Last year was a 'what could have been' type year for Towanda girls soccer. They went 6-12 overall but had our losses by one goal, and one two loss contest.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how these girls have grown year to year," said coach Josh Maye. "The older girls are now taking on a leadership role. Our younger girls are now back into their second year, and we've got a good freshman class coming in, so I'm very excited for the season."

They say good-bye to five outgoing seniors who made impacts all over the field.

"We lost a lot of good players from last year," Maye said. "I think everybody's going to take a big step forward. Our sophomore class got a lot of experience last year as our freshmen with all our injuries, so I expect them to really kind of step up along with our seniors. We have a big sophomore and a big senior class this year, so I expect them to step up in those roles with our juniors pitching in, too."

One of those seniors is Mya Maynard. She was thrown for a loop last year when a hand injury forced from the goal-line out into the field, and now she's not sure where she'll end up.

"It was tough because I love goalie, but I played up front my entire life before the last couple of years," she explained. "It was a little bit of an adjustment, but it wasn't horrible."

Kendal Cook came in last year, and showed she could hold down the line, giving the Knights some flexibility going into this season.

It'll help that they bring back three-fourths of their defensive line from a year ago with Kiera Robinson, Hannah Kapichok, and Ily Benjamin.

"It'll be changed a little bit, but I think we'll be deeper on the defensive line this year," said Maye. "I think that we'll keep them fresher. I think we'll have some ability to sub in and out on defense a bit more, and that'll keep them all fresher throughout the whole game, and we'll be able to finish games better."

"It's a little bit sad because I used to be quicker for the front, but it will be good," Kapichok said about moving back full time. "I like all the girls on the team so it doesn't matter."

Offensively they're hoping to use their speed to create a few more scoring opportunities. As a freshman Ellie Cook showed off a strong leg, and she'll be looked at to add to that this year.

"I think we've got some girls that can definitely pick up some of our goals that we're going to be losing from some of our seniors last year," Maye said. "Speed up top, and I think we're going to play aggressively."

The two big things they've been working on early this year have been conditioning and team play.

"We're working to unite as a team," said Kapichok. "This is the first time we've had some actual girls coming in, and I feel like if we all learn how to work together it'll be good."

They've been emphasizing more touches on the ball, passing, and getting up the sides of the field in order to create more opportunities, as they integrate the new starters.

"It's tough but they're learning quickly," said Maynard. "They're catching up with us."

Going forward they would like to turn some of those close losses into wins and get into districts.

"Districts is obviously a team goal," said Maye. "We're going to discus that as we go through the preseason here, but we want to get better every day at practice. That's what we're focusing on, getting at least one percent better every single day we come here. Maybe we do that, that stuff will take care of itself."

ROSTER

Kiera Robinson (12)

Mya Maynard (12)

Lylah Bride (12)

Brook DeLeRee (12)

Hannah Kapichok (12)

Mellony Tuttle (12)

Ily Benjamin (11)

Dawn Petty (11)

Maci Alexander (10)

Taylor Acquilio (10)

Ellie Cook (10)

Kendal Cook (10)

Secret Salsman (10)

Chloe McNamara (10)

Laney Maye (10)

Rhyann Kithcart (9)

Lily Bartholomew (9)

SCHEDULE

Sep. 2 at NPM, 4 p.m.

Sep. 5 at Wellsboro, 4 p.m.

Sep. 9 vs Troy, 6 p.m.

Sep. 12 vs Athens, 6 p.m.

Sep. 14 vs NEB, 6 p.m.

Sep. 16 at Williamson, 4 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Shamokin, 1:30 p.m.

Sep. 22 vs Wyalusing, 6 p.m.

Sep. 24 vs NPM, 6 p.m.

Sep. 29 vs Wellsboro, 6 p.m.

Oct. 1 at Troy, 4 p.m.

Oct. 6 at Athens, 4 p.m.

Oct. 8 at NEB, 4 p.m.

Oct. 13 vs Williamson, 6 p.m.

Oct. 15 at Wyalusing, 4 p.m.