By Chris Parker
Parkview girls soccer will look to improve on last season’s five-win campaign with nine starters and 14 letter winners returning to the team.
Athleticism will be a hallmark of the Lady Vikings.
“The strength of our team will be athleticism,” Parkview head coach Shelby Stewart said. “We have several athletes that play multiple sports. We will look to use that to our advantage to compete early on. We now have a good core of upperclassmen who can lead others who will be learning to adjust to the varsity level.”
Seniors Evenlynn Peralta, Yanet Adan and Emma Dragoo will be team leaders.
Peralta was named second-team all-conference in the midfield as a junior. Her and Adan will be vocal leaders.
“We will look for both of them to step into a more vocal leadership role this season due to her soccer experience,” Stewart said. “Evenlynn will be expected to facilitate play through our midfield and set the tone for tenacious defending.”
Dragoo was named second-team all-conference as a goalkeeper last season and returns to that position this year.
“We are looking for Emma to use her field vision to lead our team,” Stewart said. “Emma will be stepping into her final season with the most confidence after using her last two seasons to learn and grow, after having no previous experience. She is extremely coachable and will use each game as a learning tool to improve throughout the season and be at her best come post-season.”
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Tara Masten and Jestiny Worley will be the key players at forward.
Masten was a first-team all-conference selection at forward as a sophomore in 2022.
“Tara was a primary goal scorer last season,” Stewart said. “We will look for her to score as well as include others on the offensive end. She has good speed and has improved her overall technical skill.”
Worley, a senior, earned honorable mention all-conference honors at forward last season.
“We will look for her (Worley) to become an increased scoring threat this season, as she steps into a more prominent role with the soccer team,” Stewart said.
Aeriana Rhine will join Peralta in the midfield.
“Rhine will see an expanded role this season,” Stewart said. “She logged a lot of minutes at this position last season and we will look for that experience to translate to this season.”
Olivia Sutterfield returns to be an anchor at defender after earning honorable mention all-conference honors as a sophomore. Her and Adan will be key on the backline.
“We will look for Olivia to hold down our defensive line alongside Yanet Adan,” Stewart said. “Both will be asked to step into leadership roles after losing Leah Reichert to a season ending ACL injury. Reichert has been a great defender and someone who can limit other teams scoring abilities. Without her, we will rely on others to step up and learn new roles this season.”
Parkview opens the regular season on Mar. 21 at Central.
“We always strive to be a team that works hard off and, on the field,” Stewart said. “When we leave the field, we will have given our best effort and put ourselves in a position to compete and win the game.”
