By Chris Parker
Hillcrest soccer returns eight starters from last season’s nine-win team. The nine wins were the most for the program since winning 14 in 2015 and made it a fourth consecutive season with an improved win total.
“This season, the strength of our team is having eight varsity starters return and some experiences from the handful of one-goal losses,” Hillcrest head coach Roy Hardy Sr. said. “We have a great nucleus coming back from last year’s team that went 9-9. Also continuing to have a JV team is tremendous for the program as the young and inexperienced will get valuable training minutes.”
Lauren Wilkinson returns after leading the team with 18 goals and three assists last season. She earned first-team all-conference honors
“Lauren is one of our leaders,” Hardy Sr. said. “Lauren has scored 43 goals and added 14 assists in her career. She has the most goals in the soccer program on both sides (boys and girls) since I have been coaching at Hillcrest. Lauren has great ball control and sees the pitch very well, making her a threat in the midfield. Since arriving to Hillcrest, she has helped boost the team’s scoring average from 0.47 to 2.4 goals per game. Lauren will be attending the ROSE (Recognition of Scholastic Excellence) Banquet at the end of March, where she will be recognized for making the Top 10 students for the Class of 2026 and being Salutatorian.”
Jadyn McCall is a senior defender who had four goals last season. She was named second-team all-conference.
“Jadyn is one of our leaders,” Hardy Sr. said. “Jadyn can push up the field in transition and support the offense; however, her bread and butter is her defense. She has been the anchor to our defense third for the past three years. Jayden is a good 1v1 defender, quick enough to run down an attacker, and can get the team out of danger from being scored upon by winning the ball. Her skills set and physical talent make her versatile to our team. She is the link between our offense and defense. Jayden will be attending the ROSE (Recognition of Scholastic Excellence) Banquet at the end of March, where she will be recognized for making the Top 10 students for the Class of 2026. In the fall, Jayden will be taking her soccer talents to the Lady’s Valor at Evangel University.”
Rosely Fiueroa is a senior midfielder who scored three goals on her way to honorable mention all-conference honors.
“Rosely is a dual-sport athlete,” Hardy Sr. said. “In the fall, she plays softball. Since her freshman year, Rosely has taken ownership in the midfield. Her tactical skills have evolved each year. Rosely’s ability to read the game, make quick decisions, and position herself efficiently with or without the ball to support teammates is very evident as the ball seems to find her. She has a good concept of understanding her spacing and timing her runs. For us to be successful offensively, Rosely will need to be more aggressive in the scoring column by taking more shots while still being in the assist column this season.”
Lydia Smith, senior, is a defender who had one goal last season.
“Lydia is a dual sport athlete,” Hardy Sr. said. “She plays softball in the fall. Lydia is very coachable and works extremely hard on the pitch no matter the position. She is one of the fastest girls in the program and possesses great endurance which puts her in lots of potential scoring opportunities, tracking down a ball or an attacker in the defensive third. She missed some games last season due to nursing a foot injury. Hopefully, we can have her for the entire season. Lydia will be attending the ROSE (Recognition of Scholastic Excellence) Banquet at the end of March, where she will be recognized for making the Top 10 students for the Class of 2026.”
Senior midfielder Elizabeth Pacheco was named honorable mention all-conference after she scored four goals and assisted on two others.
“Elizabeth was new to our program last year,” Hardy Sr. said. “She is a dual sport athlete. She played tennis in the fall. This proved to be a great pickup for the program. She was eager to learn the system of play and her teammates. Elizabeth received her varsity letter and added valuable experience to the starting lineup in the midfield. This season, Elizabeth will need to fill the void as an outside winger by adding pressure on the opposition defense backs to create more scoring opportunities for our program.”
Alyssia Brison returns to the goal for her senior season. She was an honorable mention all-conference selection with four shutouts and 101 saves last season.
“Alyssia will control the keeper box again this season,” Hardy Sr. said. “The program will be counting on her athleticism to continue in the keeper box. Last season, Alyssia was scored upon an average of two times a game which is the lowest since 2019. Now with a year under her belt, I’m excited to see what she does this season. Alyssia is a three-sport athlete (volleyball, basketball, and soccer). By playing the other two sports, this should help her anticipate plays, make smart passes, and judge a ball in the air.”
Junior Nicholette Guavis returns to the midfield. She scored three goals with one assist last season.
“Nicholette is a dual sport athlete,” Hardy Sr. said. “She plays volleyball in the fall. Nicholette scored three goals and added one assist in each of her two seasons of soccer. She is a very coachable individual and works super hard in her position. Her work ethic is immeasurable. Nicholette is a dual sport athlete. In the fall, Nicholette plays on the volleyball team which helps with her ability to rely on her footwork to anticipate plays. She listens to what you have to say and makes the change to improve her game with a smile.”
Junior Jaylyn Kennah returns at defender.
“Jaylyn received tons of minutes playing on the defensive line as a sophomore,” Hardy Sr. said. “Last year, there were lots of questions, doubts, and fears of making a mistake in the final third. From game to game, you could see the level of sureness increasing. This year, I can see Jaylyn playing with tons of confidence because no matter what the situation. She will give the team her best and play her heart out. Jaylyn also is a member of the Hillcrest cheerleading squad.”
Lara Di Tomaso, Meadow Macias, Tailynn Pohlsander, and Riley Heinrichs could also play key roles.
Hardy Sr. is looking for his team to be a tight-knit squad.
“The identity I would like to achieve this year for this team would be to play for each other,” Hardy Sr. “This will acquire a high level of team cohesion. Players support each other knowing their teammates will cover them, players prioritize collective success over individual accolades, and motivated to increase their effort to not let their teammate down.”
Hillcrest opens the season Mar. 26-28 at the Branson Shootout.
“My overall expectation for this team this spring is to be a team of oneness, compete not only in games but practices as well, being coachable, and seeing their passion and love for soccer grow with the proper mindset,” Hardy Sr. said. “Pele said it best that, ‘success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do every day.’”
