The Lady Govs soccer team finished its regular season with a 6-6-1 record, and with the Dogwood tournament getting canned because of last week’s wet weather, Coach Jenna Churchman and her troops are waiting to find out who they will face in the regional playoffs.
“The district tournament was always going to have no bearing on regional seeding, but there are several teams still trying to get in regular season games,” Churchman said last week. “The last I checked, we were seeded 4th in the region and will host the 5th seed team today. However, Bath County is currently the 5th seed and is still playing games, thus the seeds may change.”
Churchman noted positives of the recent bad weather.
“On the plus side, there is less of a chance for injury prior to regional play. However, not playing in a game for over two weeks makes it difficult to keep the girls motivated and in game shape,” said Churchman. “They work harder knowing there is a game coming soon, so between the weather and not having a game until next Thursday it is difficult to keep up the intensity at the end of the season. What may hurt us is the lack of organization in the way the whole season and post season is divided up.”
Churchman also added her concerns on the district policy.
“In the Dogwood district, we had to make sure that all of our regular season games were completed by the start of the supposed tournament, which resulted in us having to cancel our game against Parry McCluer and make up a game with Chatham,” said Churchman. “Other districts who have schools in the same region as us are currently still playing regular season games. Had we been able to play Parry McCluer and were able to come away with a win, it may have put us in a more favorable spot on the regional tournament bracket. I truly hope all of the confusion of this season is fixed for the teams next season.”
Churchman said this year’s record does not reflect all her team was about on the playing field.
“I am proud of the accomplishments that we have made this season thus far. Our record may not look impressive to some, but I try to keep reminding the girls that three of our losses came to schools that were one or two class sizes larger than we are,” she said. “I am glad that we played difficult teams during the regular season as opposed to padding our schedule with likely wins. It will hopefully help us in the postseason when we face a higher level of competition. I have seen great improvement out of the girls and I admire how they have come together as a team. It is such a good feeling when the girls can face struggles on the field yet it never divides them as a team. I will say that this season has had more than its share of injuries between concussions, knee injuries, and ankle injuries. We have had some closer than I would have liked games partly due to not having all of our players healthy.”
Churchman breaks down some of her top players:
» Summer Scruggs, leading scorer with a total of 10 goals: “She is a freshman with great speed. I feel that with a little more experience, Summer will develop into a great forward. She has already improved greatly on coming back for the ball, being patient with her shots, and positioning herself correctly.”
» Mackenzie Ladd, second top scorer with 9 goals. “Mackenzie was injured during the middle of the season and didn’t play in three of the games. She has a phenomenal outside shot that she can get off in an instant. Teams don’t even see the shot coming, it is so quick.”
» Grace Clair and Kate Strong, who each have five goals and share the third top scorer spot. “Kate missed a large portion of the season due to a knee injury so scoring five goals is impressive. She, like Mackenzie, is not afraid to take the outside shots. Grace is an invaluable player, as she controls my defensive line, yet when I put her in the midfield, her composure leads to some great offensive drives as shown by her five goals.”
» Elizabeth Sites, goalie: “Elizabeth is by far the most improved player on the team. She has really stepped it up in the goalie position. Coach [Rachael] Brown has worked closely in every practice with her on coming out for the ball, positioning, and her punts. To see her play now versus how she played in the first few games is like watching a totally different player. One of my favorite memories of this season so far is when Elizabeth came out and made a sliding save to stop a breakaway. The fans in the stands gave her a standing ovation and the smile on Elizabeth’s face was infectious. It was a great moment when all of a player’s hard work pays off in a big way.”
» Grace Clair, the team’s assist leader with four. “She is an impact player, wherever I put her on the field. She has great field vision and knows where to play a ball to set her teammates up in the perfect position. Summer is second in terms of team assists with three. She has been great in the latter part of the season about checking back to the ball and playing the ball into a position for her teammates to score as opposed to her constantly relying on her speed.”
» Quajaiha Wallace and Kate Strong each have two assists. “Qua has stepped it up this season and has learned to play the outside mid position nicely. She has had some beautiful crosses at critical times to help put us ahead. Kate has great control of the ball in the midfield and is able to move the ball around to create new scoring opportunities.”