St. Charles West High School
Team Name: Warriors
2010 Record: 13-9 (second place GAC North)
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Head Coach: Andrew Reynolds
Key Positions: Goalkeeper: To be determined after injury to Dani Kamm. Defenders: Sydney Frauen, junior anchor of defense at sweeper and Taylor Staggemeier, senior leader and wingback. Scorers: Senior Emily Svoboda (14 goals in 2010) and junior Aleesa Mays (22 goals in 2010) are keys to team's success.
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Expectations: Reynolds said he doesn't feel like the team is rebuilding at all. "We're young, but we have some great players at key positions," he said. "We want to win 17 or 18 games, and hope to make a run at state."
Key Games: Duchesne and St. Charles High are the biggest rivals, as well as Fort Zumwalt East. St. Dominic is a team they are striving to compete with.
Fort Zumwalt East: 6:15 p.m. April 14 (away)
Duchesne: 6 p.m. April 26 (home)
St. Dominic: 6 p.m. May 2 (away)
St. Charles: 6 p.m. May 9 (home)
Overview:
The Warriors are heading into this season with a new set of coaches and a revitalized outlook on the season. Andrew Reynolds, 2005 graduate, has taken over the head coaching job and has a new assistant coach and head JV coach in Rachel Schmidt.
Reynolds takes over after two years as the assistant coach for Fort Zumwalt East, and his confidence and enthusiasm is sure to be contagious for a team that is poised for a big season.
Reynolds is confident with his midfield and defense, seeing both as very solid units with leadership coming from center midfielder Brandi Van Booven and sweeper Taylor Staggemeier. They'll need to be, as goalkeeper and first team all-district Dani Kamm, blew out her ACL in the first practice and will miss the season. Without a backup in place, the team will have to scramble to find a replacement.
The team's greatest strength will be up front, where Reynolds is hoping his two forwards can provide the firepower to make goalkeeping an afterthought.
"My philosophy in the 4-4-2 set-up is to allow for our forwards Aleesa Mays and Emily Svoboda to get the ball in space and find chances at the net," he said. "They scored 36 goals between them last year, and I'm hoping they can almost double that if the team buys into the system."
First game: Fort Zumwalt East/Fort Zumwalt South Tourney March 21-25