Have fun and win. Those are the goals for this year’s season, say girls? varsity soccer seniors and Captains Julianne Boyle and Hailey Redd.
‘We want to make it just as far as last year’s undefeated season. We were district champions and we did pretty well until regionals. This year, we have a lot of the same girls, so we want to do just as well, and better,? said Boyle.
‘Right now, I think we have a chance,? said Coach Ken Snage, a 38-year Lake Orion veteran. Last year, the team had 19 shut-outs, and was ranked second in the state and 11th in the country.
‘My kids picked up where they left off last year. I have a very veteran team and we play Dragon ball well,? he said.
Redd, who plays goalie, says they’re off to a pretty good start already, with a 3-0 win over Avondale, March 24. And over the weekend, the team came out on top of the Lake Orion Invitational, with a 7-0 win over Davison, an 8-0 win over Bay City Western and a 2-0 win over Ypsilanti Lincoln.
In the tourney, Boyle had five goals, Taylor Tremonti had’two goals’and three assists and Katy’Wagner’had two goals and four assists. Redd had two wins in net and Alyssa Mason, the team’s other goal minder, had one.
Snage says his personal goal for the team is to be the best defensive team in the state and the best defensive team in the nation, and Lady Dragon’s performance at the invitational is a ‘reflection of what we do and how we do it.?
‘It’s all about heart and it’s all about effort. Sometimes you take a ball to the mouth, sometimes you take a ball to the foot, shins, belly, back,? he said, adding, ‘and sometimes you make a great tackle like Lesley Noll the other night.?
Noll, a senior, took on one of the top 50 players in the state and ‘stuffed her about 12 times,? said Snage.
‘She slid, she had burns on her leg, she had a raspberry on her leg ? it was a heck of an effort but that’s the kind of effort it takes.?
The coach says the team’s ‘strength and the lifeblood? is the back line, anchored by Devan Moore, Jessica LaBond, Allegra Recknagel and Alyssa Wesley.
‘Those four girls make life very difficult for the other team,? he said.
Other girls, like Lauren Prainito, have been with us a long time, said Snage, ‘and they know what to do and just do it.?
‘When they go out there, it’s like a band that can play a tune that’s real nice. They hum out there and really click. They play with each other and they play for each other.?
According to Snage, this year’s team is made of the best athlete he’s ever coached.