The 2020 girls soccer season was a big one for Columbus North. The Bull Dogs went 18-2-1 and won Conference Indiana, sectional and regional titles, reaching the state’s final four in Class 3A.
Here is a look at the Bull Dogs and other area teams, including Columbus East, heading into the 2021 season:
Columbus North
The Bull Dogs have high hopes for another long tournament run with several key players returning from last season’s outfit.
“It’s been a long summer,” North coach David Young said. “We have some things to work on certainly, and we’re working on them right now,” Young said. “The first couple of weeks will determine where were at. Overall, we feel pretty comfortable with the players and their maturity and the play that we’ve seen this summer. We’re looking forward to getting into (games) on Monday.”
Back to lead the Bull Dogs is All-State senior and two-time The Republic Girls Soccer Player of the Year Jenna Lang. The Michigan recruit scored a school-record 44 goals and had 11 assists last season, mostly from an attacking midfield position.
“With some of the personnel that we have this year, I think we can move her around a little bit more, which will be nice,” Young said.
Junior Lauren Barker (12 goals, seven assists) and senior Claire Lyvers (two goals, seven assists) return at forward and will be joined there by senior K.J. Ely (seven goals, five assists), who played mostly at outside back last season.
North lost All-State midfielder Lauryn Whitley to graduation, but received a big boost last month when senior Ball State recruit Emily Ellis moved in from Hamilton Southeastern. She will be joined in the center midfield by senior Rion Stevens, with sophomore Anna Donica also seeing action there.
All-State senior Nitya Chenanda returns at center back and will be joined by junior Riley Schumm, who moves from outside back. Sophomore Charlotte Loheide and senior Annagial Fields or Sarah Fulp will be at outside back All-State junior Mallory Gilley returns in goal.
A trio of freshmen — Amelia Corney, Rachel Merritt and Greta Schuetz — could see varsity action.
“We have a few seniors that graduated last year, so we’re trying to move some pieces around just to fill those gaps,” Young said. “We feel really confident right now, but we have not played a match together with our full 11 lineup yet.”
Columbus East
The Olympians will be experienced with 12 letterwinners returning from a team that went 10-7, including 6-1 to finish second in the Hoosier Hills Conference.
“We had a very good summer, a lot of good training sessions,” East coach Ilya Schwartzman said. “We had a very successful game schedule, so I’m very pleased with how we progressed.”
Junior midfielder-forward Sydney Berkemeier, who netted eight goals and eight assists, is the leading returning scorer. Senior Kathleen Soedel also returns at outside midfield and forward, along with senior Gabi Schuetz, who played outside midfield last year, but will be at center back or forward this season.
Junior Norah Dwenger, who missed most of last season with an injury, will be at outside back or outside midfield. Junior Alexis Spurgeon returns at center back, and junior Allison Craig is back at outside back. Junior Anna Liimatta returns in goal, and will be joined by freshman Kate Stiles.
Sophomore Nadia Harris was a part-time starter at center midfield and forward. Sophomores Kylie Hatcher and Ruth Federle, who saw action last season, will be in the center midfield.
Junior Maggie Mathews, who also saw plenty of action last season, will play outside midfield, and senior Grace Wiltsey could play outside midfield or forward. Junior Heidi Murphy moves from goalkeeper to defender and midfield, while junior Cami Warren will play outside midfield and junior Hallie Randle could see action on defense.
“This is a very solid group, an experienced group and a very skilled and talented group,” Schwartzman said. “We’ll need to improve and score by committee. But I think we’re capable, and we have a lot of people that are going to step up and we should be pretty solid defensively.”
Jennings County
The Panthers have a new coach in Angie (Herr) Keith, a former player at Jennings and the head coach at Decatur Central the past four years.
Keith takes over a team that went 5-8 last season.
“We’re coming along really well,” Keith said. “We had several scrimmages over the summer, and we ended up on a pretty good run. They’ve improved night-and-day difference from the beginning of June to now. I think it’s going to be a really good season. It’s a really good group.”
Senior Lexi Kelley and junior Abby McDonald likely will start at forward. Seniors Morgan Lane and Grace Kirchner return at center midfield, and senior Zoe Ison and freshman Madelyn McIntosh could be the outside midfielders.
Junior Bree Gaylen and senior Lilly Burchell likely will start at center back, with junior Lily Schildknecht and senior Delany Burkman at outside back. Sophomore Cheyeanna Leslie and freshman Alayna Phillips are battling in goal.
“Depending on who we play, a lot of those positions could move around,” Keith said. “It’s just a matter of putting their talent to use in the right positions. I like to pride myself into playing to our strengths the best we can.”
Brown County
The Eagles will look to get back on the winning track after going 0-13 last season. Alyssa Quackenbush, who was the head coach before stepping back to be an assistant last season, is back in the head coaching role.
“We are going back to the basics for a lot of it,” Quackenbush said. “We’re working on the knowledge of the game and getting used to each other. I truly believe basics make us better.”
After having only 11 players last year, the Eagles have 18 this season.
“We’ve just gained a lot of girls coming back that had played the year prior that chose to do remote learning last year,” Quackenbush said. “That’s helped us tremendously with our numbers.”
Junior Alli Majors returns at forward, where she will be joined by senior newcomer Christy Sebastian. Junior Tori Klaker and senior Darla Weis are back in the center midfield. Sophomore Anna Tipton and senior Declyn Wilkerson will be at outside midfield, with freshman Sophie Mathis providing depth.
Senior Olivia Mathis and freshman Ella Jackson will be the center backs, with junior Xyleigh Thompson and junior Sarah Callahan, who moves from goalkeeper, at outside back. Senior Kaitlyn Waltz moves from outside midfield to the goal.
“We’ve really gained a lot of speed this year,” Quackenbush said. “I just feel like we’re a lot stronger. We have girls with good aggression.”
Trinity Lutheran
The Cougars bring back three big scorers from last year’s 8-8 team in senior forwards Kailene Cockerham (17 goals) and Sarah Lemming (five goals and six assists) and junior center midfielder Emma Myers (nine goals).
Seniors Mya Lindroth and Riley Lawles will be in the center midfield, and freshmen Layla Jones and Abigail Whitmore step in at outside midfield. Sophomore Paige Davidson returns at stopper.
Junior Kathryn Whitmore and sophomore Kaydence Miller will be at center back, with junior newcomer Kennedy Royalty and freshman Emalee Gross at outside back. Junior Samantha Enzinger takes over in goal.
“Practice is going well,” Trinity coach Thom Hayes said. “I think as long as our defense holds strong, we’ll be OK. We have a lot of girls that are inexperienced, but I’m hoping we’ll pick it up before sectional.”
