By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Even though they have two key pieces to replace, the Bolivar Lady Liberators have plenty of experience heading into the 2023 season.
The Lady Liberators, who finished the 2022 season with a 16-4 overall record and 6-4 in the Ozark Conference for a fourth-place finish, return 11 players from their Class 2 District 4 runner-up team.
“We have solid players at each position on the field, including some girls who have been all-state,” said Bolivar coach Steve Fast, who is 109-31 with the Lady Liberators. “We will look to build around these players and hope to stay competitive each night. Our girls really enjoy each other and work well together.”
Fast returns three seniors, five juniors and three sophomores to a team that was hit with injuries midseason but still advanced to the district championship, where it lost 1-0 to longtime rival Logan-Rogersville. Several of those players gained valuable experience by getting more minutes because of those injuries.
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• Brynly Waters, senior midfielder – “Brynly plays multiple positions across the midfield when needed and is our primary corner kicker,” Fast said. “She understands the game very well and is an excellent passer.”
• Sophie Vestal, senior midfielder, named second-team all-district, Class 2 Region 2 and first-team all-conference. “Sophie is a center mid who is great at distributing the ball, has a lot of speed and can defend well. She is an excellent vocal leader for us.”
• Taygon Morgan, senior forward. “Taygon played a bigger role late in the season last year, giving us quality minutes when others were injured. She plays with a lot of hustle and energy.”
• Sahara Adams, junior defender, scored 8 goals and had 13 assists, earned first-team all-district, all-region and second-team all-conference honors. “Sahara was all-state as a freshman and is always one of the best players on the field. She is highly motivated and a good on-the-field coach and leader. She understands the game extremely well.”
• Claire Giglio, junior forward, scored 31 goals with 14 assists, named first-team all-district, all-region, honorable mention all-state and second-team all-conference. “She has a tough mindset and is a very physical player. She is relentless in her pursuit of the goal.”
• Mady Niven, junior midfielder. “Mady played both midfield and forward for us last season and played with a lot of grit and toughness. She played through some injuries last season, so we are excited to have her healthy and ready to go.”
• Ellie Thomas, junior midfielder. “Ellie was a role player who came in and played a lot of midfield when others were injured. We’re looking forward to watching her build on those experiences from last year.”
• Ese Jones, junior defender. “Ese is a center back who only got to play half the season due to a knee injury. We are looking forward to getting Ese back on the field this spring. Ese has a good feel for the game and can play multiple positions, if needed.”
• Stella Scowden, a sophomore forward. “Stella was a full-time starter as a freshman. She brings a lot of fun energy to the team.”
• Jaylena Baker, sophomore midfielder. “Jaylena was a role player who played a lot of positions as needed for our team last season. She is a very tough and gritty player.”
• Ellen Garber, sophomore defender, named second-team all-district. Ellen was a full-time defensive starter as a freshman. She showed tremendous improvement over the course of the season and is a great passer out of the back.”
With the loss of all-state midfielder London Wilson, goalkeeper Allison Butler and defender Savannah Williamson, Fast has a couple of newcomers he thinks will make an impact this season.
“Scarlett Bachman (sophomore midfielder) has played a lot of soccer and we are looking forward to having her on our team,” Fast said. “She will bring a dynamic element to the team and will help our team both offensively and defensively in the midfield.
“Zoe Warden (sophomore goalkeeper) has been training for this moment and will be the full-time varsity keeper. She is tough, anticipates the play well and can make those big dynamic saves when needed.”
Wilson earned first-team all-state, all-region, all-district and first-team all-conference honors. Butler was a four-year starter at keeper and was named all-conference honorable mention, while Williamson, who was a second-team all-district selection as a junior, graduated in December and is not playing this spring.
“They were good leaders for our team and demonstrated a good work ethic for our younger players,” Fast said. “Allison was quiet, but you could always count on her giving her best and being there for the team. London was one of the best players in southwest Missouri at midfield and teams really had to work to slow her down. We will miss her dominant presence on the field and the fun energy she brought to the group.”
The Lady Liberators will participate in a jamboree at Lebanon with Marshfield and Crocker on March 10 and will open the regular season in the Bolivar Tournament on March 17-18.
“Our girls have good camaraderie and have already developed a good team bond with each other,” Fast said. “They are great teammates and want to see each other succeed on and off the field.
“As always when a new season starts, we need to work on developing our lineup and rotation. We want all the girls to be successful as individuals and as a team. I expect our team to be very competitive with most of the teams in our area.”
