With just three players lost to graduation, the roster for the Northwest girls soccer team won’t look much different from 2017.
But the Lions have a significant hole to fill now that Emily Hanewinkel has taken her skills to the University of Missouri at St. Louis.
Last year, Hanewinkel was the second-leading scorer in the Suburban West Conference with 37 points, two behind Sarah Sodoma of Parkway South, and she led Northwest in goals (15) and assists (seven). But the offensive numbers told only part of the story, as Hanewinkel was recognized as conference co-defensive player of the year along with Lafayette’s Jill Wipke.
“Emily is one of the most elite people I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach, boys or girls,” Northwest head coach Dave Willis said. “She has an incredible drive toward success. She’s a very passionate player and we’re going to have to try to replace a ton of production now that she’s gone.”
Fortunately for Willis, Northwest’s returning players are committed to improving on last year’s 10-14 campaign. Willis said he was pleased with the attendance for offseason training, which included time in the weight room.
“I’m really pumped about this strong group of girls we have coming back, the type of people we have,” he said.
“These girls have really dedicated themselves over the last nine months, and particularly the last four months.”
The coach said about a week after the boys’ season ended, offseason workouts began for both the boys and girls. The workouts consisted of open field play and a lot of weight training.
“We had about 40 sessions before tryouts began, and a lot of the girls didn’t miss a single day,” Willis said. “At first, they were kind of scared of the weight room. It was kind of foreign to them. But after a couple weeks, they were really getting after it.
“The girls are really making a focus this year of being that elite type of person, who gets up and has goals and dreams and wants to accomplish something, wants to do well in school (and) do the types of things that are not measured with statistics.”
Willis said he hopes the weight training will help the girls avoid a lot of the nagging lower body injuries that were so prevalent last season, while also boosting the team’s overall speed.
“We didn’t really have any fast girls last year,” he said. “We had a lot of girls with good footwork, good ball skills. But in high school soccer, speed kills and a lot of the teams that we lost to, we just couldn’t run with them. We lost a lot of individual battles, lost some close games to some good teams, so we decided we wanted to get faster, got more explosive.”
A sophomore-dominated team in 2017, Northwest is still relatively young, with just four seniors on the roster. One of them, Olivia Berry, returns in goal for her third season as the varsity starter, and Willis said Berry, who has signed to play for Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., provides the Lions with leadership.
“Olivia is one of those people who makes good grades, she’s smart, well-liked by her teammates – but Olivia is an athlete,” Willis said. “She’s got the ability to keep us in games, and she just kind of brings a calm to the defense and is a good communicator back there.”
Another senior, Makayla Duncan, returns to a center midfield spot. She scored 12 goals last year, ranking fourth in the conference, and was named to the all-conference first team. Duncan will play for St. Louis Community College in the fall.
“Makayla has the ability to distribute, and she’s got a great shot,” Willis said. “She has good vision and her one-on-one skills are on point.”
One of the players who Willis said should help make up for the loss of Hanewinkel is junior Macy Davis, who could see time at multiple positions. Also a member of the volleyball team, Davis has shown a knack for winning the ball out of the air, which Willis said was one of Hanewinkel’s biggest strengths.
“Macy’s cut from that same mold as Emily,” Willis said. “She has a very similar build to Emily, similar motor and similar passion for game. Macy is very versatile and she fills a need that I was concerned about, winning balls on set pieces and corner kicks.”
A wild card for the Lions this season could be junior Meghan Pemberton. After scoring nine goals with nine assists as a freshman, Pemberton missed time with injuries last year, finishing with five goals and one assist. But Willis said if healthy, Pemberton could give Northwest a top-level forward.
“When Meghan’s on the field, we’re a different team,” Willis said. “She has good footwork, she’s fast, has some size and is just the perfect combination of everything you want out of a striker. She’s a girl that other teams don’t want to play against.”
Sophomore Jillian Ems split time between the varsity and JV teams early last year, but Willis said she showed some significant potential at center back in a game against eventual Class 4 state champ Eureka after Hanewinkel went down with an injury. Ems will likely start on the back line this season.
“Last year, she kind of came out of nowhere,” Willis said. “At tryouts, I wasn’t too sure where she’d fit in, but I saw something in that Eureka game that I hadn’t seen in tryouts. I mean, she’s a gamer. She’s smart, has good speed, and when it gets to game time, she really ramps up the intensity.”
Junior Brea Griffonetti also returns to the Lions defense.
“She’s one of the meanest girls I’ve ever coached,” Willis said. “On the field, she won’t take anything from anybody, and is just a great lockdown defender. She’s as fast as she can be on the wing, and she’s starting to learn that she’s got some skills, too.”
Willis said sophomore Kylee Parker put in a lot of work during the offseason to add some explosiveness to her game, and she will likely see time at forward and in the midfield.
“Kylee looks like a different player right now,” Willis said.
