Lady Cougar Soccer Ready To Run

Lady Cougar Soccer Working Hard
By David Gravely
Pulaski County High School Lady Cougar Head Soccer Coach Eric Martin took over the reigns of the program last season, leading the Lady Cougars to their first wins in several years. This season he hopes to not only gain a few wins, but is looking to move Pulaski County into a more competitive frame of mind.

"2011 was a transition year for this program, but also a very successful one" said Coach Martin. "Although the numbers did not show it, we established the expectations for this program and we believe we have the girls who want to be here and who want to compete. As for this year we hope to get more wins for the program and also be more competitive in our district which is the most talented district in AA Girls Soccer. Our ultimate goal is to create an atmosphere of extreme competitiveness within each team and apply that to our games. We expect to be in every game this season until the final whistle."

This off season was a busy one for the Lady Cougars. While some play basketball or are a part of the cheer team, there were also many who took the time to get involved with other soccer related groups. "We had several players play club soccer for various clubs in the area" said Coach Martin. "We also took advantage of the new VHSL Out of Season Practice rule and used it as skill development training for the girls a couple days each week. Then from the end of November through the start of the season we conducted weight lifting and conditioning. We also had a portion of our girls play in an indoor soccer league this winter as well."

The Lady Cougars will have a strong core of senior leaders to work with this season. "We have five returning seniors with one senior who is new to the program. Lauren McPeake was an honorable mention last season in the River Ridge District and was our co-leading scorer. We expect a very big season from Chelsie Testerman, who had a very productive off-season. Chelsie may have a set position on paper, but she will be used pretty much everywhere on the field and is an excellent teammate. Casey Snider is also expected to have her best season yet. Casey brings a very positive energy to the team and she is beginning to show that in her level of play as well. Kelly Russell returns for her last season at PCHS and she too has improved. Tori Duncan will return as one of our goal-keepers, and we hope she can keep improving and end her career on a high note at PCHS. Haley Sutphin is our new senior this year, and while she is new to soccer she has a strong desire to learn and great athletic ability. She has the attitude our program needs and we hope that spreads to our younger players."

Four other returning starters will be joining those seniors to help provide direction to the program. "Ericka Nash is one of our returning starters who was second team All River Ridge district as a Freshman last season, but we have her in a different role this year. Last season Ericka anchored our back line and played fantastic. This season, we expect Ericka to continue that level of play in the midfield. We hope she can create goals for herself and for her teammates. Briana Blankenship returns to be the anchor in the back for us this season. Briana was an honorable mention for the River Ridge District last season as a Freshman she had a very productive off-season. Briana brings skill, speed, and attitude to our team, and we expect her continue improving and being a leader in the back. Kourtney Stuart returns for her junior season, and she brings a very intense level of play to our team which spreads throughout the entire group. We hope that continues, and Kourtney is learning more and more every day she trains. Lauren Dunford is returning for her sophomore season, and she brings that hard-nose attitude in our midfield and has been a very strong leader this off-season."

With some holes to fill in the lineup, Coach Martin has had his eyes open looking for players that want to seize the opportunity. "We had several players who have stepped it up during the off season who we expect to contribute to our program instantly. Riley Chitwood is a freshmen who has a high level of fitness and her skills are getting better at a very fast pace. Ciara Sarver is a returning sophomore who we expect to contribute in our midfield. Ciara is a great teammate and we expect her play at a higher level and more consistent this season. Other players who are expected to contribute to our team this season are Alisha Romain, Kristiana Simpkins, Breanna Lowles, and Caitlin Lovell. Alisha will be one our goal keepers and is one of the best athletes in the district. Kristina is a freshmen who is a very intelligent soccer player. We hope to get her injuries sorted out so she can show everyone what she can do. Breanna and Caitlin are both sophomores who we expect to contribute to our program in various spots. Both have a lot of potential and are great teammates."

For the past few years, the Lady Cougars have been plagued with injuries and other issues that have kept them from being competitive. This year, the hope is that all of that is in the past. "We earned a little respect from our opponents last season, and now we want to show them we can compete and be in any game we step into. Our motto this season is "All In." We want our players to completely buy into what we are teaching them put everything they have into what hopes to be PCHS Girls Soccer's best season yet. We hope anyone that watches this group play will see a team that will finish every game and can see a team who will compete for the entire 80 minutes."

The future is looking brighter for the Lady Cougars, as this season has found a large group of eighth graders from both of our counties middle schools involved throughout the off season in hopes of earning a spot on the junior varsity team. As of this time, there are eleven eighth graders on the JV team (Kaitlin Edwards, Michelle Hernandez, Mariah Hinton, Alexis Hurst, Erin McPeake, Morgan Midkiff, Ashleigh Powers, Morgan Ratcliff, Maria Ruvios, Mackenzie Sadler, and Madison Surber), who will be led by four freshmen (A’me Baber, Madison Jones, Casey Reese, and Jamie Vasquez), and three sophomores (Judy Cid, Tabitha Cressell, and Autumn Miller).

The Lady Cougars will travel to William Bryd for a preseason jamboree on Saturday, and have other scrimmages scheduled as they prepare for regular season action. The official opening game will be a home game on March 13 against the Galax Maroon Tide. Junior varsity action is set to begin at 4:30, with the varsity contest set to begin at 7 pm.