Lady Dogies will have 10 seniors on team this year

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
It’s been a year since the Lady Dogies have been on the soccer field together after losing their 2020 season to quarantine, however, the team is back and, according to head coach Cami Willyard, are looking good for 2021.
“It’s been a great first week, although a bit challenging with so many activities still going on,” Willyard exclaimed. “Between basketball, FFA and Driver’s Ed, we’ve had different numbers every day, but what I’m seeing so far is awesome.”
There are 26 young ladies suiting up this year, so Willyard and assistant coach Ashley Reed have good numbers to work with and enough to field a junior varsity and varsity squad. In addition, Willyard is returning several veteran players despite losing out on last season.
“We have 10 seniors, seven of whom started for Bryce [Hoffman] as sophomores,” she nodded. “These girls have played a lot of soccer between the high school, club and indoor, so they bring a lot of soccer knowledge and experience to the team.”
The seven senior former starters include Claire and Emily Beastrom, Alaina Laurence and Alaina Steveson, Caitlyn Pehringer, Hailey Wehri and Lara Lopez. Becca Henkle, Peyton Crinklaw and Sammi Simmons are three other seniors who will be playing for the Lady Dogies.
“The seniors are a good group and they are bringing it every practice,” Willyard nodded. “Our goal is to be number one in the conference with Buffalo being our biggest challenge.”
Also returning as former starters/players from two years ago are juniors Angel Perez and LaKacee Lipp.
According to Willyard, early season personnel are shaping up to include these nine, plus minutes from sophomore Gabby McVay up front, junior Shawnee Miles and sophomore MacKenzie Conzelman.
With the first week of practice in the books, and given last Friday was the first day she had all 26 girls to work with, Willyard emphasized that there is nothing set in stone at this time regarding starters, and that it will take a little more time working with her full squad to get a more comprehensive look at what each player brings to the game.
She did feel pretty confident however, in naming this year’s goal keeper. Two years ago Laurence and Perez alternated in this essential position and as the season progressed, Perez began to get more minutes in the net. 
“Angel will be our keeper this year,” Willyard declared. “She has really solidified her spot through hard work in the off season, which is great because that frees up Alaina to play on the field.”
Willyard noted that at this time she is planning to run a 4-4-2 formation with four defenders, four midfielders, and two up top, and that defensively she is going to try some new options in order to establish a balance between experience and speed in the back field.
“I’m just really excited for the season,” she exclaimed. “We’ve had a great first week. The girls are pushing each other, the energy is high, it’s been competitive and the girls are just really positive.” 
Newcastle competes in the 3A East conference against Rawlins, Torrington, Douglas, Riverton and Buffalo. Unlike other team sports, there are no play-in games nor is there a regional tournament to determine which teams advance to the state tournament. Rather, the four teams with the best records in the conference will punch their tickets while the bottom two teams from each side stay home. 
“We have a lot of girls who have played a lot of soccer in their lifetime, and I don’t think Newcastle has had a crew with this much experience and ability as a whole,” Willyard smiled. “We have a solid 11 so it’s exciting, and I think we look good to be among those top four teams in the East.”
The Lady Dogies kick off their season this Friday, March 19, in Scottsbluff, Neb., with contests beginning at 4 p.m. 
“They will give us a good indicator of where we are and where we need to be,” Willyard determined. “It’s nice to start the season with a challenging non-conference game, after which we will have a solid eight days of practice before we start our conference run.”