By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Looking at the Nixa Lady Eagles’ record from last season, it would appear that they had a down year by Nixa Soccer standards.
But considering they had to replace 10 starters from the previous season, coach Evan Palmer calls his team’s 12-10 overall finish in 2022 a success.
The Lady Eagles scored only about half the goals they did in 2021, but the defense stepped up and allowed just six more goals than the team did that same season.
“We play a very tough schedule, so having a winning record and taking second in the Central Ozark Conference (8-1) was a big accomplishment for the team,” said Palmer, who started both Nixa programs and is just eight wins shy of 700 for his career. “We lost a tough game to Ozark (1-0), which gave them the COC championship.
“Our program hasn’t had double-digit losses since 2008, but our strength of schedule is much tougher now than even four years ago.”
Nixa returns two seniors, three juniors and two sophomores from a team that scored 31 goals and gave up just two during conference play.
• Alexa Gaunt, senior midfielder – Scored 10 goals with 1 assist; started all 22 games; earned Class 4 second-team all-state, all-region, and first-team Class 4 District 5 and all-conference honors. “Alexa was our leading scorer playing in the central midfield,” Palmer said. “She has excellent ball skills and vision. We will need her to have another great scoring year for us to be successful.”
• Lydia deWild, senior defender – Named all-state honorable mention, all-region, first-team all-district and Co-Defensive Player of the Year, and first-team all-conference; started all 22 games and scored 2 goals with 6 assists; signed to play at Drury University. “Lydia was our center back last year. She stepped up into a leadership role and that has continued this offseason, and she is a smart, talented defender.”
• Lydia Olson, senior midfielder – Scored 2 goals with 1 assist; started 8 games, played in 10. “Lydia got injured early and missed half the season. She was able to come back and give us great minutes when she wasn’t 100 percent. A tough and strong center mid, we will need her to play big in the middle of the field for us.”
• Isabella Johnson, junior forward/midfielder – 1 goal, 7 assists; started 11 games, played in 16. “Isbella was off to a great start last year, then got injured. She came back but wasn’t close to 100 percent. But she is tough and played great for us and led the team in assists.”
• Alayna Christiansen, junior midfielder/defender – 1 goal, 2 assists; played in 20 games. “Alayna gave us great minutes off the bench. She is strong and fast and can play multiple positions.”
• Lily Dorio, junior defender – 1 start in 20 games. “Lily did a great job coming off the bench to give us quality minutes on the backline. She is looking good this offseason.”
• Bailey Snyder, sophomore defender – 2 goals, 1 assist; earned first-team all-district and all-conference honors; started 21 games. “It seems like Bailey is everywhere on the field. She is a great mover and the team feeds off her energy.”
• Brooke Teter, sophomore forward – 8 goals, 3 assists; named honorable mention all-district and all-conference; 21 starts. “Brooke is a competitor; she fights for everything. She is also a big part of our Lady Eagles basketball team. Her eight goals as a freshman is one of the best tallies we have had in our history. We will need more scoring from her this year.”
The Lady Eagles had several roster spots to fill last season and will again this year, including the goalkeeper position.
“We have had good numbers in our offseason workouts and the girls have been working hard and are very excited for the spring season,” Palmer said. “Losing eight seniors and a few others means there are a lot of spots up for grabs this year.
“We will again have a lot of new players who will have to step up to be starters that were role players last year or they are freshmen. It is exciting to think of the possibilities that I have and it will be fun to figure out where each player will fit into the puzzle.”
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• Allyson Pendergraft, junior goalkeeper. “Finding a goalkeeper is a huge priority and Allyson has looked good this offseason,” Palmer said. “She is tough and will sacrifice her body to make the save.”
• Avery Bishop, sophomore defender. “Avery was injured last year and couldn’t play her freshman season. She is an excellent defender who will give us great minutes on the backline this year.”
• Shaelee Franch, freshman forward. “Shaelee is a strong player. She is solid around the goal and will create scoring opportunities for us this spring.”
• Sam McClain, freshman midfielder. “Sam is playing basketball now but will be an impact player for us this year. She will see time in the central midfield.”
• London Kirk, freshman forward. “London has great speed and will be tough to defend on the flanks.”
• Lily Kirk, freshman forward. “Lily is a great athlete. Her touch and field sense are excellent as well.”
• Jade Johnson, freshman forward. “Jade has excellent speed. She has great field awareness, which will help her get open and get to the goal.”
• Mackinzie Harris, freshman defender. “Mackinzie moved in from Tulsa over the summer and has made an immediate impact. She is a strong, smart defender.”
• Riley Butler, freshman midfielder/forward. “Riley is a very savvy player with the ball. She is a great link between our defenders and forwards.”
• Bria Smith, freshman defender. “Bria is an excellent defender and very tough to beat. She has excellent speed and is good in the air.”
• Layla Ward, freshman defender. “Layla works hard on the backline. She is an intelligent player who plays to her strengths.”
• Anahi Lozano, freshman midfielder. “Anahi is a hard worker in the central midfield. She has great vision and makes smart passes.”
“The girls have had a great attitude so far this year, I think our main strength is our enthusiasm for this season and the bright eyes of our freshmen,” Palmer said. “They are so excited to play high school soccer.”
But the Lady Eagles are faced with the loss of another large class to graduation, which includes:
• Madison Snelson, goalkeeper – 113 saves, 26 goals against, 1.18 GAA, 9.5 shutouts; started all 22 games; first-team all-district; second-team all-conference; playing at Evangel University.
• Kailey Tate, defender – Academic All-State; second-team all-district; all-conference honorable mention; started and played in 21 games; playing at Evangel University.
• Reagan Neal, midfielder – Scored 6 goals with 6 assists; started and played in 20 games; first-team all-district; second-team all-conference.
• Kadance Bossaller, midfielder – Started and played in 20 games.
• Kasey Alvarez, forward – Scored 4 goals with 2 assists; started 16 of 19 games played.
• Gracie Brown, forward – 2 goals, 1 assist; started 2 of 20 games.
• Madison Ellingsworth, forward – Played in 8 games, but was injured, ending her season.
• Emma Hartley, midfielder – Started 1 game, played in 1 game. Also was injured and couldn’t play her senior year but started on Senior Night.
The Lady Eagles will participate in a jamboree at Kickapoo with Glendale on March 9 before opening the regular season at Springfield Catholic on March 21.
“We are young and inexperienced, not just inexperienced like last year,” Palmer said. “We have great numbers this year. Last year, we could only play a half for our JV games, so it will be nice to play full JV games this spring.
“We will have growing pains early but by the end of the year, we will be very competitive. We will rely on a lot of freshmen which will be our biggest class of freshmen on varsity in our history – half of our varsity players are freshmen. Our goals never change. We are focused on our conference, then districts and hopefully, a deep postseason run.”
