Howell North could be team to beat next year in GAC South
Knights led by four first-team selections
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| Ryan Prewitt photo This year?s first team members of the all-GAC South girls soccer team (from left) Kneeling: Nicole Williams (Troy), Christine Hubbman (Troy), Nikki Hoss (Fort Zumwalt West), Rachel King (Fort Zumwalt West) and Kayla Thomas (Fort Zumwalt West); Standing: Emily Lock (Francis Howell), Amy Beger (Francis Howell), Bridget Moriarty (Francis Howell North), Morgan Boudreau (Francis Howell North), Katie Gallagher (Francis Howell North) and Marisa Rapp (Francis Howell North). |
Howell North, coming off its first losing season since 1988, shook off an 8-12-3 campaign from last year to finish 19-5 in 2008. In addition to advancing to the Class 2 quarterfinal round, the Knights tied Zumwalt West for a share of the conference title, both with 5-1 marks.
"I give a lot of credit to the mature, veteran defense we had," said Howell North coach Dan Hogan, who captured his 300th career win with the Knights in a 2-1 win over Duchesne on April 7. "It was hard to get past our defensive midfield, then you run into our marking backs, then you've got to get past Katie Gallagher in goal. That's why we only gave up 12 goals all year. It gives the offense time to keep working away until sooner or later you start putting goals in the net."Howell North's season came to an end with a shoot-out loss to Hazelwood Central at the A-B Center in Fenton. Zumwalt West made an appearance at the A-B Center for the third straight year, but the Jaguars fell 3-1 to soccer powerhouse Nerinx Hall in the sectional round.
Though Howell had a promising young team, the Vikings also ran into a historically strong soccer program in Lafayette in their district title game and lost 1-0. And while Troy had the top offensive player in the conference, the Trojanettes lost to Fort Zumwalt North in the semifinal round of their district tournament.
Though there was no supreme soccer glory this year for any of the aforementioned teams, they were all well-represented on the all-GAC South first team.
Forward: Rachel King, senior, Fort Zumwalt West
After Alyssa Mautz graduated from the Jaguars' 2007 state championship team, King became the focus of opposing defenses. But that failed to slow her down. She finished her senior season with 20 goals and five assists. The Louisiana Tech recruit ended her career with some of her best soccer with a pair of goals against Zumwalt North in the district championship game and another in a 3-1 loss to Nerinx Hall in a Class 2 sectional.
"She wasn't real vocal, like a cheerleader type. She was like 'Follow me.' You saw it at the sectional game. You saw it at halftime in her face, the girls knew Rachel was going to make something happen," said Jaguars coach Jack Baldwin. "I haven't seen anyone as good as her one on one, breaking a defender down, going to the goal.
She can get by anybody, the ball just stays on her foot, and invariably she'll nutmeg somebody (dribble the ball between a defender's legs). She'll look to do that too. It's kind of her game within the game."
Forward: Nicole Williams, senior, Troy
All teams that played the Trojanettes were aware of Williams' whereabouts. This season she led the GAC South in goals (24) and points (56) as she repeated on the all-conference first team. She owns the school's single-season records in goals (24) and assists (14) and owns the school's career assists record with 44. Her 71 career goals are second on Troy's all-time list. She will attend Drury on a soccer scholarship.
"Statistics aside Nicole is the most tenacious athlete I have ever coached," said Troy coach Phil Brock. "She is a relentless player who strives to perform her very best no matter what the results of the game may be. She is dedicated, and has dedicated her life to this sport. Nicole demands the respect of her opponents where the majority of the time she is double marked because of her offensive abilities and tireless efforts. Without a doubt Nicole leaves everything she has on the field. She is a special player that has elevated her team and teammates to a higher level of play because of her soccer skills and leadership abilities."
Midfielder: Morgan Boudreau, junior, Howell North
Boudreau was her team's leading scorer with nine goals, five of which were game-winners, and she logged a team-high 22 points. One of her most notable contributions of the year came in the sectional round against Lindbergh. Her goal in the second half stood up in the 1-0 win and the Knights advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1994.
"With better players around her she was able to be our leading goal-scorer," Hogan said. "She's been our true offensive center-mid for the last three years in our program and I'm sure she'll continue to mature and have a nice senior year."
Midfielder: Bridget Moriarty, senior, Howell North
After an injury-plagued junior year, Moriarty bounced back in 2008 and filled the role of a defensive-minded midfielder that helped make the Knights so difficult to score on. But by no means did her defensive mentality make her a one-dimensional player. Dubbed by her coach as a head-ball specialist, she had a knack for connecting with timely goals.
