Webster Groves has plenty to lean on
Last season, the Webster Groves girls soccer team was a middle-of-the-pack sort.
The Statesmen posted a 13-11-1 mark and were sixth in the Suburban South Conference with a 3-4 mark.
But this spring has the potential to be an exciting year for the program as it returns 10 of the 11 starters from last year, including 11 seniors.
Webster’s entire defense is back led by sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Perry. The defense posted 11 shutouts and returning in back are seniors Allison Koenigsfeld, Sydney Dygard, Dana Ernsky, Madeline Ericson and Carly Aitken.
“I think we are going to be very tough to score on,” Webster Groves coach Chris Allen said. “With the leadership and experience we have coming back I expect our defense will keep us in every game we play.”
In the midfield Webster returns the program’s all-time leading goal scorer in junior Annie Paloucek, who netted 21 goals last year and had eight assists for 50 points.
Also, the team’s second leading goal scorer from a year ago, sophomore Stevie Wunderlich, returns. She had 10 goals a season ago.
Look for seniors Taylor Chapman and Jayne Butler to be big time playmakers in the middle and crank out a number of assists. Senior Cara Hargate, who shared time with Perry in goal last year, has been moved to wing mid to take advantage of her athleticism, and she brings some definite speed and toughness to the wing mid position. At forward, senior Anna Aitken and junior Sara Kerr will provide the scoring punch.
“I think offensively we are going to be much better than in years past,” Allen said. “We now have more offensive threats, and, because Annie typically draws opposing team’s top defenders, we feel that will open our other players up to having breakout seasons.”
Freshman Morgan Unger will compete for time in the center mid, and freshman Maddi Beck will look to start as a central defender. Big things are also expected from sophomore Sara Yaciuk, who will play in a defensive center midfield role.
Allen has more depth than ever before and he is going to try and take advantage of that by attempting to run teams into the ground.
“That may mean diminished minutes for some players as we expect all 22 of our players to play in every game,” Allen said. “How the upperclassmen handle sharing minutes with the underclassmen will ultimately determine how successful of a season we have.”
When it comes to the conference race, Allen points to Eureka and Summit as the teams to beat. And as far as districts go, the Stateswomen are teamed with Nerinx Hall, Ursuline, Kirkwood and Gateway Tech in what could prove to be one of the top districts in the state.
Webster gets the season underway with a trip to Denver where it will participate in the Valor Christian Kickoff Classic presented by Nike.
“The teams in this tournament are unreal; a state championship runner up, a state semifinalist and a state quarterfinalist. Playing these caliber teams at 5,000 feet altitude can only make us stronger for when we come back to St. Louis,” Allen said. “It will be a great team bonding experience and we’ll see how we do up there in the thin air.”
