With a new coach on the sidelines and a roster stocked with returning talent, the Montezuma-Cortez High School girls soccer team is prepared to kick off what it hopes will be a successful season.
Coaching the Lady Panthers this year will be former Colorado State University-Pueblo defender Sean Fitzgerald, who played for the Thunderbirds from 2007-2011.
Fitzgerald coached the M-CHS boys coach the past two seasons and served as an assistant coach for the girls team last year. Former M-CHS standout Gina Sturdevant, who graduated in 2005, will serve as an assistant this season.
“I’m going to start emphasizing defense just like I did with the boys’ team,” Fitzgerald said. “We have to score too though and Gina being a more attack oriented coach will be good.”
Hoping to anchor this year’s team will be junior midfielder Gabriella Wolf and sophomore midfielder Cassidy Leonard, who together, provide the Lady Panthers with speed, vision and scoring touch.
“(Leonard) is going to be kind of the key in that midfield and we need Wolf’s size, speed and her ability to play the game,” said Fitzgerald.
“I just have to distribute the ball,” said Wolf, who played forward the past two seasons. “It’s going to take me a little while to get used to the midfield because I haven’t played there in two years, but I think I can get back in the swing of it.”
Seniors Emma Youngquist and Miceal Munroe-Allsup and junior Kyla Tarr will look to stabilize M-CHS’s back line, while juniors Elizabeth Loschert and Stevee Brenner will both see time as goalkeepers.
“(Loshert and Brenner) are both looking really great and fighting for a starting spot,” said Fitzgerald. “It’s nice to have two goalies.”
Junior Weslie Kirks and senior Abby Truelsen will both see time at the forward position, as will numerous other players who are still fighting for spots.
“We have some older girls up top who have been there before and we’re still trying to sort what’s going to happen with our forwards,” said Fitzgerald.
As for the Lady Panthers goals this season, players agreed that the team would like to improve not only its record, but develop a sense of unity amongst teammates.
“We need to stick together as a team,” said Leonard. “We kind of fell apart last year, so we have to get stronger as a hole.”
M-CHS will play its first game of the season at home against Pagosa Springs on March 7. The Lady Panthers first league game will be on the road against Grand Junction on March 13 and the team will play Durango on April 9 and April 28.
“A reasonable goal would be to have a winning season,” said Fitzgerald. “Considering we haven’t made playoffs, I don’t know if that is a reasonable goal, but we’ll see.”