Other players include seniors Makenzie Becker and Kahlie Robertson; juniors Olivia Stahlman, Mary Stewart, Maddie Douglas, Sara Osborne, Alexis Davis, Jordan Owens, Shannon Walsh and Hannah Harrison; and freshmen Katelyn Long and Alayna Stawizynski.
Northwest will open the season in Rolla this weekend with games on Friday against Springfield Catholic and St. Francis Borgia and a Saturday matchup with host Rolla.
This will be the team’s last season in the Suburban West Conference. Under the new St. Louis Suburban Association realignment starting in the 2018-2019 school year, Northwest soccer will compete in the Red (second-tier) pool with Fox, Ladue, Mehlville, Parkway Central, Parkway South, Parkway West, Pattonville and Seckman.
Veteran Warriors hungry for sustained success
It had been a while – since 2009, to be exact – but last season the Fox girls soccer team finished above the break-even mark with 11 wins in 20 games.
“I don’t think many people realize how big a deal that is,” Fox head coach Dustin Schnable said. “But we’re trying to build something here, just building confidence, and especially with all the new girls coming in, hopefully we have the attitude to keep that going.”
Schnable said early indications are that the team is looking to take another step forward.
“These girls are buying into what my assistant (Steve Keisker) and I are trying to get them to believe,” he said. “I think it finally started clicking last year, what the expectations are out of them and what we’re trying to do with the program.
“The girls are already talking about what worked last year, what did not work last year. They’ve already been hammering that into the freshmen and sophomores who are joining the varsity squad. They now know what it takes to have a winning season, and you can just tell by their tone of voice, they have pretty high expectations for themselves. The atmosphere’s a little different. The team morale is a little different. But it’s still preseason. This is a good group of girls who aren’t worrying about themselves, they’re worrying about the program as a whole, and that’s a good thing.”
One area where Fox certainly has room to improve is in conference play. The Warriors went 0-8 against Suburban West opponents last season, and they are 3-64 in league games over the past eight seasons.
This is Fox’s final spring competing in the Suburban West. Next year the Warriors will compete in the St. Louis Suburban Association’s new pool alignment. They will be in the Red pool with Ladue, Mehlville, Parkway Central, Parkway South, Parkway West, Pattonville, Seckman and Northwest.
“We play some tough teams, and we’re not getting blown out by any of them,” Schnable said. “But we need to get more wins against these teams, and my assistant coach and I feel this is a year that we’re going to put some nerves into some of these conference teams.”
Fox lost 10 players to graduation last year, but a core group of key players return, including most of the team’s top scorers, and Schnable said he likes what he has seen from several underclassmen who are joining the team.
“We’ve got a good group of younger girls that I think are ready to open up some eyes this year,” Schnable said.
But it’s the upperclassmen, Schnable said, who will determine the team’s course this season.
“We’re going to go as far as our seniors and our juniors take us,” he said. “We’re going to need the freshmen to help out, too, but ultimately it’s going to come down to our veteran girls.”
And fortunately, Schnable said those veterans, many who are in their fourth season with the program, want to carry the team into new territory.
“The girls know what it felt like last year to beat some of these teams that we’ve never beaten before,” Schnable said. “A team like Kirkwood (which Fox beat 1-0 last year), that was a pretty big win. That’s a program-changing win there for us. So the veteran girls, they know what it tastes like, they know what it feels like to win, and they want to keep on winning.”
One of the Warriors’ leaders is senior Abby Street, a captain last year. An attacking midfielder who scored three goals and tied for the team lead with seven assists, Street has signed to play soccer at Drury University.
“She may not be the loudest player on the field, but she is going to lay everything out on the field,” Schnable said. “Abby is going to give everything she can, and ultimately, that’s the type of players whom I want on the team.”
Junior Taylor Stirnemann scored five goals with seven assists last year and returns at either forward or midfield.
“She’s a playmaker,” Schnable said. “Hopefully, she’ll dish out a ton of assists for us.”
Senior Dani Dueing will primarily play in the backfield. Junior Raven Robbins, who scored six goals a year ago, will see time on defense but also move into an attacking midfielder role. Junior Sydney Adamec, a center back last year, will play at attacking midfielder as well.
“One focus we really want to hammer on this year is in the middle of the field,” Schnable said. “Too many games last year we just got dominated in the middle of the field, and that’s ultimately where we want to focus a lot of attention. And we have some girls that I think are going to change that aspect for us.”
Schnable said he believes the Warriors boast players throughout the lineup who can continue to change the soccer culture at Fox.
“We feel very confident in every position we have this year,” he said. “We don’t have too many question marks anywhere on the field.”
But one of the main questions left won’t be answered until the season comes to an end.
“This year, my girls are hungry for a district championship,” Schnable said. “Is that realistic? We think it is. Is it going to be easy? Of course not, but if we can stay healthy, I think we’re going to do some good things.”
