By Chris Parker
Parkview soccer won double-digit games for the first time since 2019 last season. Five starters and 11 total lettermen return from the 10-win team.
Seniors Olivia Sutterfield (defender) and Lily Becquart (defender/midfield) will be team leaders according to head coach Shelby Stewart.
“Olivia is a great student athlete on and off the field. She is the type of student that you know will lead by example. She is a team player and is willing to jump into any role she is given. She is tough as nails, and I look forward to seeing what she can accomplish this season,” Stewart said. “Lily was asked to fill several different positions last season due to injury. With us losing our primary goal scorer, her role will change from game to game. She is a hard worker with technical skills. She has committed to play at Evangel next season.”
The team will miss the presence of senior Tara Masten who is out for the season due to an injury suffered during basketball season.
Numbers have been strong for Parkview soccer.
“Our strengths include being a deeper team,” Stewart said. “We now have our team numbers at 35-plus girls. Our girls work hard each day, and I am confident that it will allow us to have enormous growth throughout the season.”
Parkview opens the season on Mar. 19 at home against Springfield Central.
“We know we will have some struggles early on, but we also know that we have a good core group to build around,” Stewart said. “Each day we have to come back and get better than we were the last day no matter the outcome of each game. We are an overall young team with 75% of our team made up of freshman and sophomores. I look forward to seeing how much growth this group can show from the beginning to the end of the season. Our goal is to be our best come post-season.”
