PREVIEW: Eastwood girls soccer

The Eastwood girls soccer program looks to jet its way to another successful season behind a deep, talented roster under the direction of fifth-year head coach Julie Cross.

“We're going to be really fast, and they go really hard in practice,” Cross said. “They don't want to lose. Whether it's a simple little drill or competition or a scrimmage or it's a game, they have that determination. We have players who are willing to accept their role, whether that's a few minutes here or there, or playing a position they don't necessarily want to play or splitting time with another player. They’re selfless.”

Last year, the Eagles finished 13-3-4 overall and knocked off undefeated NBC rival Genoa in the district championship before falling in overtime to Liberty-Benton in the title game, falling just shy of a fifth regional appearance in six years.

That team graduated six players: All-Ohio Piper Sutton, who had 34 goals and 14 assists; Second Team All-NBC selections Kenna Nelson and Karly Wasserman (10 goals, 9 assists); Honorable Mention All-NBC Grace Meter; Kennedy Ameling and Lexi Hoffman.

Among the returning group are six players who started at least one match last year, including Karissa Nelson, who produced 20 goals and 16 assists en route to First Team All-NBC and All-District honors. Second Team All-NBC Lauren Schuerman (8 goals, 7 assists) and Honorable Mention All-NBC defender MacKenzie Chaffee are also back.

“They have the experience of playing in tight, tough games,” Cross said. “We seem to have great battles with league and non-league opponents in our tournament run every year. They’ve found ways to succeed in those high-pressure, must-win games. They have exposure to those moments and know what it means. That is huge from a leadership standpoint.”

Nelson and Schuerman are juniors, and Chaffee is part of a five-person senior class, along with Josie Appelhans, Ava Kachmarik, Laihela Reardon and Maddie Sorg.

A field player entering last year, Kachmarik took over in goal midway through the season and performed well with 87 saves. Her role this year isn’t set in stone. She could potentially be back in the field as junior Teagan Lloyd and freshman Piper Dierksheide also compete for time in goal.

Appelhans, who had six goals and seven assists last year in her first full season since tearing her ACL as a sophomore, is stronger and more confident than ever according to Cross. Chaffee is the only returning starter on the back line.

“Kenzie is tough,” Cross said. “She communicates well. She understands how we want to play defensively and what it takes to dominate in that aspect.”

Reardon enters her fourth year in the program, and Cross said she is a versatile player who is a perfect example for the younger kids. Sorg transferred into the district last year and subsequently only got to play half the season.

“Those five are going to play key roles from an experience, leadership and morale standpoint,” Cross said. “They're all very positive, uplifting people. They just want to have a fun last season.”

Also back is Macy Shoemaker, a speedy junior who came off the bench last year.

“She’s scored some high-pressure goals,” Cross said. “We’re looking forward to her having a more dominant role up top this year.”

Several sophomores will also make an impact among a large group, including Katelin Russell, Ava Majzun, Taylor Mangette, Gabby Provo, Raegan Sabo and Gracyn Reiter.

“Katelin came on hot at the end of last season after starting the season on JV,” Cross said. “Ava and Taylor were two strong defenders on the JV team, and both of them will continue to have a big defensive role in the program. Gabby and Raegan are a couple speedy girls up top who performed well on JV.”

Cross is also excited about a talented junior class that features over 10 players.

“I feel every season, at least for me as a coach, is obviously tough to see a group graduate and move on,” Cross said. “You always kind of have that moment of, 'Oh, shoot, how are we going to replace that group or that player or that position?’ One of the biggest things for us as a program was that last year we were able to have two full teams, which was the first time in the program that we had had a full JV roster in maybe five or six seasons. It was the first time since I’ve been the head coach for sure. Coming off that, although we lost several varsity players, every girl in the program got solid minutes last year, so we have some girls that played just as much soccer for our JV team as our varsity returners.”

Also, with not every league school fielding a JV team, Eastwood was able to schedule games against bigger schools such as Anthony Wayne and Perrysburg.

“That gave them a lot of experience and exposure,” Cross said. “There's definitely going to be some players, including upperclassmen, who take on leadership roles. We've already seen that this summer. We're excited.”

Hannah Madaras and Hannah Owens, who have been with Cross since she took over as head coach, are back as assistants. Amelia Ward, Jada Jensen and Kayden Firsdon have also helped out or will see roles on the staff this year. All of them except Cross are former Eagle standouts.

“That's exciting for me, players that I've coached are coming back to help out, and it’s good for the players in the program to hear from people who haven't been out of it as long as I have,” Cross said.