Fox opens the season March 19 at University City.
Jaguars hoping for more offense to go along with stalwart defense
Seckman’s defense was a tough nut to crack last spring.
The Jaguars posted shutouts in eight of their nine wins, allowing just one goal in six other games.
Taking away the three goals allowed in losses to Columbia and Eureka as well as the four goals scored by both Lindbergh and Northwest, Seckman boasted a goals-against average of 0.533 in the other 15 contests.
“The team was just really strong defensively, and so that lent itself to us not giving up a lot of goals,” said Tim Bookstaver, who became the head coach this year after seven seasons of working with the program. “I think that was just a product of the fact that a lot of time was focused on the defense and making sure we were solid in back.”
Unfortunately, Seckman wasn’t able to find a balance offensively. Of the team’s six one-goal games, five of them were 1-0 losses, and the Jaguars were shut out nine times, finishing the season with a 9-10 record.
“Offensively, there were some games that we were able to break through, but in the close games, our offense was a little bit more of a hit-or-miss type of situation,” Bookstaver said. “There are a lot of good defenses out there.”
Particularly in the Suburban West Conference. Facing perennial soccer powers like Lafayette, Oakville, Parkway South, Lindbergh, and of course, defending Class 4 state champion Eureka, Seckman consistently finds difficult challenges.
“It’s a tough schedule, it’s a good schedule, and you get real good opportunities to challenge your squad along the way when you face teams the caliber that we see in the conference,” Bookstaver said. “It’s tough to go through, but at the end of the season, you’ve always got to look back, be happy that you went through it and just hope you prepared yourselves for the end of the year.”
This will be the final season, at least for now, that the Jaguars will have to compete with the aforementioned powers as the St. Louis Suburban Association was realigned to distribute the competition more evenly. Starting next school year, the new pool system will take effect and Seckman will be in the Red pool with Fox, Ladue, Mehlville, Parkway Central, Parkway South, Parkway West, Pattonville and Northwest.
It may take a little time for the Jaguars to get their defense playing at last year’s level, given the number of new faces on the roster.
Seckman lost goalkeeper Lexi Heagele to graduation, as well as starting defender Carly O’Donnell. Two other key contributors, seniors Taylor Wainz and Maddie Henderson, are injured. Henderson could return later in the season, but Bookstaver said Wainz will be out for the entire campaign.
“Those are two girls who contributed to a very strong defense last year and unfortunately we’re going to miss them,” Bookstaver said.
Sophomore Alyssa Kerperien takes over in goal. Kerperien did not compete in the Seckman program as a freshman because of a scheduling conflict with her club team, but Bookstaver said Kerperien, who is backed up by sophomore Bella Schlemmer, brings a strong presence in front of the goal.
“She is a very good communicator from that position,” Bookstaver said. “She’s always talking with the defense about positioning, about marks. That’s something I’ve noticed so far as we’ve gone through the preseason.”
Juniors Kristen Galler and Abbey Montana will open the season in the center back spots, and Bookstaver said sophomore Reece Wingbermuehle could give Seckman an effective two-way weapon at left back.
“Her willingness to join the attack from that wing position, and her ability to get back and get into position quickly, that’s a real benefit when we get possession to have a back who can read the play and is willing to get into the play and help out,” he said.
Seniors Meggie Pallme and Sarah O’Leary are also competing for playing time in the backfield.
A young midfield of primarily juniors and sophomores will be led by juniors Malorey Krutszch, Abby Icenhower and Lauren Isbell.
“All three are good skill players who have good field vision and should help us to link the attack and keep possession for the team,” Bookstaver said.
Of the “plethora of forwards” that Bookstaver said are still fighting for playing time, one certain to fill a significant role is senior Taylor Malcich, who led the team last year with three goals.
“We’re going to try to push her out wide early on, see if we can’t use her speed to benefit the team in the attack,” Bookstaver said. “She’s one of our quicker players for sure. She’s got good ball skills, too, but she’s the one who’s probably the quickest of the bunch, so hopefully we’re able to move Taylor out wide and take advantage of that quickness.”
After an injury-riddled junior season, Ansley Alphin is competing for a striker position, while O’Leary could see time there as well. Senior Sierra Stephens currently has the starting nod at the other wing spot, and senior Julia Larson will provide valuable minutes off the bench.
Senior Rachel Ray, junior Lexi Jacobsmeyer and sophomores Arial Clark and Kennady Crutchley will push for playing time at midfield or forward.
“We’ve got a lot of quality players, and they’re hungry,” Bookstaver said.
“So far, I’m impressed with the work ethic that we’ve put in. The girls are out there working hard, giving a lot of effort. Going 9-10 last year, that by no means is a bad record, but I think they’re hungry to get a little bit more in the win column.”
Seckman will open March 19 against Poplar Bluff.