By Chris Parker
Monett girls soccer is poised for a strong season with 10 starters and 15 letter winners returning from last season’s team.
“We have a very good starting core for our team,” Monett head coach Neal Bluel said. “They have played with each other before, and we are coming into the season with some team experiences that will help us this season for sure.”
Anahi Aguirre returns after earning honorable mention all-conference honors as a freshman.
“(She is a) great player and a team leader,” Bluel said. She scores goals, plays the ball hard and works well out of the back to attack.”
Katherine Simmons will be the team’s keeper coming off an honorable mention all-conference selection as a sophomore.
“Katherine will play in goal for us this season,” Bluel said. “She can also play the field and as we get more experienced players in that position we may move her out and onto the field some.”
CLICK HERE TO FIND LINKS TO ALL OF OUR SPRING SPORTS PREVIEWS
Brooke Bluel (senior), Jaque Salas (junior) and Natalie Patino (junior) will all help in the midfield and attacking half.
Jocelyn Arreola is a freshman who will make an immediate varsity impact.
“We will use our experience together to build on what we did last year,” Bluel said. “Working the ball through possession into the attacking third and getting more chances this year is a big goal for us.”
Bluel has his players focusing on a team mentality.
“We have a LADY CUBS team mentality,” Bluel said. “That is a series of ideals we like to keep through the season to make us better players, teammates, community members, and overall people as we navigate the season together.”
Monett opens the regular season Mar. 17-18 at the Cassville-Monett tournament.
“We always expect to be successful,” Bluel said. “If you look at our games last season, we had some losses that were a penalty kicks or a last minute goal by the other team that caused us to get the loss. Our goal is always to have a winning season and get to the district final.”
