CALDWELL, Idaho – A total of 10 players who combined to score 19 of the 25 goals for College of Idaho women's soccer in the spring will return this season, giving impressive continuity on the attack heading into the fall campaign.
After finding the back of the net a team-high four times to go along with four assists as a freshman,
Maddie Smith is expected to slide back to the midfield, a position where she can be on the ball even more.
"She has the ability to run in behind our front line and is someone that covers an enormous amount of ground on the field," head coach
Brian Smith said. "We just want her getting more touches on the ball. The more that our midfield is on the ball, the more it is going to allow our players to get into more advanced positions."
Smith, an All-Conference pick last year, is joined by fellow All-CCC performer
Chloe Teets as pieces of the offensive unit that were honored in the postseason awards this spring. Teets, a junior from Coeur d'Alene, led the squad with 29 shots and contributed three assists last season. She joins defenders
Brynna Herridge and
Alyssa Goff as a team captain.
"Chloe might be one of our most complete soccer players," Smith said. "She is a great character player that you can ask to do anything for you, and she is always there for anybody. She is a standard bearer on the field. Chloe is a vocal leader and a general out there who really controls the game. She is a calming and motivating presence on the field."
The talent pool in the midfield runs well beyond Smith and Teets, as four additional pieces who have seen extensive playing time within the program return as well.
Junior
Lily Schlake had an impressive first season in Caldwell after transferring from the University of Portland, scoring a pair of goals and adding three assists.
"I think she is going to be a candidate for Player of the Year in the conference this year," Smith said. "She is incredibly smooth and just controls the tempo. Everything that we do, we try to play through Lily. She is the conductor and she makes our music, so as Lily goes, we go. She is an unbelievable player with great talent along with being a really calm presence who can speed the game up or slow the game down. She just has a real sense of what the game means."
Senior
Alexa Rierson headed in two key goals as a junior while also chipping in an assist.
"Alexa had some great big goals for us a year ago and is somebody that when in attacking positions is as dangerous as anyone on our team," Smith said.
Fellow senior
Lexie Hibler connected on a goal with two assists during her junior year.
"Lexie is super smooth on the ball and can really control the tempo of the game by speeding it up or slowing it down," Smith said. "You can play her under pressure and she makes all of our players better."
Junior
Lucy Moore is back after starting three games and appearing in 12 in the spring.
"Lucy covers a ton of ground and is the type of kid who wins the ball immediately," Smith said. "She has the ability to climb forward in the attack and can strike with quality. Again, a real engine that dominates a lot of spaces in the midfield for us."
Senior
Gabby Corado and junior transfer
Taira Shimata will also compete for time amongst a strong midfield group. Shimata joins C of I from Southeastern Community College.
Overall, the middle unit for the Yotes should excel at controlling the ball and getting it up to the next level of the attack.
"I think our midfield is as good as it has ever been," Smith said. "It will be one of our strengths where we can just bring wave on wave on wave of talent. In a really tough conference, that is super necessary.
With the hope to continue to increase the pace at which the team plays, having a midfield that can link the play will be critical.
Further ahead on the field, a dynamic group of forwards will look to make life difficult for the opposition. The unit features five seniors that bring quality experience to the pitch for the Coyotes.
"We have a big senior class that has done some really incredible things in our program," Smith said. "Having the experience and the leadership of our older players is very exciting. As coaches, we can ask more of them because they have that level of maturity and understanding, along with that competitive drive. They know who they are, they know where they need to get to and they understand how to go about their work every day to put them in the best position to be successful. I think our biggest strength is just that experience that we have gained over the years."
With 49 games under her belt,
Madison Glascock brings the most experience from the forward spot for C of I. The Twin Falls native has scored 10 goals and contributed 11 assists in her career, including leading the program with five assists this spring.
"Madison is a vertical player that can stretch the game," Smith said. "She is confident 1-v-1, and if she gets into open space she is very difficult to deal with. We want to continue to expand that with her of getting her into attacking positions, whether that's getting into quality service spots or with opportunities to get in and finish. Expect her to have a really, really good senior year."
