Girls Soccer preview

(E-town's six returning starters are, top row from left, Courtney Peffley, Kristen Lowe, LJ Funck and Dani Faller. Bottom row, from left, Aimee Mathin and Katie Leverentz.

Head Coach: Alex Shubert, fifth season.

2007 Record: 15-4 overall, 13-2 league. Section Two champions. Lost to Manheim Township in first round of Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs. Beat Governor Mifflin in first round of District Three tournament and lost to Central Dauphin in second round of District Three tournament.

Key Returners: LJ Funck, senior, back; Dani Faller, junior, midfield; Katie Leverentz, junior, forward; Kristen Lowe, junior, back/midfield; Aimee Mathin, junior, back; Courtney Peffley, junior, midfield.
The Bears were hit hard by graduation, but still return a talented core from last year’s section champion team.
Defense will be a strength of the returning group, and will be anchored by Funck, a co-captain and first team L-L all-star last year. She is a strong, talented defender who also plays very smart. She’ll need to be the leader in the back, especially with E-town losing its goalie from last year to graduation.
Mathin and Lowe will also be there on defense. Mathin is quick and scrappy and saw extensive time last year at back. Lowe is the team’s other captain and can play both midfield and defense. Shubert said that Lowe and Funck are both “terrific players with great leadership skills.”
Faller and Peffley will be two of E-town’s best playmakers from midfield. Both have excellent ball control skills and can beat defenders on the dribble and set teammates up for scoring opportunities. Faller was a second team all-star last season and has cemented herself as one of the best midfielders in the section. The same can be said for Peffley, who played at a high level late in the season especially.
Leverentz is a speedy player and will be the Bears’ biggest scoring threat up top. She’ll use her quickness to make runs and dart around defenders and should rack up goals. She was a second team all-star a year ago and will draw lots of attention from opposing defenses.

Key Newcomers: Not yet determined.
E-town lost five very good starters to graduation, so Shubert will be relying on his group of underclassmen to step in and learn the varsity game in a hurry.
They’re a young group and lack the varsity seasoning right now, but they believe in Shubert’s philosophy and they’ve come up through the junior high and junior varsity program, so they know what is expected of them. They’re a talented group that will grow as the season progresses and will learn from E-town’s experienced returners.

Key Losses: Lauren Hernley, center midfield; Caitlin Markham, forward; Kyleigh Kauffman, goalie; Liz Bard, foward; Dani Long, back.
The Bears took a definite hit in graduation, losing five important players from every aspect on the field.
Hernley was named Section Two Most Valuable Player last year and was a four year L-L All-Star. Her departure leaves a big gap at center midfield for E-town, one that will be tough for just one player to fill.
Markham was one of the Bears’ best goal-scorers. She was a two-year L-L all-star and had a nose for the goal, using her great touch and smarts to score a lot.
Bard was another hard-nosed goal scorer for E-town. She was a captain who provided leadership and scoring as well.
Long was a starting defensive player last year and leaves a void on defense that will need to be filled by an underclassman.
Kauffman was an experienced goalie who gave E-town a steady presence in net. She posted 12 shutouts in 19 games last year. Her experience won’t be matched this year, but Shubert will need to find a young keeper who can step in and learn in a hurry.

What they do well: Play well together, defend.
The returning group is one that has been playing the game together for years and, as a result, team chemistry will be high. Players know each others’ strengths and weaknesses and will play to them in order to make the team better.
“They have played together for many years. They have a love of soccer and a desire to win that is infectious among the team,” Shubert said. “Now, as upperclassmen, they have the experience necessary to be a strong force on the field.”
E-town’s defense will also be strong, anchored by Funck, Mathin and Lowe. E-town lost a lot of experience at midfield and forward to graduation, so Shubert will need to rely on his strong returners to play smart, cohesive defense and keep getting the ball to players like Peffley and Faller, who can make a lot of things happen from midfield.
If the defense can keep some pressure off of E-town’s goalie, the Bears should have no problem scoring enough goals to win games.

What they need to work on: Scoring, playing like veterans.
E-town lost five players to graduation, which means Shubert is expecting nearly half of his starting lineup to consist of players without much varsity experience. In the early going, expect some mistakes from that group that will be corrected simply by playing more. But there is a little added pressure on the returning core to pick up the slack early in the season. They’ll have to take their games to another level until the inexperienced players are 100 percent comfortable if the Bears are going to repeat last season’s success.
Leverentz, Faller, Lowe and Peffley can all score goals and will probably lead the team in that department, but it will be interesting to see how they can overcome the loss of Hernley, Bard and Markham, three of E-town’s best offensive players last season. If they can keep the offense going in the beginning of the season and the Bears get off to a good start, they should be in the hunt for another league and district playoff spot.

Outlook:
Repeating last year’s 14-2 regular season could be a stretch for this team, but that doesn’t mean the Bears can’t have another successful campaign. They return more than half of last year’s starting lineup, and all of those players know what it’s going to take for the Bears to get back to the top of the Section Two mountain.
But Shubert said what will define the team and any success it may have this season is the overall attitude of the players.
“We will play a very ‘team-first’ style of play. We will always have 11 players on the field with the same goal,” he said. “Each player is willing to put the success of the team before her own personal success. This attitude is pervasive among our players and should guide us to a successful season.”
Based on the returning talent and how quickly they should be able to help guide the inexperienced players, E-town should reach double digit wins again this year. Expect 10 to 12 wins for the Bears and another trip to the L-L playoffs.