By Chris Parker
A pair of all-state players return to lead Laquey soccer coming off a 13-7 season.
That duo is senior center back Aurora Rice and junior center back and center attacking mid Adrienne Miller. Rice was named first-team all-state and region defensive player of the year as a junior. Miller was second-team all-state and first-team all-region.
In total, nine starters return for Laquey.
The attack will be strong with a pair of 20-goal scorers returning in juniors Alexis Shelton and Hannah Thier. Shelton scored 23 goals with eight assists on her way to first-team all-region honors. Thier also earned first-team all-region honors with 21 goals and eight assists.
Miller will move up to a center midfield role this year. Senior Mackayla Atkins is a two-year starter at wing. Freshman Kaelyn Jones also could see time on the wing.
Hailey Dennis (sophomore), Emma Tolbert (junior) and Brooke Fowers (junior) return as starters playing a defensive mid role.
Rice will anchor the defense along with two-year starter Olivia Boevingloh. Selena Denney (sophomore), Brooke Fowers (junior), Madelyn Sadler (freshman) and Allison Huellstronk (sophomore) will all compete for playing time on the back line.
Senior Madelyn Helmuth returns at goalkeeper after splitting time last season.
Aaron Thier takes over as head coach of the program this season.
“I am a first-year head coach of this team, and have only had contact when allowed,” Thier said. “Right now, we are all evenly matched on the level of improvement. Learning a new system and new culture has been the focus so far, and the team looks bright all around.”
Laquey should be solid in all phases of the game.
“We will be solid defensively,” Thier said. “We will be possessive. We will shoot quality over quantity and score often. We return two 20-goal scorers from last season, along with two all-state defenders, and starters. As a coach I seek to do the things above as a designed plan for success.”
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Thier hasn’t coached the team before but has studied last season’s team and thinks the Hornets can take the next step this year.
“I have watched a lot of film from last season,” Thier said. “The team was a 13-win team last year, and I believe that if we improve in three areas, we can be a 20-win team this year. We have to get better at finishing our opportunities. We have to keep the ball more, limit the turnovers in possession and by keeping the ball more limiting the other team’s ability to score. We have to become stronger mentally as a team; this is the biggest task. If the buy-in is there and they trust each other they will succeed in the other two things.”
Laquey opens the season on Mar. 18 at home against Columbia Battle. That game starts what Their hopes will be a march to the program’s first district title.
“The team has gone to and lost the district championship the last two seasons while many of the players were underclassmen,” Thier said. “We are the upperclassmen now. The expectation is to win the school’s first ever girls soccer district title, to improve on our overall win total, to compete for a state title, and to grow in the team’s culture and be the best representatives of our culture for our school and ourselves. I believe that should always be the end goal, and this does not change for me year to year.”
