last spring.
“We all felt like that would be the only opportunity that our kids would get to put on their high school uniform,” Hodge said. “Obviously, a terrible ending for our seniors and the worst part was we didn’t get any closure. It just seemed to abruptly end.”
Hodge said they were thankful, however, to Springfield Public Schools Athletic Director Josh Scott, assistant AD Marty Marsh and Kickapoo AD Scot Phillips for providing SPS seniors an opportunity to play each other in the summer.
“Ours kids were very thankful and appreciative to get one last chance to play with their high school teammates,” Hodge said.
Kickapoo’s Class of 2020 was a talented and highly decorated group that helped the Lady Chiefs to records of 19-6-1 overall and 9-0 in the Ozark Conference, plus, a trip to the Class 4 quarterfinals in 2019.
Jalyn McClean, a forward, scored 24 goals and had 13 assists, was an all-state and all-conference first-team honoree, the region offensive player of the year and district most valuable player. She currently is playing at Newman University in Kansas.
Serena Boyce, a forward, scored 20 goals with seven assists, was all-region and all-district and all-conference first team; Ellie Miller, a midfielder/forward was second-team all-state, all-region and all-district and all-conference first team. She scored 18 goals with 12 assists. McKenzi Salyers, a defender, earned all-district and all-conference second-team honors; and Morgan Patterson, a midfielder, was coming back from injury her junior year.
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Heading into the 2021 season, the Lady Chiefs have a solid group of returnees who were able to get varsity experience as underclassmen.
• Chloe Young, senior, goalkeeper – Signed to play at Central Methodist; had eight shutouts in 2019. “Chloe has been our varsity keeper since her freshman year and has done a great job for our team,” Hodge said. “We look forward to her leadership this spring as a senior.”
• Maddie Wanner, senior, midfielder – Committed to play at Evangel. “Maddie is such a steady, composed midfielder for us. She has a great first touch and feel for the game. She has a pass-first mentality, limits her touches on the ball and puts her teammates in great positions to be successful.”
• Emma Sansom, senior, midfielder – An outside midfield with a crafty left foot. “Emma will create some nice offensive chances for us running up and down the outside of the field.”
• Abby Light, junior, defender – “Abby is such a versatile player and has a great understanding of the game. There is a good chance she might play every position on the field for us this spring. Abby has a demanding presence on the field and provides a voice on and off the field as a leader for our team.”
• Brooke Turner, junior, defender – “Brooke was an excellent defender for us two seasons ago and is not afraid to bring a physical and hard-nosed presence to our back line. She often does a lot of the dirty work that goes unnoticed, but has a huge impact to our team’s success.”
Hodge, who surpassed 400 career wins in the fall (165-122-8 girls, 244-107-1 boys, 409-229-9 combined), has several newcomers he sees making an impact this spring.
• Jenna Biser, senior, midfielder/defender – “Jenna can play a midfield or defensive role for us. She has a great work ethic and will look to provide some versatility to our midfield and/or defense.”
• Abby Bilbao, sophomore, midfielder – “Abby was looking to provide a solid midfield presence for our team last spring as a freshman. She has a great skill-set and knowledge of the game and will look to help solidify our midfield this spring as a sophomore.”
• Sabrina Jones, sophomore, forward/midfielder – “Sabrina is extremely athletic and has a motor that never stops. We hope that Sabrina can find herself in front of the net and score some goals either as a forward or midfielder.”
• Julia Klein, sophomore, defender – “Julia was also looking to provide some minutes as a freshman last year. She has a solid defensive presence on the backline and will look to help our backline this spring.”
• Vanessa Maturay, sophomore, defender/midfielder – “Can also play a couple positions and with time, we will see where she lands to help our team.”
• Maggie Miller, junior, midfielder – “A midfielder who is probably used to playing as a center-mid, but might also be able to help our team as an outside midfielder as well. Plays hard and has a good understanding of the game.”
• Anna Joplin, junior, midfielder/forward – “Plays extremely hard and is absolutely fearless. We will need Anna to be versatile, as well, and help where the team needs as a forward or outside midfielder.”
The Lady Chiefs will host a jamboree with Nixa and Glendale on March 11 before opening the season at home against Harrison, Ark., on March 29.
“Our outlook for the 2021 season will just be to take it one day at a time,” Hodge said. “As we learned the hard way last spring, we cannot take anything for granted. We will follow protocol to the very best that we can and be grateful for every opportunity we get to put on the Lady Chief uniform.”
