BY KYLE TROUTMAN ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com

Fielding a 27-strong roster of mostly newcomers, the Cassville girls soccer team has refocused its schedule and set its sights on its first Big 8 Conference title.

Jake Forste, Cassville girls soccer coach, said the Lady Wildcats have an abundance of athletic players, and learning the ins and outs of the game as the season progresses will be key.

“[Our conference is] just us, Aurora, McDonald County and Monett, and we’ve had some success against those teams last couple years,” Forste said. “So, I’d say that’s pretty high on the list is to win our first conference championship since the program has existed. But, we have tons of new faces, and it’s kind of a changing of the guard, so we just have to keep a growth mindset, getting better all the time and planning to play our best ball towards the end of the season.”

Cassville returns one All-Conference and All-District player in goalkeeper Ava Hinson, and other varsity returners include Libby Corter, Ashley Alonso, Isa Rodriguez, Tierany Sloan and Tyra Sturgell.

“Ava is just really solid in goal,” Forste said. “[against New Covenant on Thursday], her punts were tracking every bit of 50 yards in the in the air. Anytime you have a keeper with that kind of a leg, it kinda opens things up.

“Libby started the last 12 or 14 games at sweeper last year as a freshman. She was our newcomer of the year and she’s pretty solidified in that role now. In the midfield, seniors Ashley and Isa return, and Tierany and Tyra both return as defensive mids. I think just about everybody else is new to some extent, either new to the lineup, new to the varsity squad or just a new player in general.”

Those newcomers make up a bulk of the team’s numbers, which Forste said will allow the Lady Wildcats to have five or six quality substitutes each match.

“All of a sudden, we’ve got just a lot of depth,” he said. “Normally, we might be luck to go three-deep off the bench in terms of heavy rotation, so the fact all six of our our bench players can contribute and have done so in the jamboree and and Thursday’s New Covenant game, it’s pretty good sign of things to come.”

Forste said Diana Arguelles, a junior, has stepped up from a role player off the bench last year to starting at defense. Kendal Allison is a sophomore also stepping into a defensive role, and freshmen Anna Vanderhoef and AJ Deaver round out the back line.

“Anna and AJ are two really strong wrestlers, and they kind of defend like wrestlers,” Forste said. “They grapple and are hard to get around, and they have a lot of mental toughness.”

With the bulk of Cassville’s returners making up the midfield, newcomers are finding roles on the wigs and up top.

“Anabele Mills was a reserve last year and fought through some lower body injuries,” Forste said. “She put in a lot of work in the offseason. She’s got speed, and we’re working on her first touch so she’ll be a contributor. Makayla Connollely was another part-time varsity player last year. She’s she stepped in and looks like a full-time starter for us playing pretty good in the attack. Kennedy Truman, junior, is new to the game of soccer, but she’s been one of the strongest volleyball girls the last couple years. She’s a strong athlete learning really quick in that wing rotation.

Then, to round it out up top with the forward group, we have a Lydia Cupps and two more reserves from last year stepping in to be contributors with the first team. Last, but not least, we’ve got Lily Naugle up there, who is one of our most talented softball girls and basketball players. They are just physical and strong. We’re excited to have the depth and be able to rotate pretty heavily and keep fresh legs for a whole 80 [minutes].”

Seniors on the squad include Sloan, Alonzo, Rodriguez and Brooklyn Vincent, and Forste said they each bring their own style of leadership.

“Ashley and Isa have been four-year players and are what you want out of your seniors, growing all four years,” he said. “They’ve learned what we’re looking for and been able to read the game and kind of be coaches on the field. Tierney is kind of our rah-rah leader and positive type, and we’re excited for what Brooklyn will bring us as a first-year senior player.”

The Lady Wildcats opened the season on Thursday with a 5-1 loss to New Covenant Academy, a squad with 10 returning starters and numerous club players. Cassville scored first and held it to 1-1 at halftime, but tired legs in the second 40 minutes led to the final scoreline.

Forste said this early in the season, learning the game has been important, as Cassville is highly athletic, but not as experienced in the game of soccer.

“The work rate is there, but it’s just a lot a lot first- or second-year players, so they’re still learning how to read the game. It’s stuff like what the positions outside of my position group do, or where can I expect to be in these defensive rotations, etc. That takes time more than anything, but I would say from where we started March 1 to now, we’ve already grown exponentially, and I think there’s still more exponential growth to come.”

Boosting the Lady Wildcats is a positive attitude and willingness to learn.

“They’ve definitely got the right mindset, which is just come in ready to work every day,” Forste said. “Have a growth mindset. Support your teammates and be ready and willing to contribute no matter the role. I think I think we’re seeing that.”

On the management side, Forste said some schedule changes this year aim to prepare Cassville more for the postseason and limit week with more than two games.

“I think the biggest schedule change we’ve made is making sure we see all district opponents in the regular season,” he said. “Our district is super spread out. We’ve had Clinton pop in and out of the district the last few years, so we’ve got them on the schedule, as well as Bolivar. Then we have the usual suspects like Logan-Rogersville, Aurora and Monett. We’ve kind of streamlined the schedule trying to focus on playing two game weeks with more rest and not trying to jam in three- and fourgame weeks all the time. I think we’ve only got 17 or 18 gamed scheduled, which is down from the allotted 24.”

With two-thirds of Cassville’s game against Big 8 or district opponents, Forste said every game matters this season.

“But, I’d say as far as what are we looking forward to the most, those conference games are pretty critical,” Forste said. “We’re hoping to sweep the conference — that’s the goal — and then district-wise, it’s pretty early, so it’s hard to know where everybody’s stacking up.”

To reach that goal, developing players and a solid rotation is Forste’s approach.

“Seeing girls who never played, who just came out because a friend did or something like that, to see them really start to care and really connect to the game and become students of the game, that’s always fun. The fact that we’ll be able to go 17-deep is cool, and I just I think we’re so far away from from what our final form will be that I’m excited to see us get better every week and then become the team I know we’re capable of being.”

Cassville hosted Monett on Tuesday in the first of two FutBrawls this season. The result was not available as of presstime. The next contest is also at home, a Thursday 4:30 p.m. kickoff against Bolivar.