Dogies Honored

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
Though the Dogie and Lady Dogie soccer teams ended their 2019 season without any hardware, several players on both teams received recognition for their talents when the postseason awards were announced.  
Lady Dogie head coach Bryce Hoffman was pleased to have seven of his players get the nod from 3A East Conference and 3A state coaches, and Dogie head coach Josh Peterson was equally happy to get recognition for five of his.
Senior Kassidee Jeppesen was named to the All-Conference and All-State teams, Claire Beastrom and Alaina Laurence received All-Conference honors, and there were four All-Conference Honorable Mention athletes in Lara Lopez, Hailey Wehri, Caitlyn Pehringer, and LaKacee Lipp.
Jeppesen is a four-year letter winner, and was All-Conference Honorable mention for the last two years. Though her career as a Dogie has come to an end, she will be taking it to the next level as she has signed to play soccer at Western Wyoming College in Rock Springs next year.
‘It was really cool to see Kassidee finally get recognition because she is player who has gotten better and better each year. She has been a solid piece of our defense for a really long time and as a coach, I can’t thank her enough for the sacrifices she’s made,” Hoffman nodded. “Being a defender is tough, and it’s kind of a thankless job, but I wish I could count the number of goals she’s saved. That’s not a stat we take, but I’m sure there were plenty.”
As sophomores, Beastrom and Laurence have brought a great deal of soccer ability to the team and have great promise to continue to do so in the future. According to Hoffman, Beastrom led the team in shots on goal and was second in scoring.
“Claire was pretty versatile in our attack this year and was always looking to find the net and get shots off. I think as she gets a little bit older, she’ll improve at shooting under pressure and putting it in more dangerous spots,” Hoffman predicted. “She’s got the ability to pretty much beat anyone down the sideline one-on-one, and as one coach described her, she’s a pest who is always able to get around her defender on the edge.”
Laurence was a “Jacki-of-all-Trades” as she played every position on the field over the course of the season, and led her team in assists.
“Alaina played everywhere from forward to goalie. She is a very versatile player who knows her role and the role of her teammates,” Hoffman stated. “She didn’t score a lot but she is very good at distributing the ball, and she gives the team a calm presence on the ball at the middle of the field. I was just really happy with her play and how she stepped up from last year to this.”
Though Lopez, Wehri, Pehringer and Lipp didn’t quite make the cut for the All-Conference team, their contributions to the success of the Lady Dogies was certainly recognized by Hoffman and the rest of the 3A coaches.
“All of these girls were positive parts of our season and contributing members of our team,” Hoffman smiled. “Caitlyn is a really dynamic player up top on the wing, who took a role change at the end of the season to defensive mid to try to shut down some of the opposing players we were looking to neutralize to put ourselves in a position to win.”
“Lara came along a lot at the end of the season in goal scoring and being a threat as a right side forward. She will score a lot of goals in the future as she keeps developing as a player,” he continued. “Hailey was an all conference winner last year, but she battled injuries most of the season. Her ability to be a smart player has allowed her to be very effective for us all through the season, so her soccer IQ really brought her game up a level when her body just wasn’t doing what she wanted it to do.”
“LaKacee, as an outside back stepped up as a freshman in her role, and she was solid and consistent,” Hoffman stated. “I think I subbed her out three times all season because whenever she was in the game, I trusted her to make the right decision with the ball. She’s a great one-on-one defender and really can take the ball away from forwards once she gets in front of them. She’ll be an exciting player for the future of our team.”
For the men, senior Aaron Fullerton made the All-Conference and All-State teams, Jacob Rhoades was All-Conference, and Jacob Suess, Kyle Haslam and Bradyn Frye each received Honorable Mention to the All-Conference team.
“Aaron was one of our center backs and leaders of the defense,” Peterson stated. “He was an all-conference player last year, and he did an excellent job of leading the defense. With his speed and instincts, he was one of the best defenders in the state.”
As a junior, Rhoades will be returning to the pitch next season which is good news for the Dogies’ offense as he scored six, and assisted three, of the team’s 14 total goals on the season.
“Jacob in one of the top goal scorers in the state and our best offensive play maker,” Peterson nodded. “As a junior, he was one of our leaders and captains on the field so it will be great to have him back for another year.”
As seniors, the Dogies will miss the talent that Suess and Haslam brought to the field, but are fortunate to be returning Frye to the goalkeeper position next year. Haslam scored five of the 14 goals on the season and Frye racked up an impressive 100 saves.
“Jacob is one of the best all-around players on the team and played all over the field. He really is one of the few players on our team that could play every field position,” Peterson began. “Kyle was the second leading goal scorer on the team who got better as the season went on and was a leader of the team. Bradyn finished second in the state in saves and blocked three of five penalty kicks over the course of the year. He did an excellent job playing behind the defense and prevented a lot of goals by being aggressive and coming out of the box and playing as a defender.”