By Mike Maltais
The Liberty Bell High School varsity girls’ soccer team has some big shoes to fill this year in the wake of last season’s academic champion and fourth-place state team.
The girls took to the practice pitch Monday (Aug. 26) minus some key performers that coaches Mike Wilson and Erik Olson hope to partially offset with encouraging numbers of young players.
The Lady Lions lost senior team co-captains Johnnie Duguay, Jacqueline O’Keefe and Sage Abate and goalkeeper Kaya Archambault to graduation. Other key players from last year’s team who will not be returning this season include Elise Putnam, Aden Jones, Eliza Brown and Tara Dod.
New to the non-league roster of teams the Lady Lions will face this year is one of the four that qualified for the state playoffs last year, Bear Creek. The Grizzlies from Redmond, eventual winners of the 2012 soccer 2B crown, were impressed enough with the character and play of the Lady Lions at state that they requested a spot on Liberty Bell’s regular season schedule this year. The defending state champs will meet the Lady Lions at LBHS at noon on Sept. 14.
Liberty Bell will open its season at the Okanogan Jamboree on Saturday (Sept. 7) at the Central Valley Sports Complex. The Lady Lions will not meet their first league opponent until Oct. 1 when they host the Oroville Hornets.
Earlier this week Wilson announced his team roster heading into this week’s competition.
Seniors: Estrella Corrigan, Tulie Budiselich, Hannah Hafsos, Dawn Smith, Kathleen Chavey-Reynaud. Junior: Tabitha Bergevin-Krumme. Sophomores: Ella Hall, Sylvie LeDuc, McKenna Barnes. Freshmen: Lauren Fitzmaurice, Danielle Mott, Cassidy Butler, Mia Kennedy. Eighth grade: Haley Post, Anna Post, Mckenzie Woodword, Hannah Weymuller, Stella Hunter-Gunnip, Lauren Ochoa, Corrine Dietz.
LBHS girls’ varsity soccer schedule
Sat Sept 7 @ Okanogan Jamboree 10am (Central Valley Sports Complex)
Tue Sept 10 Okanogan 5pm
Thu Sept 12 Tonasket 5pm
Sat Sept 14 Bear Creek 12pm
Thu Sept 19 Omak 5pm
Thu Sept 26 @ Brewster 5pm (Brewster Soccer Pitch)
Sat Sept 28 Warden 1pm
*Tue Oct 1 Oroville 5pm
Tue Oct 8 @ Okanogan 4:30pm
*Thu Oct 10 Bridgeport 5pm
Sat Oct 12 @ Connell 3pm (Lions Field Moses Lake)
*Tue Oct 15 Entiat 7pm
*Thu Oct 17 Manson 5pm
*Tue Oct 22 @ Oroville 4pm
*Thu Oct 24 @ Bridgeport 4pm
*Tue Oct 29 @ Manson 4pm
*Thu Oct 31 Entiat 6pm
(*league games)
Coach: Mike Wilson
Assistant coach: Erik Olson
