PikeView girls ready to make history

By JED LOCKETT
Bluefield Daily Telegraph

August 17, 2007 11:44 pm

— GARDNER — Whether Sam Hill wants to admit it or not, he will be a part of history this fall. He will be the head coach for the first varsity girls soccer team at PikeView High School.
“The girls are excited about the opportunity to play, obviously and being able to compete on par with athletes, other ladies from other teams,” Hill said. “We have the opportunity to at least be successful and ultimately whether we are or not, only time will tell.”
But even though the team is new, the players are not. Several members of the Panthers gained ample experience playing on the boys’ varsity team.
“We’re fortunate enough to have a number of the ladies that stepped up and played with the guys over the last three or four years and they’ve provided the backbone of the team in terms of getting it started,” Hill said.
“We’ve actually got 18 girls out this year — which is a good number — and we were able to bring up six freshmen, five of which played a great deal in the middle school teams. So we have a good nucleus to start with.”
That nucleus has performed up to Hill’s expectations in the preseason. He has found that his squad’s biggest asset will likely be their ability to get up and down the pitch in a timely fashion.
“We have a great deal of speed and in our scrimmages that we’ve had so far that seems like that’s been our advantage,” Hill said. “We’ve got a couple of girls that can absolutely fly and we’ve been able to take advantage of that.”
PikeView plans to utilize their speed within a 4-4-2 formation. Senior Kashayla Brown and junior Danielle Carr will fill the two striker roles in that set and could be the main beneficiaries of the Panthers’ speed.
“We want to make sure that they’re as far forward as the opponents’ defenders will let ’em be so that as our midfielders gain control of the ball they’ve got targets to play the ball to,” Hill said.
Chelsea East will start in the left midfield and Rachel Weatherly will start on the right. Kierstin White will help the defenders in the midfield while Mariah Farley will play the role of an attacking midfielder. White and Farley are freshmen, but they know what they are doing.
“They’ve played a lot of soccer over the years,” Hill said. “They’re the type of players that have the good combination of the foot skills, the decision-making capabilities, the ability to see the field and distribute the ball. That’s where our strength’s going to be, right up the middle.”
Tara Hazelwood, Brittany Quick, Jessica Davis, and Hannah Jennings will start the season on defense as Haley Augustson works her way back into the lineup following a head injury. Each of those players brings something unique to their position.
“The two players that play the middle positions, Jessica and Brittany, are two of the stronger players we’ve got,” Hill said. “The two girls that we have on the lateral ends have lots and lots of speed. So we’re able to recover and make up for some mistakes if we’ve got it there in the middle.”
Although Weatherly and Amanda Presley could very likely see time as well, senior Skieler Hamb is expected to start in goal for the Panthers. She was unable to play last season due to injuries sustained from other athletic activities. But Hill expects her to return strong.
“She’s a very solid player,” Hill said. “She’s fearless. That’s what a keeper has to have is that no-fear attitude, willing to take a chance, and see what happens.”
Hill believes PikeView has the talent to win. Now the challenge is bringing it together.
“The biggest thing for us to be successful is still learning how to play as a team,” Hill said. “These girls have played a great deal of soccer over the years. They really haven’t played a lot with one another. I think over the next two or three weeks, we’ll become a little more defined in terms of what type of team we are.”
PikeView begins their season with a trip to Bluefield on Monday. Their first home game will be on Thursday when they face Nicholas County.
— Contact Jed Lockett
at jlockett@bdtonline.com

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