The high school soccer season is upon us and the Greenwood Lady Bulldogs are hoping the 2023 campaign will be one to remember. That may or may not include a state playoff berth at the end of the road, but often the best memories are made along the journey rather than at the destination. The time spent with classmates and teammates is something that can’t be duplicated, and those high school experiences will remain with players for the rest of their lives. It’s a special time.
The Lady Bulldogs play in one of the toughest soccer leagues in the state across all classifications, the 5A West, and this year it’s gotten enough tougher with the addition of the Harrison Lady Goblins, who have numerous state titles to their credit in recent years in Class 4A. Due to conference realignment, Harrison joined the league replacing Vilonia. Other conference members include Russellville, Siloam Springs, Van Buren, Alma, Mountain Home, Greenbrier, and Greenwood.
The season officially kicked off on Monday night this week against Dardanelle, with a trip to Farmington slated for Thursday. But before the season started, during pre-season practice, the Lady Bulldogs spent some time in team building fellowship at Camp Winnamocka in Clark County near Arkadelphia. Activities included canoeing, climbing, fishing, and more. It’s one of those experiences that young people cherish and remember for the rest of their lives. It’s a time to safely push some boundaries and get out of their comfort zones, exploring new things while building trust and teamwork.
Head Coach Andrew Post and assistant coach Steven Thessing and their players are hoping to translate that kind of team chemistry into wins on the soccer field this season, despite the heavy duty competition in the 5A West. Most likely the Lady Bulldogs will be among those teams fighting for that last playoff spot after the league’s heavy hitters slug it out for the top three spots, teams whose mascots include Cyclones, Panthers, and Goblins.
The GHS girls have already seen action in the pre-season in a benefit match against Sallisaw (OK) last Monday at Smith-Robinson Stadium. They won that match, 3-2, scoring a pair of first half goals for a 2-0 lead. Sophomore Hailey Mabry netted the first goal and freshman Mariah Bartok scored the second goal. After Sallisaw had tied the game in the second half, the eventual winning shot was made by Bartok again.
“We started off really slow,” said Coach Andrews when asked to evaluate his team’s play in the benefit match. “There wasn’t a lot of possession early on. I think the girls were still trying to develop some chemistry. It’s one thing to play against ourselves [in practice] than playing against another team. We started off kind of rough, but late in the first half we found our footing and had many chances to score.
“We had girls in different spots, including two freshmen who started, and watching them step up and contribute was a big positive,” he continued. “[Junior] Gracyn Newcity returned from last year’s injury and did very well. [Senior] Madelyn Wilkinson looks like she has improved a lot since last year. There are some things we need to work on defensively and possession-wise, and we’ve got a new goalkeeper, Linda Bartok. But it was a positive way to start the season with a win.”
Post is also waiting for players who are dual sport athletes and are still in basketball for another week, including sophomores Izzy Smith, Pate Jones, and senior Ella Williams. “All three of them are athletic,” said Post of the trio. He especially likes Smith’s athleticism and aggressiveness on the hard court and hopes that will translate well to soccer.
“Those [traits] are the things that make any coach excited,” he said of Smith. “They can help make up for a lack of [skills and experience]. A lot of [things] can be made up for through hustle and athleticism, and that’s what makes us the most excited, not just about Izzy, but the other two ladies as well. They could help us out tremendously, certainly on the junior varsity team and maybe on the varsity.
At keeper, Linda Bartok served as backup last season to departed senior Chaise Hanna, but also started at outside back for the Lady Bulldogs. “I know she will continue to get better at [keeper],” said he coach. “She does bring some experience and has done well and is working hard. She also has a strong leg and that helps us from a goal kick standpoint. She wasn’t tested too much [by Sallisaw]. But I think she will do fine back there.“ Post is still searching for one or two backups at the position.
Class-wise, there are five seniors on the roster including Ella Williams, Grace Aishman, Madelyn Wilkinson, Ava Thomas, and Elise Remerscheid. According to Post, that’s about the average number of seniors he’s had in recent years. “Madelyn and Ava will be starters for sure,” said the coach, adding that he sees all five seniors making a contribution this season.
There are nine juniors on the roster. “Linda [Bartok] is our starting keeper. [Abby] Gatesman and [Gracyn] Newcity are both starters,” said Post. “Reagan Zimmerman is a starter and my daughter [Laynee Post] started [against Sallisaw], so a lot of those [juniors] are starters and have been with the program for a [while]. They are giving us a lot of minutes, but we’ve got some new faces [too], Hannah Caldwell, Norah Sights, and Fernanda Caetano is our foreign exchange student from Brazil, and she could develop into a nice little forward.” Rounding out the junior class is Brooklyn Garcia.
The next group of Lady Bulldogs is the sophomore class, including Ally Thomas, Kaya Simpson, Victoria Vanderwatt, Hailey Mabry, Annalise Johnson, Brooklyn Kelly, Payton Scantling, and basketball players Izzy Smith and Pate Jones. Besides the aforementioned Smith and Jones, there is some talent and potential in the remaining group as well.
“Ally Thomas started almost every game last year as a freshman,” recalled Post. “She’s improved quite a bit this year and she’s a club player with experience as a center midfielder or outside midfielder. There are two or three other sophomores who will give us significant minutes if they are not starters. Annalise Johnson will probably carve out a starting role. Hailey Mabry and Kaya Simpson will also get some minutes at the varsity level. Payton Scantling gave us quite a few minutes as a freshman. She started a few games. She’s a utility player that I can plug in to different spots and she can help us out.”
There are only four ninth graders listed on the roster, but a couple of them will likely see major time at the varsity level, starting with Mariah Bartok, the younger sister of goal keeper Linda Bartok. “Mariah is playing forward, and she is very aggressive,” said her coach. “She put two goals in the net just off pure aggression. She’s got some speed to her and she’s not afraid of contact. She does cross country and track and is pretty fit and she made an immediate impact on the game [against Sallisaw].
“The other [freshman] who started the other night was Skyler Frey,” said Post. “I’ve got her at center back and she’s also a club player. Both of her older sisters played for Greenwood and I coached both of them. It’s kind of a neat story to have three sisters come through our program.”
The last two freshmen on the roster include Farrah Crossno and Jadyn Townley. Crossno has already made a name for herself in two other sports as a rare female kicker for the junior high football team last fall and as a wrestler for Coach John Kincade. She is the younger sister of former GHS two-sport star Tyler Crossno, who played football and wrestled, including multiple state titles on the mat. “She’s also a club player,” said Post. “She’s physical and has some speed, so I look forward to having her out. I know she’s going to get some minutes this year.”
As for the offensive leaders this spring for the Lady Bulldogs, the head coach is looking to Mariah Bartok along with Ally Thomas and Abby Gatesman to carry most of that load. Madelyn Wilkinson is also in the mix and had an assist against Sallisaw. Farrah Crossno and Ava Thomas could also be factors offensively, said Post.
“As far as attacking [the goal], I think we’re going to be improved this year,” he offered. “We’ve got some girls with a little more experience. We’ve got some speed we didn’t have last year. So I think that’s going to help us. Defensively, we’re patching some holes from losing some players to graduation, but once we get that secured, we should be improved this year from last year,” said Post.
As for last season, Post said, “We missed the playoffs, but last year we were building. This year I think we are improved, but we have some changes in our conference [with the addition of Harrison]. But I like our chances better this year than last year. It would be hard for anybody to argue that their conference is better than ours. We’ve got three state champions in our conference – Harrison, Russellville, Siloam Springs – and Greenbrier has been in the finals. It’s unfortunate that only four teams from our conference can make the playoffs. But we’re pretty excited about the season.”