By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The 2023 season was a banner campaign for the Kickapoo Lady Chiefs, capped off by their first trip to the Class 4 final four since 2002.
“We played an extremely tough schedule through the course of the regular season,” said Kickapoo head coach Phil Hodge, who picked up career win No. 500 in a victory over Nixa on April 7, 2023. “With last year’s team, we did not have much depth. But looking ahead to the spring, I think we will have a bit more depth to help us navigate our tough schedule and the grind of the spring season.”
The Lady Chiefs finished 22-7-1 overall and 10-0 to win the Ozark Conference. In addition, they captured their sixth-straight district championship with a 3-2 overtime win over Nixa in the Class 4 District 5 tournament and knocked off Blue Springs South 5-4 in the quarterfinals to advance to the final four. They fell to Liberty North 8-0 in the semifinals and came up short against Lafayette 4-1 to finish fourth.
“We have a lot of kids returning that were part of a final four team last year,” said Hodge, who was named Class 4 Region 3 (Public) and Ozark Conference Coach of the Year for 2023. “We have a lot of experience returning and kids that just flat compete on a day-to-day basis. We have a group of kids right now that just love to play soccer and work at it to get better every day.”
Baylea Davis, senior midfielder – Scored 16 goals with 15 assists; earned Class 4 All-State second-team, Class 4 All-Region 3 first-team, Class 4 All-District 5 MVP and first-team, and Ozark Conference first-team honors. “Baylea has been a leader of our program from her first day ever participating as a Lady Chief,” Hodge said. “Baylea has been a big reason for our teams winning district championships each year she has been involved in the program. Last season, she scored the game-winning goal in our district championship game vs. Nixa. She has signed with Drury University to continue playing soccer at the next level.”
Ellie Davison, junior forward – Scored 48 goals with 12 assists; named all-state first team, all-region Offensive Player of the Year and first team, all-district Offensive MVP and first team and all-conference first team. “Ellie had a breakout season last Spring. The most impressive thing about (her goal total) is that she had a hat trick in a quarterfinal game to help our team secure a spot in the final four. She has tremendous speed and a skillset to complement her athleticism.”
Sophie Young, senior forward – Scored 12 goals with 15 assists; was an all-district honorable mention and all-conference second-team selection. “Sophie is a versatile player for us. She played primarily as a target forward last season. She did a fantastic job finding the ball with her back to goal.”
Faith Joe, junior defender – Was an all-district first-team and all-conference second-team pick; “Faith was not a natural defender when she came in as a freshman, but has done an incredible job for us. She has a powerful leg and can score from anywhere on the field.”
Erin Lee, junior midfielder – Earned all-district honorable-mention and all-conference second-team honors. “Erin is a steady midfield presence for us. She is incredibly poised on the ball, plays a very simple game and is very successful with it. We are excited about her leadership this spring.”
Lily Howser, sophomore midfielder – Named all-district and all-conference honorable mention. “Lily is an athletic, attacking type player who got a little more comfortable each game she played in last season. We tried her at a few different positions through the course of the season before she settled into our midfield and helped control the tempo of play for our team.”
Sage Meek, sophomore midfielder – An all-district and all-conference honorable mention selection. “Sage was an outside mid for us last spring and is very comfortable in that position and gives us a very confident attack on the outside. She scored a huge goal for us in the quarterfinal last season as a freshman.”
Hodge also is encouraged by the numbers he has coming out this spring.
“We have our largest number of girls planning to try out that we have had for several years,” Hodge said. “Our incoming freshman class is a good size class and will create some competition with our returning players.”
Kickapoo will have some big shoes to fill with the graduation of a highly decorated Class of 2023.
Abby Bilbao, midfielder, was a Class 4 All-District 5 and All-Ozark Conference first-team selection, and is now playing at Truman State University. Taylor Akers, midfielder, earned Class 4 All-District 5 first-team and all-conference second-team honors. Vanessa Maturey, defender, was named Class 4 All-State first team, Class 4 All-Region 3 Defensive Player of the Year and first team, Class 4 All-District 5 Defensive MVP and first team, and Ozark Conference Co-Defender of the Year and first team. Julia Klein, defender, earned Class 4 All-State honorable mention, Class 4 All-Region 3 first team, Class 4 All-District 5 Defensive MVP and first team, and all-conference Co-Defender of the Year and first-team honors. Karli Facklam, goalkeeper, was a Class 4 All-District 5 Goalkeeper MVP and first-team and all-conference honorable mention selection.
“They each won a district title every year they played and helped us get to our first final four since 2002,” Hodge said.
The Lady Chiefs will host a jamboree with Nixa and Glendale on March 7, before opening the regular season on the road at Bentonville, Ark., on March 15.
“We expect to be competitive in every game that we play in and compete for conference and district championships,” Hodge said.