Megan Wilkinson has stood out in a big way for the coaching staff in the early part of fall camp. In her first season with the Yotes, Wilkinson scored three goals, including the game-winner to send C of I to nationals against Carroll.
"Our player of the camp so far has been Megan," Smith said. "Megan has worked really hard this offseason. She's cleaner on the ball, she came in really fit and she's covering ground. She's somebody that's a big, strong, physical player that can hold it and square up. When she gets an opportunity to score she is really refined around the goal. She scored some really big goals for us a year ago and I think she is really ready to take off this year. She is someone who could have an absolutely monster season for us, so we are really excited about where she is at right now."
Additionally, senior
Sydney Clements will use her extra year of eligibility to return for a third season with the program after scoring two goals with an assist in the spring.
"Sydney is another one that has had some good experiences," Smith said. "She has played a couple of seasons with us now and is a veteran who has the ability to play on the left or come inside and go down the line. She can go vertical, she can play underneath and she has a lot of ways that she can go about getting to the goal, which will be great for us."
Seniors
Laura Staropoli and
Kassandra Phillips join junior
Cheyanne Rede and redshirt-freshman
Adi Spillett as returners for C of I.
Both Phillips and Spillett are expected back after injuries kept them off the field in the spring. Spillett looks to make her debut for the Yotes this fall after bagging 27 goals at Pocatello High as a senior.
Staropoli scored twice last season, while Rede appeared in 13 games and had an assist.
A trio of newcomers rounds out the forward group, as freshmen
Larissa Wegner and
Grace Barrett team with transfer
Lizzy Gonzalez to add additional depth and firepower up front.
Wegner scored 31 goals throughout her high school career at Rocky Mountain to go along with 14 assists while earning All-State and All-SIC accolades.
"I've had an opportunity to work with Larissa over a couple of years within the club system," Smith said. "She is a Rocky Mountain High School product and comes from a program there that is constantly winning. Larissa is a fantastic talent who can link the play as a back to the goal player and she can also run in behind and make an impact. I firmly expect Larissa to have a really good influence on our team this year. She will give us another layer going forward that has some of those refined qualities along with some good size, strength and pace. I am really pumped about her coming in and what I think she is going to be able to do."
Gonzalez, a product of Vallivue who played two seasons at the Community Colleges of Spokane, scored nine goals and added five assists as a sophomore for the Bigfoot. Similar to Wegner, she is expected to make an immediate impact.
"We are blessed to have Lizzy," Smith said. "She is an unbelievable talent on the ball who is very technical. She likes to play inside, can play outside and just makes great decisions with the ball. She has that x-factor of technical ability and technical savviness. She is somebody that gives us just another layer and another weapon, as she really loves getting to the goal. We expect her to have a great first season with us and be somebody that is really threatening the back line whether through her running or via 1-v-1 making a play. The more that we can continue to put pressure on the back line, the more that things will open up for us with our movement, with our quality in our midfield and with our ability to strike from all areas of the field. She is another dangerous weapon."
Barrett has played internationally in Denmark and Sweden and joins C of I from Clackamas High in Oregon where she scored four goals with an assist as a junior.
With so much experience on the roster, the hope is that the new talent will fit right in and add an additional element to an already strong group.
"Our returning players have certain levels of expectations of themselves and of where we want to be and get to, so they are really raising the standard in all of the trainings that we do," Smith said. "We are trying to get to a further stage than we were, and the only way we do that is with great leadership and decision making. We have a lot of really good, quality veterans that make wonderful decisions for our team and lead us. I think our objectives are that we want to continue to push and be better."
Smith says that the experiences from the spring have left the program hungry to continue to raise the standard for Coyote soccer.
"We got a taste of it last year and we liked that, so we want a lot more of that - and we're not bashful about that - we embrace it. We know that we need to continue to raise our game and our standards and be better than we were a year ago because it's a new year and a new campaign and nothing from last year matters at this point. They have all come in ready to work, ready to grind and ready to get back to where they were and hopefully get another shot at being one of the top teams in the conference."
