By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Willard Lady Tigers made great strides in the win column in 2022 and will work to continue that trend this season.
The Lady Tigers improved to 15-7 after finishing 10-15 in 2021. The only difference is Willard won a district title in 2021 but fell in the semifinals to Carl Junction last season.
“Last season was very enjoyable,” said coach Jamie Waddell, who enters his third year at the helm. “Even though we didn’t win our district, we still had a ton of success. The ladies were not pleased with how the season ended and have been working harder this offseason to make sure that we can achieve our goal of a district title. We finished last season 15-7, which is the best record in five years, and we would like to extend that record even further this season.”
Willard returns almost everyone from last season’s squad. A few of those key pieces include:
• Charale Cowan, senior midfielder. Earned Class 3 District 6 first-team and Central Ozark Conference second-team honors; has signed to play at Evangel University. “Charale has a ton of soccer experience,” Waddell said. “She has great leadership skills and a very good vision of the field. She will be looked to be the team leader in all aspects of the game both on and off the field.”
• Kenadie Limb, sophomore defender. Scored 5 goals last season; named honorable mention all-district. “Kenadie is very strong and skilled in the back. She has the ability to read the game and make the best decision. She is a very physical and aggressive player and does a great job of being a vocal leader. She has a very good touch on the ball and a good ability to finish.”
• Katelyn Magee, sophomore forward. Scored 25 goals and was an all-district first-team and second-team all-conference selection. “Katelyn has great speed on and off the ball. She sees the field well and makes good decisions with the ball. She finds a way to put herself in a position to finish. She works extremely hard and wants to do whatever it takes to help us win.”
• Karli Wheeler, junior goalkeeper. Earned all-district honorable mention honors. “Karli allowed the fewest goals in a season in Willard history. Karli is an athlete, she has good reaction time and understands the game and positioning quite well. She is a great teammate, who is liked by everyone.”
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“Our biggest strength this season is the experience,” Waddell said. “We return almost everyone, and hopefully, that experience will carry over into the season.”
One key loss from last year’s team is Madison Mills, who went on to play college golf.
“She was a very vocal leader and a hard-nosed player,” Waddell said of Mills. “She understood her role and knew exactly what she had to do to help the team win.”
Willard is not participating in a jamboree this spring. The Lady Tigers will open the regular season at McDonald County on March 30.
“The biggest thing that I like about this season is that they are a good group of young ladies who are a joy to be around,” Waddell said. “They like to win and that shows in their work ethic in practice. They have been working extremely hard this offseason. They understand that last year, losing in districts, is not what they want to repeat this season.”
