Prep previews: Eagle Valley girls soccer kicks off 2024 campaign against Steamboat Springs
Eagle Valley opens the season against Steamboat Springs on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Rex Keep/Courtesy photo
New names. New opportunities.
That’s where the Eagle Valley girls soccer team sits in advance of Thursday’s season opener. Coming off a 5-8-2 season, the Devils host Steamboat Springs at 6 p.m.
“Our squad has a lot of new faces,” said head coach Jess Platt, who enters her third season at the helm. “We graduated some strong athletes that made an impact for us last year. I’m looking at it as a great opportunity that is making space for a lot of great new talent.”
Eagle Valley said goodbye to goalie Jaquelyn Castellon as well as second-leading goal-scorer, Sophie Webster. Gone also are midfielders Gabby Monroe and Reagan McAdams as well as forward Heidi Reyes. The Devils will lean on the veteran presence of Kassie Carpenter and Daisy Becerra.
“They are taking on the challenge of uniting the new team and bringing positive energy and tough competition to training,” Platt said of her two captains. “They are already the difference for our team in the preseason and I expect them to be just as impactful on game days.”
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Junior Addison Mandeville will provide a scoring punch after leading the team in goals (9) last year and Chloe Greener will anchor the team’s defense.
Palisade returns as the defending 4A Western Slope league champions after a 7-1-2 season. Battle Mountain, which split its two matches with Eagle Valley last year, finished as the runner-up and a relatively young Steamboat Springs squad was third. The Devils will face Palisade in back-to-back games April 4 and 9 before hosting the Huskies for the first time on April 13.
“(We are) looking forward to another competitive season in the Western Slope,” Platt stated. “We are lucky in this league to have well-coached teams, solid rivalries, and great talent.”
