By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The 2021 season was always going to be a rebuilding year for the Joplin girls soccer team.
After a pair of .500 seasons, including a 10-10 record in 2019, the Eagles were set to return nine starters and 14 letterwinners last spring as part of a senior-heavy roster.
But after last season was canceled, rebuilding in 2021 is an even taller task.
“This was going to be a rebuilding year either way,” said head coach Josh Thompson. “Now we’re going to have a lot of girls stepping in, really with one less year of experience. Instead of getting to work people into a system we’re going to be throwing them into the deep end here.”
Joplin at least has a few seniors to help lead the way. That group includes Mya Johnson, the starting goalkeeper in 2019 who recorded seven shutouts. Lily Pagan was on pace to be a contributor last season and Kellie Dutton, Karen Maturino and Addison Saunders also return with some varsity experience.
“(Johnson) brings both great skill and personality to the team,” Thompson said. “Mya is formidable in goal and great at communicating with her teammates from the back. Also, she brings infectious energy to practices and games.”
Junior Emily Delman will also be involved, and sophomore Paisley Parker will be taking on a big role after earning some varsity consideration early last spring.
CLICK HERE FOR ALL OF THE SPRING SPORTS PREVIEWS
One key loss for Joplin is junior Ella Hafer, who suffered an injury during the basketball season and probably won’t be able to play. She earned second team honors as a freshman forward in the Central Ozark Conference and was a “big-time starter.”
“She would be our highest returning scorer on the team and we’ll be missing her as well for what looks like the season,” Thompson said.
“Last summer we tried to get everybody out as much as we could whenever we were allowed to and basically it was a big building summer for us,” Thompson said. “Not too many spots are really set in stone but a lot of the people who came out over the summer were able to at least get their foot on the ball for some of 2020. They’ll have a leg up I suppose.”
Thompson said while overall numbers appear to be slightly down, due in part to virtual learning, the roster appears to be full of good athletes all over the field. But with so many unknowns, Thompson isn’t sure what to expect.
“We really have not had our full team together since spring of last year for just a couple of weeks,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot of new faces and just trying to get everybody to work together. My hopes are that we’ll be able to come together as a team quicker rather than slower this year.
“I think we’ll be entertaining at the least,” he said. “It’s a good group of kids and they have fun. No matter how things are going they know how to enjoy the moment.”
The Eagles will head to Carl Junction for a jamboree on Tuesday, March 16 where they’ll be joined by Webb City. The regular season begins March 29 with a game at Parkview.
