By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Webb City’s girls soccer team fielded a young squad last spring, with just two seniors and two juniors in the starting lineup and the rest of the spots filled by freshmen and sophomores.
The Cardinals finished with a 10-11 record and three of those losses were by just one goal. They’ll be young again this spring, but it’s a group that new head coach Justin Boudreaux is excited to work with.
“I coached this group of sophomores and juniors when they were playing club ball so they have a special place in my heart because of the connection,” he said. “It’s a good group, a team that wants to work hard and their work ethic has been impressive. If they continue to do that day in and day out it’s going to be a successful year.”
Boudreaux has served as an assistant for Webb City’s boys and girls teams the last two years and previously served as the boys assistant from 2010 to 2013 before going to graduate school and working in the private sector. He now works as a high school counselor in addition to his coaching duties.
Webb City’s group of returning starters is highlighted by sophomores Dakota DeGraffenreid and Avery Allen, a pair of forwards who both earned All-Central Ozark Conference honors as freshmen. DeGraffenreid (1st team) led the Cardinals in scoring and assists with 13 goals and eight assists and Allen (honorable mention) poured in seven goals and three assists of her own. Those two alone scored nearly half of the team’s 43 goals.
The team graduated its second leading goal scorer in Cree Vaden, who tallied 10 goals and eight assists.
“Replacing her in the midfield is one of the question marks coming in this year, but we’ve got some girls who can step in and take that,” Boudreaux said.
“We were overall just a young team last year with a lot of freshmen and sophomores filling in varsity roles and maybe stepping into roles they weren’t quite ready for,” Boudreaux said. “It’s exciting this year because now those girls are sophomores and juniors with a year of experience under their belt. We’re going to lean on Dakota and Avery in terms of the attack up front.”
Other key returners include senior midfielder Riley Whitehead, who finally got to play a full season last spring after battling injuries in her first two years. Boudreaux said she’ll be the “maestro in the middle for us with great vision and great touch on the ball.” Sophia Booher, a senior winger, will provide some goal scoring after tallying six goals and three assists as a junior. “She’s got a ton of speed so she’s a problem for defenders and has a good shot, too,” Boudreaux said.
Addie Brown, a junior, is back in goal for the Cardinals after playing the position for the first time last season; Boudreaux said she made huge strides last spring and earned nine clean sheets. A freshman, Camille Nimmo, will provide competition for the spot. Juniors Kirra Long and Ruby Channel return as defenders who have started since they were freshmen. Sophomore Mikaela Golubski is a hybrid center mid/center back and sophomore Lily Hall is a center mid who could replace Vaden in the middle; she scored two goals and notched one assist as a freshman. Junior Gabby Stodghill is a “Swiss Army knife,” Boudreaux said, who can play in back, out wide and in the midfield and has thrived at each spot. Junior Emily Wood played extended varsity minutes towards the end of last year after a strong JV season. And sophomore Alex Maturino, who netted three goals as a freshman, will also see extended time.
“We only graduated two out of our starting lineup and there’s a strong veteran presence now but we also have some freshmen who have been hankering for spots and working hard in the offseason to prove they belong,” Boudreaux said. “It’s a strong, talented freshman class and a group that’s played together for a few years through the club ranks so there’s definitely going to be some challenging for varsity time as the season goes along.”
Boudreaux, a former goalkeeper for Webb City, said his emphasis as a coach will be improving how the Cardinals defend, and then getting the ball in transition quicker than before.
“If we win games 1-0, 2-0 I’m happy with that rather than a 4-3 shootout,” he said. “The emphasis on defending and really shutting teams down in our box is something they’re going to have to adjust to.”
Webb City will head to the Carl Junction jamboree on March 12, then opens the season in the Lebanon Kickoff Tournament March 15-16. McDonald County, on March 25, is the first home opponent. The Cardinals have added games against Springfield Central and Rogers (Ark.) Heritage.
