By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Nixa Lady Eagles added another district championship to their trophy case in 2021 – their seventh since 2013 – but graduated a huge senior class and more than 60 goals.
“We probably lost the most players from last year in the area, so it will be a challenge to keep up with Kickapoo, Glendale, Catholic and Ozark,” said Nixa coach Evan Palmer, who enters his 26th year as the girls’ head coach. “Our goals never change – we are focused first on our conference, then districts and hopefully, a deep postseason run.
“We met many of our team goals (last year) and had fun while doing it. With a veteran team coming back, we knew we would be one of the teams to beat in the area.”
And they were, as the Lady Eagles (17-5 overall and 9-0 in the Central Ozark Conference) had key wins over Glendale, Kickapoo, Ozark, Catholic and Republic twice, including the Class 4 District 11 title game, before falling to Lee’s Summit West in the sectional round.
“We haven’t been able to get over the Lee’s Summit/Lee’s Summit West postseason hump and the scores haven’t been great, but last year against LSW (4-0) was a better game than the score represents,” said Palmer, who was named district coach of the year. “We had a good chunk of the play, but just couldn’t get that final touch on the ball to score. The seniors were excellent leaders. They helped the team become a cohesive unit that played to our potential most of the season.”
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The Lady Eagles graduated 11 seniors, five who are now playing collegiate soccer.
• Katie Kamies, forward (13 goals, 7 assists) – Class 4 District 11 first team; All-Central Ozark Conference first team; started all 22 games. Playing soccer at William Jewell College.
• Bailey Reynolds, midfielder (9 goals, 10 assists) – All-district first team; all-conference first team; started all 22 games. Playing at Rockhurst University.
• Abby Harrison, midfielder (15 goals, 4 assists) – Class 4 All-State second team; Class 4 Region 3; all-district first team and MVP; all-conference first team; started all 22 games. Playing at Southwest Baptist University.
• Kaya Cocanougher, defender (3 goals) – All-region; all-district first team and Defensive Player of the Year; all-conference first team; started 19 games, played in 20. Playing at Stephens College.
• Ashlynn Stoneberger, midfielder/forward (7 goals, 7 assists) – All-district first team; all-conference second team; started 21 games. Playing at Evangel University.
• Kelsi Moore, forward (13 goals, 5 assists) – All-district first team; all-conference first team; played in all 22 games, started 20.
• Elena Mende, defender (2 goals) – All-district second team; all-conference honorable mention; started 18 games, played in 21.
• Lexi Rapert, defender – Started 1 game; was injured and couldn’t play, but started on Senior Night.
• Madelyn Wilcox, goalkeeper – Started 19 games; 14.75 games played; 1.09 goals against average with 8.25 shutouts.
• Emma Light, defender/midfielder (4 assists) – 3 starts; played in 21 games.
• Gracie Kindell, defender – Played in all 22 games; started 20.
“As a group, they were fun to be around; excellent work ethic and very coachable,” said Palmer, who surpassed the 300-win mark with the girls’ program (303-217-14 overall). “They were excellent leaders as well.”
Palmer returns plenty of experience in seven seniors, four juniors and a sophomore.
“The girls have had a great attitude so far this year,” Palmer said. “I think our strength could be that many of the players had to sit behind last year’s seniors. It is their time to shine.”
• Emma Hartley, senior, midfielder (4 goals, 6 assists) – All-district second team; all-conference honorable mention. “Very good on the ball,” Palmer said. “She is smart and can get forward and can finish.”
• Lydia DeWild, junior, defender – All-district second team. “Was a starter at center back for us last year. She will need to step up and be a leader for us in the back; a smart, talented defender.”
• Emily Sutherland, senior, forward/midfield (3 goals, 5 assists) – “Very good at finding the net. We will need her to have a big year scoring, which she is very capable of.”
• Madison Snelson, senior, goalkeeper (7.25 games, 4 goals against, 26 saves, 2.75 shutouts, .552 goals against average) – “Excellent keeper. She will keep us in many games this year.”
• Kailey Tate, senior, defender (2 assists) – “She will be a calming presence in the back for us; could play in the center or outside backline.”
• Reagan Neal, senior, midfielder (1 goal, 5 assists) – “A versatile player. We’ll see where she ends up, but she is very strong on the ball and competes every day.”
• Kasey Alvarez, senior, forward/midfielder (1 goal, 1 assist) – “She has great speed, and her touch has improved tremendously. Looking for many goals from her this year.”
• Kadance Bossaller, senior, defender – “She was coming off ACL surgery last year and will be a player we depend on this year.”
• Alexa Gaunt, junior, midfielder/forward (5 goals, 1 assist) – “She has excellent touch and feel for the game and will be a big player for us.”
• Isabella Johnson, sophomore, midfielder/forward (4 goals, 2 assists) – “Was off to a great start last year, then got injured. She came back strong at the end and scored a big goal against Republic in the district final. We need her to make things happen going to goal this year.”
• Reagan Bridges, junior, forward – “Was hurt most of last year. I am looking forward to a breakout year for her.”
• Lydia Olson, junior, midfielder – “She will become a major player for us this year; has improved tremendously every year and will make a difference for us this year.”
The Lady Eagles have even more players who could see some varsity minutes this spring.
• Gracie Brown, senior, midfielder/forward – “Excellent motor. She has great energy and her skill-set is improving every day.”
• Mallory Norris, senior, forward (7 goals, 7 assists on junior varsity) – “We need that to transfer to the varsity field this year.”
• Lily Dorio, sophomore, defender – “She moved here from Connecticut; a smart defender who could see time on the varsity.”
• Alayna Christiansen, sophomore, forward – “Strong, fast player. She has looked good on the wing.”
• Gwen Jones, sophomore, defender – “Coming off two ACL surgeries. I hope we get to see her play this spring.”
• Bailey Snyder, freshman, defender – “Has shown excellent skill this offseason; will see a lot of time on the backline.”
• Brooke Teter, freshman, forward/midfielder – “Playing basketball now, but is a very good soccer player; really impressed last summer.”
“We have had good numbers to our offseason workouts,” Palmer said. “The girls have been working hard and are so excited to start the season. They have been very focused and want to make the most of the spring season.
“Losing 11 seniors, eight of which consistently started or were the first off the bench, we have a lot of new players that will have to step up to be starters that were role players last season. I believe we have the girls that can compete with anyone this year.”
Nixa will get things going in a jamboree at Kickapoo with Glendale on March 10, before opening the regular season at Glendale on March 22.
