It took a lot of hard work for Xavier Prep’s soccer team to claim the Division I state championship last season.
And it will
take just as much, if not more, of an effort to repeat in 2021-22.
Coach Barb
Chura and the Gators think they are up to the task again, with many holdovers
from a team that finished 10-2-1 in a pandemic-shortened season, won the sixth
title under Chura and 11th in the school’s history. Chura was named
Coach of the Year by azcentral.com.
By the time
the regular season begins on Nov. 30 with a contest against Glendale Mountain
Ridge at Petznick Field, the Gators likely will have had less than 10 practices to
fine-tune their skills from last season and the club circuit.
“I think
this team is going to be good, really good, with some very good young
players,’’ said Chura, who will be the sole voice on the sideline this year
after the retirement of popular assistant Rafael Rios.
The team
will be loaded with 10 juniors, have four seniors and several underclassmen,
including a handful of quality freshmen. There also are two transfers.
Among the
key returnees are senior defender/midfielder Ansley Burns, senior midfielder
Hennessy Perez, senior defender Jayme Brown, junior forward Eva Allen, junior
midfielder Bella Leonard and sophomore defender Talia Coury.
Leonard put
her name in the video history books with a goal that sailed close to 40 yards
as time expired in overtime to defeat Gilbert Perry 1-0 in the semifinal last
season. The play was viewed over and over across the nation as part of ESPN’s
Top 10 Plays of the Day.
Soccer is
not a game for those who are out of shape, and Burns carries the cardio banner.
She moved over to soccer after helping Xavier to a recent eighth-place finish
in the Division I state cross-country meet.
While the
team’s top two scorers, Allen and Leonard, return from last season, defense
remains a key element.
And Brown is
here to make sure the job gets done.
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Senior Jayme Brown is one of Xavier Prep's top defenders (Photo by Don Ketchum). |
“You can’t win without the defense,’’ she said. “If you’re going to score, you have to try to make sure the other team doesn’t score.’’
Brown and
the other seniors will be counted on to provide leadership, something that
Chura is sold on.
“I’m leaving
it (talking about the carry-over from last season) up to the older girls,’’
Chura said. “They have the experience and have to have the mentality to pass
along what certain things mean. They usually do a good job of it.’’
Brown, whose
younger sister, Ally, is a freshman midfielder this season, has played closer
to the outside of midfield on occasion, but has settled into the defender’s
role.
“Those spots
are similar in some ways,’’ she said. “But wherever you are, you have to make
sure that you communicate with your teammates.’’
One of the
biggest keys will be finding a player to step in at goalkeeper after the
graduation of Jaden Campbell, who recorded several shutouts last season and was
a candidate for azcentral’s Player of
the Year.
Xavier will
have four games before the Christmas holidays, then the schedule will pick up.
Eight games will be played in the New Year. Chura is looking forward to all of it.
“There are
about six programs that are top-notch, and we’re going to be one of them,’’ she
said.
2021-22 XAVIER PREP VARSITY SOCCER
ROSTER & SCHEDULE
Head coach – Barb Chura.
Players
Kate
Willmering, So., GK; Sarah Castlen, Jr., GK; Ansley Burns, Sr., D; Lucy Brink,
So., MF; Lourdes Lauterborn, So., MF; Collins Entz, Jr., MF/F; Madison Schenk,
So., MF; Tatum Kramer, Jr., F; Keila Lopez, Sr., F; Charlotte Sredzinski, Fr.,
D/F.
Bella
Leonard, Jr., MF; Julianne Veloria, Jr., D; Savannah Angell, Jr., MF; Tessa
Montanile, Jr., D; Larkin Thomason, Jr., F; Hennessy Perez, Sr., MF; Bailey
Wolcott, Jr., D; Eva Allen Jr., F; Michal Cagungun, Fr., F; Lainey Swanson,
Fr., F/D; Talia Coury, So., D; Ally Brown, Fr., MF; Jayme Brown, Sr., D/MF.
Schedule
(Games at 6 p.m. unless otherwise
indicated).
Times, locations subject to change.
Nov. 30 –
Glendale Mountain Ridge.
Dec. 3 -- @
Scottsdale Chaparral.
Dec. 7 –
Phoenix North.
Dec. 10 --
Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor.
Jan. 10 -- @
Phoenix Desert Vista.
Jan. 11 – @
Phoenix Pinnacle.
Jan. 13 –
Phoenix Mountain Pointe.
Jan. 18 -- @
Phoenix South Mountain.
Jan. 25 –
Gilbert Perry.
Jan. 28 –
Chandler Basha.
Jan. 31 – @
Chandler High.
Feb. 7 – @
Chandler Hamilton.
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