Easton girls are looking to build momentum
By Jon Gulliver
Special to the Star-Herald
The Easton Lady Bears soccer team entered the 2011 season with some momentum. Last year Easton won its final five games, but even with a 9-5 record it wasn’t quite enough to sneak into the playoffs in Class D.
Fourth-year coach Rachel Tomlinson returns 10 players from last year’s squad, plus another who missed last year due to an injury. There are also 12 new players to integrate into the system.
“We have some talented young players (freshmen) and ones that improved over the summer,” said Tomlinson. “We will be a much quicker team this year, so we hope to use that to our advantage.”
Tomlinson says her starting lineup will be a game-by-game decision, but there are some players who will be counted on heavily. Sophomore Haley Ambrose takes over the goalie position full time after sharing the position last year. On defense will be senior Sarah Plourde, juniors Mindy Desmond and Kennedy Young and freshman Kylee Carter. Sophomores Cassandra Buck and Stephanie Hammond and seniors Meghan Frank and Danielle Dudley will serve as midfielders. Heading up the front line offense is senior Ariana Babineau, who scored 12 goals last year, and junior Carla Halvorson, who found the back of the net 25 times last season.
Rounding out the squad are seniors Abigail Poole, currently out with an injury, Mikaela Hathaway and Samantha Buck and freshmen Alexandra Allen, Kristen West, Madison Leach, Hannah Ferris, Kelsey Frank, Nichole Dudley, Kerrigan Arnett and Caitlyn Monroe.
Class D is once again strong this year but Tomlinson is optimistic.
“I have nothing but high expectations for this group of talented young ladies,” she said. “I am hoping we will take some teams by surprise with our speed and skill this year. These girls have been working hard in the offseason, with 10 players attending week-long soccer camps.”
Easton plays the majority of its games before harvest, which means three games a week. Playing that many games in a short period of time means the team has to gel quickly.
“Teamwork and communication will be a couple of the keys for the squad this season to be successful,” said Tomlinson.
