2017 Girls Soccer Preview: Fair Grove

fair-grove

By Denise Tucker

The Fair Grove Lady Eagles’ soccer team has some unfinished business to take care of.

After losing some impactful players from the 2015 season, the Lady Eagles were able to re-group and have their third straight winning season (15-6) in 2016. They also made it to the Class 1 District 6 finals, but came up short with a 2-1 loss to Crocker.

“We didn’t accomplish our goal of winning districts and trying to make a run in sectionals,” Fair Grove coach Joseph Florez said. “We lost some key players from that group, but overall, we’re returning almost our whole starting lineup. So, we definitely need to raise our expectations of ourselves going into this year.”

Fair Grove graduated three starters from the 2016 squad – Haileigh Houston (forward), Ciera Lenox (outside back) and Emilie Armstrong (center back). Armstrong is now playing and starting for Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kan.

But, the Lady Eagles appear to be in good shape, returning eight of 11 starters.

“Our goalkeeping was one of our biggest strengths last year and we expect that to continue into this season,” Florez said. “Our offense was very young overall last year, and we’ll have a ton of speed on the field. With another year of experience under their belt, I’m hoping that gives us some improved play there, as well.”

Autumn Wilson (senior) will be starting in goal for the third year. “She is just an awesome goalie who does a great job of keeping us in games,” Florez said, “and also leading our team, always in a positive way.”

Leah Wahlquist (senior) and Macy Lumley (senior) will anchor the midfield and backline. “Both are defensive-minded players, although, we hope to get a little more scoring out of Leah this year,” Florez said.

Maegan Holland (senior) led the team in scoring last season and has 29 career goals (second all-time) and 19 career assists (career leader) for Fair Grove. “We expect her to do so again from the forward position this year, although if her scoring suffers at all this year, it will be due to her ability to create for others,” Florez said.

While the starting lineup is pretty crowded, Florez sees sophomore Macey Stallings being a dangerous player for the Lady Eagles. Macey’s the younger sister of 2016 Fair Grove graduate and current College of the Ozarks volleyball player Haley Stallings.

“Last year, she was fast, but this year, we think she’s added even more skill to her game,” Florez said of Macey Stallings.

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Florez says he may tweak the lineup some in order to create more scoring opportunities, an area the Lady Eagles struggled last season.

“We’ll have about eight seniors on our roster,” Florez said. “And, while they all have experience, some will be asked to take on new roles and step into completely new positions to help the team.

“Our success will rely a lot on how quickly they embrace those new roles, and our upperclassmen’s willingness to sacrifice self for team.”

The Lady Eagles will have a chance to test the waters during their jamboree, which includes Hillcrest, Laquey and Branson, on March 10 at Hillcrest.

They open the season hosting the Fair Grove Shootout on March 17-18.

“We definitely have set our goal to win our district for the first time ever this year, and I think it’s a realistic goal,” Florez said. “We’ve made it to the district final the last two years, losing to Greenwood two years ago and Crocker last year.”

Fair Grove won’t see Crocker in district play this year, but could meet a talented Mountain View-Birch Tree Liberty squad.

“I think top to bottom our district is very good for Class 1,” Florez said. “So, we need to take each district opponent seriously and see where that can get us.”

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