John Cooper girls varsity soccer 2015-2016 preview

Athletes to watch:


Junior captain Isabel Sands will play a different role this year as we look to her to be one of our goal-scoring sources. Isabel is a talented player with great vision and understanding of the game. The work ethic that Isabel brings every day will translate to the game and I expect great things from her.

Sophomore Bella Camarata was unable to play last year due to an early ACL injury. Bella is a composed player who has the ability to read the game and find ways for our team to win. This year I expect big things from Bella; she is a great soccer talent and I am very excited to see what Bella will bring to the team.

Freshman Jessica Young is someone to keep your eye on–she is a skilled player who will add a different dimension to the team and give us the ability to be creative with our line-up. Although Jessica has big shoes to fill, I know she is capable of being a major threat this season.

Sophomore Mary Bannon will take a major step as the anchor for our defense. Mary is a smart defensive player who knows just the right time to play physical and when to stay composed and play the ball around the attacking player.

Senior captains Kathryn Dickerson and Natalie Sos will give this team the leadership and direction needed to put together a successful year. Both of these girls have earned the right to lead this team and they know what the expectations are for the team as a whole. Natalie played a vital role last year in our first win of the SPC tournament by scoring a game-winning goal. We will be expecting her to help out in the attack again this year. Kathryn will be the voice on our back line and lead our defense.

Key Match-ups:

The John Cooper School girls’ soccer program has had a lot of success the over the years. We lost five seniors last year, and this year we have a lot of new faces, so I have high hopes that our new players will step up and former players will continue old traditions with a new beginning. The goal every year is to be as competitive as possible. With the target we have on our back from previous years, the team will really have to step up and play tough each and every game.

As always Kinkaid (home, 1/29) and St. John’s (away, 2/2) are typically our toughest matches because the girls consider them rivals. We lost to St. John’s in the game of the season last year, so I know the girls are eager to settle the score. Important wins for us this season will be Saint Mary’s Hall (away, 1/15), St. Stephen’s (home, 1/8) and St. Andrew’s (home, 1/9)–these games will put us in a good place for seeding in the south zone, so we will need to step up and take care of business!

Season goals & challenges:

This year is truly a “rebuilding year” for the program. All the new faces we have this year will force me to reach into my bag of tricks and find the best line-up to fit our style of play. It is important to look at every player individually and find the roles that they can play to help the team as a whole. Like every year, I have girls that will be playing several different roles and I have faith in the team to fully embrace whatever role they step into.

As always, we will really need to take things one day at a time and focus on ways to make our team better and find true cohesion. It is my goal as a coach to break down each game we play and find what we did well as a team and build off of it and focus on how to make us better.

Staying healthy is always a challenge for any team. The strength and conditioning program at The John Cooper School will be vital to injury prevention. It is crucial to keep the team healthy, and it is always a hope that we can stay injury free. All I ask of this team is to put forth hard work and leave everything they have on the field. If we are able to play with confidence and put our best foot forward, we will be be very competitive and successful.

2014-15 Girls’ Varsity Soccer Accomplishments:

Season Record: 10-5-2

SPC Record: 4-2-0

SPC Tournament: 1-2

SPC Division: 7th Place