The only way to match the thrill of winning a state championship is to turn in a repeat performance.
That type of result will no doubt be on the minds of the Indianola Academy Lady Colonels soccer team Friday when they begin their 2020 season on their own field.
Serving as the Lady Colonels’ opening game competition in this 3 p.m. contest will be the Bayou Academy Lady Colts from Cleveland.
This contest will then be followed by a road trip next Tuesday to Manchester Academy in Yazoo City.
Beginning at 5 p.m., this game will once again pit the two teams which battled in last season’s state semi-final epic contest; a one point IA victory which featured 30 minutes of overtime play and a pair of best-of-five shootout sessions.
As for this season’s squad, there are 15 players returning from last year’s 14-1-1 title-claiming campaign; a memorable season which was completed with a 1-0 Division III championship game victory over Laurel Christian School.
According to Head Coach Alex Deason, “All of those 15 played important roles last year in winning the state championship.”
“Every match last year you could pick apart both sides, including ours, that if you make a few changes and got a little luck then the score line might be a little different”, the second year coach continued.
“In self-reflection I can say that we do have a talented program going forward and have every opportunity to win along with the other side.”
As for the concerns of his 2020 team, Coach Deason noted “One of the biggest hurdles that we face is changing our style of play since everyone has seen where we are most dangerous. This will cause some of our players to come out of their comfort zone and learn a new position or skill. We will also be training a new goalkeeper as well as creating some unity and creativity with offensive minded players in order to create more chances to score goals.”
As for the projected strength of this 2020 team, “Our strength will still be our back line on defense. The back line has some veterans and a lot of skill and vision that will reinforce the defensive side of the ball.”
Last season’s championship squad’s defensive efforts were impressive. The efforts resulted in seven shutouts while also never allowing more than one goal in any match’s 80 minutes of regulation play.
Among the players who make it happen on the field, the Lady Colonels will have a trio of 2019 All-Division selections and seven seniors gracing the field this season.
This group of seniors include outside midfielder Hannah Aycock, All-Division center defensive back Mary Grace Beckham, outside midfielder Madisyn Henry, outside and center defensive back Lily Putnam, outside defensive back Jordan Stricklen, outside defensive back/outside midfielder Mattie Beth Williamson, and All-Division forward Temple Williamson.
The junior class will be led by All-Division pick Emma Kate MacLeod. Possessing a strong kicking leg, the center midfielder led IA’s scoring last season with eight goals.
Also representing the junior class is outside midfielder/forward Lydia Williamson.
Tenth graders on this year’s squad include goalkeeper/center midfield/forward Hannah Lloyd, center midfield/forward Leighton Lovelace, outside and center defensive back Carly Moore, and center midfield/outside midfield/forward Anna Gresham Veazey.
Rounding out the experienced returnees is ninth grader forward/center midfielder Fran Veazey and eighth grader Lilli Dawson at the outside midfielder and forward positions.