"Bridget had a fine senior season and did a great job for us as a marking defensive midfielder and got in the attack," Hogan said. "She had a number of key goals for us including a big one against Parkway North during a district game. We were buzzing around the goal mouth the whole game and was a matter of time. She took advantage and put it in the net."
Midfielder: Emily Lock, sophomore, Howell
After winning the GAC South outright last season, Howell encountered a rough patch of games at mid-season before getting hot down the stretch in 2008. A 1-0 loss against then-undefeated Lafayette put the Vikings' season at an abrupt end. Lock, one of the conference's top young players, is making her second-consecutive appearance on the all-GAC South first team. Though she managed just one goal and three assists this year, she played a vital role in helping the Vikings snap a five-game losing streak and turn their season around. At mid-season she was moved from her natural position on the wing and excelled at the center-midfield position, adding some much-needed stability to a slumping team.
"Just a very versatile player with great speed, great conditioning and I can pretty much put her out there and she can go the entire game," Howell coach Janet Muehling said. "She gives us a lot of ways we can move her around and make her most essential for the team.
"She didn't score a lot of goals but was really important in that midfield with what she brings with speed, attacking, winning the ball and going into the offensive area."
Midfielder: Nikki Hoss, senior, Fort Zumwalt West
Hoss, a University of Central Missouri recruit, was one of the Jaguars' vocal leaders and was a team captain along with King and junior Kayla Thomas. Opponents her overlooked her because of her small stature (about 5 feet, 1 inches) normally paid for it. Hoss tallied 6 goals and 6 assists as a senior.
"She was under the radar not only because of her size but also people don't expect too much from her," Baldwin said. "And then all of the sudden defenders are like, 'Oh my God' and she's by them."
Defender: Amy Geger, senior, Howell
Another Viking garnering first-team accolades for the second straight year, Beger was a constant scoring threat out of the backfield and connected with five goals as a senior. A natural goal-scorer, she was moved to defense out of necessity after an injury-ridden sophomore year.
"She's just one of those special players you hate to see go," Muehling said. "She had three great years for us. She isn't a defender normally but her junior and senior years she had to play defense because we lost a lot of defenders to graduation. She's a special player that has ball skills and smarts and it's hard to replace those players."
Defender: Marisa Rapp, senior, Howell North
A four-year varsity player, Rapp is also making her second appearance on the all-conference first team as a pure defender after battling injury last season. As a team captain, she complemented a pair of marking backs as a sweeper during her final three years of high school. She was a first-team defender as a sophomore.
"She knew when to attack and when to contain," Hogan said. "We had a great defense and they all did a good job but when you have Marisa backing it up, she cleans up and takes care of it. Having her critique observations in the game was very valuable as a senior captain."
Defender: Kayla Thomas, junior, Fort Zumwalt West
Zumwalt West faced its share of talented goal-scorers this season, and they often found the going tough versus Thomas, the Jaguars' stopper. She managed to keep the likes of Zumwalt North's Kelly Muesenfechter (24 goals this season) and Incarnate Word's Blake Miller (23) scoreless. Nerinx Hall's Julie King (19) scored only when the Jaguars made a change and Thomas wasn't marking her.
In fact, Baldwin said he talked to one college coach who was disappointed that Thomas looked so strong against King. The coach was sure he was going to have a lot of competition in recruiting her after she played so well.
"She popped out in that (sectional) game," Baldwin said. "She's a player to watch for next year. She's intelligent, she's quick, she's a great leader, a great young lady, can't say enough about her. Always has a smile on her face, happy to play the game."
Defender: Christine Hubbman, senior, Troy
Of the 15 wins Troy earned this season, 13 came by shutout and the team's four-year starter at sweeper certainly had a lot to do with that. The year before Hubbman joined the Trojanettes, the team allowed 2.5 goals per game. That number dropped each year until it reached a low of 1.04 this season. Hubbman will attend Hannibal LaGrange College on a soccer scholarship.
"Christine is our team's version of Cal Ripken," said coach Phil Brock. "She played in every game since her freshmen year for a total of 92 consecutive games. During these 92 games Christine rarely, if ever, came off the field. I have coached both boys and girls and I believe that she is one of the toughest players to ever play for me. From day one I had complete confidence in Christine. She has exceptionally quick feet and an extraordinary ability to read the game and judge angles."
Goalkeeper: Katie Gallagher, senior, Howell North
Gallagher was the backbone of the stingiest defense in the conference. She compiled a 15-5 record, recorded 12 shutouts and allowed just 12 goals to slip by all year.
"Last year was an eye-opener for her to see how intense and complex things are at the varsity level," Hogan said. "She struggled a little bit (as a junior) but didn't make those little mistakes that would cost us this year. She worked hard at doing the drills and translating that on the field. If people got through past our marking backs and Marisa, Katie was there to take care of things."
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