The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Fall Sports Preview Wednesday, August 16, 2017 E-5 The Pike Central High School girls' soccer team will begin its season by traveling to North Knox on Wednesday, Aug. 16, and to Washington Catholic on Tuesday, Aug. 22. The members of the team are, first row (l to r): Morgan Houchins, Emily Hill, Breana Cowan, Rebekah Luff and Libby Stone. Second row: Jenna Horrall, Autumn Pancake, Chloe Roy, Kenley Beck, Taylor Corn and Kelsey Barrett. Third row: Taylor Deffendoll, Jasmine Pozos, Adair Kabrick, Syd- ney Keith, Shelby Vaughn, Sophia Woodall and Head Coach James DeCrane. Andy Heuring photo GIRLS' SOCCER No annual fee. Annual percentage rate is accurate as of 8/14/17 and applies to new Home Equity accounts. The annual percentage rate in effect is 4.00% with loan-to-value of 80% or less and a credit score of 720 or above. If your credit score is lower than 720 and/or your loan-to-value is higher, your interest rate may be higher. Rate is variable and subject to change. 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Board-Certified in Orthodontics for children, adolescents and adults Appointments Monday-Thursday 812-254-4500 2116 State Street, Washington www.lanahelms.com Younger team ready to grow into their role in 2017 By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central High School girls' soc- cer team lost 10 seniors – Sydney Brooks, Amy Chastain, Michaela Greener, Nicole Griffith, Abby Hess, Alley Rich, Sarah Rothrock, Madison Scott, Sarah Sando- val and Brianna Schaller – from a squad that went 9 -6 last season while advancing to the sectional semifinals. "We did lose a lot of seniors," said the La- dy Chargers' first-year head coach James DeCrane, who was hired after his prede- cessor, Alisha Knight, resigned this past spring. The biggest shoes to fill were left behind by Scott, who scored a school-record 74 goals – and assisted on 11 others – during her high school career and was named to the Pocket Athletic Conference All-Con- ference Team all four years, and Brooks, who received honorable mention all-con- ference accolades as a goalie each of the past two seasons. However, when DeCrane – who previ- ously coached middle school and high school soccer in Oregon and Alaska and is in his second year teaching Spanish at Pike Central High School – took the coach- ing reins this past spring, he hardly found the cupboard left behind by Knight bare. "At the beginning of the year, I wasn't completely sure where everyone played or where we had our talent," said DeCrane, who served as an assistant coach for the Pike Central High School boys' and girls' cross country teams while overseeing the middle school programs. "Having spent the summer together, we have a pretty good idea of where we're going." "Yeah, we lost a lot of seniors," DeCrane added. "But there are some amazing ath- letes in each grade level." DeCrane said that the Lady Chargers will center around their three seniors – for- ward Taylor Deffendoll, midfielder Breana Cowan and defenseman Autumn Pancake – both on offense and on defense. Last season, Deffendoll was the team's second-leading scorer with 11 goals and two assists, while Cowan – who received all-conference honorable mention acco- lades – netted one goal and had seven as- sists. "I have three solid seniors this year; they're gong to be the captains," DeCrane said. "We've got Autumn at defense, you've got Breana as a midfielder and Taylor up front as a forward. They're pretty good and we're kind of looking to them for leader- ship." Also returning for the Lady Chargers are juniors Kelsey Barrett, Emily Hill, Syd- ney Keith, Rebekah Luff and Sophia Wood- all; and sophomores Jenna Horrall, Adair Kabrick, Chloe Roy and Shelby Vaughn. First-year team members are sopho- mores Morgan Houchins and Jasmine Po- zos; and freshmen Kenley Beck, Grace Brandle, Taylor Corn, Halli Fair and Lib- by Stone. "You can go through all of these classes and there's talent in all four classes," De- Crane said. "I think it's exciting we have a lot of talent in our sophomore class and a lot of potential even in the freshman class. It's a younger team, and one of the things I really want to make sure is that we're get- ting it done right, because if we do this right, we can continue to grow and be- come a much stronger team the next sev- eral years." Among the Lady Chargers who are ex- pected to join Deffendoll on the front line this season are Barrett – who scored three goals and had four assists last year and could also see action as a back-up goalie – and Roy – who scored one goal and had two assists last season – along with Hill and Houchins, who comes into the pro- gram having played club soccer while liv- ing in Germany. "Taylor and Kelsey are going to be a dominant force up front," DeCrane said. "There is a lot of talent there. They're go- ing to be really strong, and Taylor will be kind of leading along those lines." DeCrane said that other players who could see playing time up front include two freshmen, Brandle and Beck, while Corn, Kabrick, Stone and Vaughn will likely staff one of the midfield positions. DeCrane noted that Stone enters the season with no previous playing experi- ence. "She's never played soccer before, and she is really good," DeCrane said. "Libby's got a lot of athleticism and will work hard. Libby will probably be more of a defensive mid. I'd say Adair would be more up front. She's real assertive and will help win the ball. We want to win it in the center." Among those expected to join Pancake on the back line are Keith and Luff. "Rebekah will kind of center back on defense, and she's solid," DeCrane said. Horrall, meanwhile, will start at goal- keeper after serving as the team's sweep- er during her freshman season. "Jenna has big shoes, filling in for Syd- ney, but she's awesome in goal," DeCrane said. "I will say right now, compared to the varsity and junior varsity teams I coached in Oregon, Jenna is stronger than any of the goalies we had there. She's got some serious talent. She's going to be good in goal and, as a sophomore, that's amaz- ing, because we've got two or three more years of that." Several other freshmen will also be ex- pected to contribute, including Fair at back-up goalie, Brandle at wingback and Beck up front. "Like I said, yeah, we lost a lot of seniors, but, man oh man, we've got talent," De- Crane said. "I think that's the thing I would want to stress – there's talent in all four grades, and that's awesome." DeCrane said that, based on the number of talented players – as well as their versa- tility – the Lady Chargers will be playing varied formations. "We're looking at a bunch of differ- ent formations, really trying to get some adaptability and really trying to make some changes on the fly," DeCrane said. "But we're probably going to run heavy on the midfield, and I think that's where our strength's at. That's where you want to win it – in the center – and you want to have that speed, and it gives us that flexibility." "What we need to do, and really work on, is passing and possession, and then fin- ishing, and really working together as a team," DeCrane added. Thus far, DeCrane said that he has been encouraged by what he's seen from his team so far during the preseason. "One of the cool things that I've really seen is, just in practice since the begin- ning of June,I feel like I've seen some real- ly good improvement and, really and truly, that's ultimately my goal," DeCrane said. "I want to have a better season than we did last year, and I want to see improvement throughout the year." "I'm a teacher," DeCrane added. "I want to see improvement. If everyone improves and becomes a better player, and we grow as a team and we improve, hey, that's when I'm going to be the happiest." The Lady Chargers are scheduled to open the 2017 season at North Knox on Wednesday, Aug. 16, and will return home to host Washington Catholic on Tuesday, Aug. 22, at 7 p.m. "One of the cool things that I've really seen is, just in practice since the beginning of June,I feel like I've seen some really good improve- ment and, really and truly, that's ultimately my goal. I want to have a better season than we did last year, and I want to see improvement throughout the year." -Coach James DeCrane