Spring Preview: Virginia Girls Bay Rivers District

<strong>4A Smithfield Packers</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Came up a win short of returning to the state tournament after falling to Menchville in the region final. Put together a strong season that ended with a 9-2-2 record. Even with losing seven seniors to graduation, coach Nathan Jones brings back a strong core of eight starters. All-Tidewater selections center midfielder Katie Lutz (10 G) and center back [player_tooltip player_id="27731" first="Emma" last="Forbes"] (4 G) will again anchor the center of the pitch for the Packers. Center back Deanna Cena, right back Riley Goetz, and center defensive midfielder Natale Jones look to keep in clear in front of keepers Sydney Shwarz and Evynne Strader. Forward Kaitlynn Worrell (7 G) will lead the attack. With a few key additions, Coach Jones has high expectations heading into the season and looks to contend once again. With discipline, strong leadership, hard work, and focus, their ultimate goal is to compete for a State Championship. <strong>4A Jamestown Eagles</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Failed to qualify for the state tournament for the first time in recent memory.  Ended the year at 7-2-2 with their two losses both coming to rival Smithfield. A March 16 trip to Virginia Beach to face Class 5 state champion First Colonial highlights the Eagles schedule. <strong>4A Warhill Lions</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Finished with a winning record for the first time since 2016 at 7-3-1. Made the regional tournament for the third straight season but bowed out in the quarterfinals to Great Bridge. With nine seniors on the roster this year, fifth-year coach Lydia Scrofani will look to guide the Lions into postseason play with a senior-laden roster mixed with some youth. Key returners include seniors center mid Liliana Osuna (Christopher Newport University) and center back Olivia Holt, junior keeper Taylor Doody, and sophomores Sarah Kuttkuhn and Alex Scott. Non-District games this year include Douglas Freeman, Woodside, Nansemond River, and Menchville. If the Lions make it to postseason play again, they will be tested and ready. <strong>4A Grafton Clippers</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Suffered through their first losing season since 2016 as they ended up 1-8-1. A tough non-district schedule includes matches against Great Bridge, Hanover, Menchville, and Nansemond River. <strong>3A York Falcons</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Lost in the region final to Lafayette (after beating them during the regular season) to end the season 9-2-1. Coach Amanda Atwell brings back a stacked squad with a total of seven all-region selections. From the back: keeper Ashley Hunt (9 clean sheets) with defenders Naiya Holt and Kendall Abercrombie in front of her. An outstanding midfield that includes Audrey Atwell (7 G), Jenny Calderon (4 G), and Savannah Payne (4 G) will push the attack forward and finally forward Grace Cox (3 G). Atwell has put together a tough schedule, "Because games against great teams will help us become better players and a more competitive team." Their team goal for this season is simple, "We want to get better every time we take the pitch and hopefully that will provide us the opportunity to be back in the VHSL state tournament." <strong>3A Lafayette Rams</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> After starting the season 3-4-0, the Rams put together a strong finish that culminated in a Region 3A championship. Their run came to an end in the state semifinals with a loss to Independence and ended up 8-5-0. Coach Kellie Ernst has all the pieces in place to make a run at back-to-back state appearances. Key returning starters include senior midfielder/forward [player_tooltip player_id="29453" first="Brooke" last="Potter"] (28 G, Region 3A Player of the Year, Wake Forest commit) who is a powerful and incredibly intelligent player. Senior forward Sydney King (8 G, first-team all-region, Lenior-Rhyne commit) missed half of last season and has all the attributes of a speedy and strong forward who can find the back of the net. Senior center back Reagan Hunt (First-team all-region, Goucher College commit) is a great leader and organizer in the back who switched to playing defender just last season. Rounding out first-team all-region players is senior midfielder/defender Emma Moyer, who has a strong work ethic, is a versatile and coachable player who can fit into any system of play. Additional starters are junior midfielder/forward Samantha Lynch (second-team all-region) who is a great distributor, junior defender Jasmin Piggott (second-team all-region) is a composed back who works well with Reagan Hunt organizing in the back. Also, on defense is senior outside back Meggie Rogers who uses her speed to join the attack from the outside. Junior midfielder/forward Posey Troy rounds out the upperclassmen and possesses a great first touch and the ability to beat defenders on the outside. The Rams also have a bevy of young talent in sophomore keeper Eva Fields who played as a freshman and has great keeper instincts and size, sophomore midfielder/forward Lexi King is another attacker who can beat players wide and find open space when not in possession. Newcomers to watch are freshman midfielder/defender Taylor Walker and defender Kira Moore who are both elite club players who should find plenty of minutes for Ernst. "We are looking forward to another great season," Ernst said. "We have 17 returning players from our team last year and many are impactful starters for us, and with the addition of our younger players, we are looking to continue to build on last year’s success." Games against Gloucester, Menchville, and Warwick all in March will have the Rams ready for Bay Rivers opponents. <strong>3A Tabb Tigers</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Won a region quarterfinal match before losing a heartbreaking 1-0 game to York in the semifinals. Finished 6-5-1 on the year in which three losses were by a single goal. With only three key losses from last year's squad, Coach Bobby Hodges expects to challenge for the Region 3A title. With two teams from each region qualifying for the state tournament again this year, the Tigers will be looking for a return to states like 2019. Three returning defenders, Claire Ross, Sam Stanley (all-region), and Emma Nickol (all-region) should provide the Tigers with a stout defense in front of keeper Vanessa Ross. The midfield will be anchored by Aubrey Case (all-region) and Janie Qing. Forwards Natalie Brauckmann, Nora Heely, and Taylor Kaminer will provide leadership and experience in their attacking roles. <strong>2A Poquoson Islanders</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Started the year 1-6-0 before reeling off three straight wins to qualify for the Region 2A tournament. They played their best soccer of the year during three dominant postseason wins in which they outscored their opponents 21-1 and were crowned Region 2A Champions. Their third straight trip to the state tournament ended in the state semifinals with a loss to Clarke County. Early season non-district match-ups with Class 5 Maury and Granby should provide tough tests for the Islanders but should prove beneficial later in the year. With only two key losses from last year's squad (Emma Forrest and Steffanie Hutchison), coach Jeff Imgrund has a large returning cast with experience in travel and other sports at a high level and noted. "We have field hockey (including college commits), state-level track runners, basketball, and year-round soccer players," he said. "After a state semifinal loss to Clarke County in the 2A state tournament, we are eager to get back to the state tournament," Imgrund said. "With the loss of two seniors who were big contributors, we still have a core of upper classman returners. We have a lot of big-game experience between the last few years in the playoffs and other girls winning a state title in field hockey, so we hope it can translate over this spring and help us gain momentum throughout the season and punch a ticket to states. Early on, we are focused on getting multi-sport athletes back in the swing of things and conditioned for soccer and mesh as a team. We are excited for the season and have a full squad ready to go." <strong>2A Bruton Panthers</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Finished 0-10-0. James Flynn takes over as coach of Bruton after coaching at Walsingham Academy (boys and girls). He still is in evaluation mode and learning about his players, but likes what he sees so far. One of the goals for this season is to create a solid foundation for the program. His team is young but shows a lot of promise and potential. <strong>3A New Kent Trojans</strong> <strong>2021 Recap:</strong> Ended the season 2-8-0 and did not qualify for postseason play.