Cassville girls soccer team keeping chemistry strong
A pride point for the Cassville girls soccer team is the chemistry between members, built over five years of positive reinforcement and allowing the team to reload with multiple starters and a full team of letter-winners returning.
Jake Forste, Cassville soccer coach, said the Lady Wildcats, coming off a 9-14 season last year, hope to play to their strengths this season.
“This is our fifth year as a girls soccer program,” he said. “Something we’ve had from the beginning is exceptional team chemistry centered upon positive reinforcement. If one of our girls makes a good play at practice, there are cheers and hugs to go around. Positivity and a growth-focused environment make our time together feel special for everyone and it is an absolute joy to be a part of.”
Harnessing that chemistry will be key if Cassville wants to reach its first goal, going above .500.
“These ladies want to get back to a winning record,” Forste said. “We came close last year with 9 nine wins, and feel we let a few games slip away. Missed opportunities on set pieces and penalty kicks were the difference between a winning and losing season. I expect we will see a lot of growth from start to finish, and we will be highly competitive with each and every game.”
Leading the charge will be the Lady Wildcats’ five returning starters, junior Audrey Gosvener, junior Emma Berndt, senior Dulce Rivera, junior Emerson Grossman and junior Scotlyn Richardson.
“‘Dre’ [or Audrey] has improved steadily and has turned into our target player up top,” Forste said. “She returns 7 goals and 3 assists. She hopes to shatter our team record for goals in a season (12). I am excited to see what she does with another year of growth and offseason improvement. Emma registered 4 goals and 6 assists last season. She is a versatile, talented attacking player who spent most of her time as an attacking midfielder last season. She can create with the pass or the shot. She has the makings of a 20-point player, with double digits in both goals and assists.
“Dulce is a vocal leader for us and has spent most of her three previous seasons at center back/center mid. She can fill a number of different roles for us and will be key to overall team success no matter where she slots in. Emerson is a returning two-year starter. She’s a 6’0 goalkeeper who is a great shot stopper. She has some crazy hops as a volleyball hitter. She has developed into an all-conference candidate for us and has improved fundamentally in both of her seasons. Scottie is another returning two-year starter on the defensive side (center back). She is a player we want to see take the jump from role player to vocal leader. She continues to improve and will be an all-conference contender this season, as well.”
Combining with Gosvener in attach will be senior Annie Moore and sophomore Gracen Hilburn.
“Annie was a first-year player last year who registered 3 goals and 1 assist,” Forste said. “She is fast and strong [as a former wrestling state champ who took third this year]. We’re looking forward to seeing what Annie does in her encore season. Gracen came off the bench for us last year. She in her soccer development and has the makings of a strong winger for us in ‘23.”
Berndt and Rivera will be the key cogs in the midfield, joined by juniors Dakotah Anderson and Suzi Perez, part-time starters as freshmen who were not with the team in 2022.
“Getting Dakotah and Suzi for us really enhances our depth in the midfield,” Forste said. ”Suzi captained our offseason club team and has honed her leadership skills in a big way. Dakotah is a state qualifier for cross country who has a very high motor and a great head for the game. We also have a most-improved player candidate in sophomore Ashley Alonso looking to make an impact in the midfield.”
Defensively, Richardson will be the anchor at center back, flanked by sophomore Isabella Rodriguez-Muise, who developed into a fullback starter as last season went along.
“A big priority for us during the first few weeks of the season will be re-tooling our back line,” Forste said. “I have all the confidence Assistant Coach Matt Frazier, in his seventh year with Cassville, can work with some of the two- and three-sport athletes we’ve gained, along with our returning players, to create another formidable back line.”
Muise and Alonso, Forste said, have made strides in the offseason and will likely move from part-time players to full-time starters.
“We will be incorporating lots of new faces, so I’m excited to see how things come together here in the next few weeks,” he said. “We’ve gained a few first-year seniors, like Macie Walker and Treva Samuel, some athletic freshmen, and a few other ladies looking to help the team win some ballgames.”
To win games, Forste said offensive production will have to improve compared to last season.
“Our 34 goals scored for us last year was too low,” he said. “We need to be up around 2.5 goals per game and about 50 goals for the season. We will need to score with regularity on set pieces, something we struggled to do in ‘22. It took about ten games last year for our offense to really get clicking. Hopefully, we can come out of the gate with a little more fireworks this season on the attacking end.”
On the defensive end, Forste said the team was not too far off the mark last year at 2.2 goals allowed per game and 51 allowed total.
“I think we can get closer to our team targets of 1.5 goals allowed per game and 30 allowed overall,” he said.
Forste hopes those goals can be achieved through another one of Cassville strengths — hard work.
“We play some blue-collar soccer here in Cassville,” he said. “Our identity for the last few years has been to apply heavy pressure and to score through the opportunities that pressure creates.”
Cassville’s season begins on Friday and Saturday with the Cassville/Monett Tournament. The home opener is on March 23 against New Covenant Academy.
