Cooper girls soccer coach Scott Hughes said Conner is the favorite to win the 33rd district “based upon everybody that I’ve seen who I know they have coming back.”
“And of course, Mike (Conner head coach Mike Hughes) does a terrific job with getting his girls ready early on and playing through the season and being primed for postseason runs,” Scott Hughes said.
Mike Hughes, however, isn’t so sure.
“I’ve been in this district since ‘07, and it is one of the most challenging and most difficult to be in because at any given point it seems that anybody can beat anybody,” he said.
Ryle was 2022’s “anybody.” The Raiders lost to Boone County and Conner during the regular season and finished 0-2 in district play, which didn’t hurt so much because Ryle took down Cooper, 3-2, and shut out Conner, 2-0, to claim the district championship for the first time since 2018.
Ryle (6-12-2 in 2022)
The Raiders have a new coach this year; former Thomas More University men’s assistant Kyle Kosco replaces Brian Runyon. Kosko has high school coaching experience – he led Princeton’s girls in Ohio in 2017 and guided Scott’s boys to a 10-8-1 record in 2021.
Ryle is a senior-dominated squad – nine seniors return, including leading scorer Gracie Carrigan (nine goals and four assists last season) and Anneliese Davis (five goals).
“I think the seniors have done a really good job of getting to know me and buying into the system in a short period of time,” Kosco said. “(Carrigan’s) work rate is really high, and she just … brings a really strong physical presence up top that takes some pressure off the backs and allows them to press forward quite a bit.”
Kosco said Davis plays more in the middle to create scoring opportunities, while Carrigan presses defenders and can get wide and serve balls to the front of the goal. Other than that, he shied away from mentioning anyone else.
“There’s just a lot left to be determined on our end versus the rest of the district that has been doing it for a little while with their staffs,” Kosco said.
Cooper (12-5-1 last year)
A three-letter word – new – might be an appropriate adjective to describe the 2023 Jaguars; nine seniors graduated.
“This year we are in a situation where we’ve lost the most seniors than we ever have in any particular year,” Scott Hughes said. “… It puts us in a position where we are younger than we normally are, but I also think that we have a tremendous amount of young talent, and so we will have really good depth; it’s just going to be at the younger levels.”
One of the Ninth Region’s leading scorers, senior Maleah Alexander, who scored 20 goals and served 13 assists last year, will return. Her 59 career goals and 34 assists are school records.
“So honestly, it’s Maleah’s ability to be a workhorse, so that it diversifies her ability to attack from different angles and depths,” Hughes said. “That’s where her real strength is. She can get in the middle, where she can work with her back to the goal, but she can also split out to the wing and use her speed, her strength, her size in one-on-one situations.”
Conner (13-9-2)
The sad news in Hebron: the Cougars graduated seven seniors. The happier report: nine starters return, including the top two scorers, senior midfielder Ella Mann (nine goals) and sophomore forward Ariel Brogan (eight scores), are back.
“(Mann has) developed her game as far as learning to be a more attacking player,” Mike Hughes said. “She’s always been kind of a quality midfielder, probably one of the best ball handlers and a passer that I’ve run across. But now, her game is where she’s looking to attack. Ariel, she’s our fastest player we have.”
Two of last year’s defenders, Maryland freshman Juliet Strange and Kaliegh Cranfield, graduated. Hughes isn’t too worried because senior captain Laurel Frazier and senior Taylor Adams return along with junior Ava Schier, sophomore Izelee Kerns and senior Caitlyn Kenny.
Junior goalkeeper Ally Welch returns, too – she saved 90 shots and allowed 24 goals. “That’s a blessing,” Hughes said.
Welch also made a futsal – indoor soccer – national team, and she’s going to France in December.
Boone County (7-10-3)
The Rebels will need somewhat more offense this season – they scored just 37 goals last season and allowed 61.
“We’re not an offensive team; we’re more defensive-minded,” second-year head coach John Hicks said. “Yes, we’d love to score more goals, but we’re going to score more off set piece-type activity.”
Three of the Rebels’ top four scorers return. Sophomore Avery Jones led with six goals, senior Kamryn Simmons had five (she also led the team with six assists), and senior Abby Combs added another four.
Senior goalkeeper Abby Wenstrup saved 77 shots last season and compiled a 1.5 goals against average last year, but she is out with a torn rotator cuff injury. Junior Jordan Cropper is expected to replace her.
