YAIAA preview: Girls' soccer
If the last two seasons are any indication, winning Division II does not guarantee a spot in the YAIAA tournament championship. In fact finishing third might put you in a better position.
Susquehannock made such a leap two seasons ago and Dover again last fall as it beat Dallastown for the league title. Those Wildcats, who've been a constant presence in the league championship game, will have a new coach and many new players in their lineup.
Find out more in our girls' soccer preview below:
PRESEASON TOP 5
1. Dover
2. Dallastown
3. Fairfield
4. Susquehannock
5. South Western
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Lexy Junker, Fairfield, Sr., F
Meagan Newmister, Dallastown, Sr., F
Maxine Herman, Dover, Sr., F
Hannah Laslo, York Catholic, Jr., G
Brooke May, Dover, Sr., CB
DIVISION I BREAKDOWN
● Defending division champ Dallastown (16-4, 10-0), which had its run of four straight tournament title end in last year’s championship game, will look quite different. Goalie Becca Austin, last season’s player of the year, has moved on to Coastal Carolina. So has defender Brittany Temple. Alaina Curry also graduated and coach Barry Barbush is no longer roaming the sidelines.
Dallastown graduate Morgan Mickley, who served as Barbush’s JV coach the previous five seasons, has taken over as head coach. With the graduation of last year’s strong senior class, Mickley has five returning starters. Senior forward Meagan Newmister is among those back. The speedster had 12 goals and 15 assists last year and will be joined by returning midfielders Kelsey Druck, Emily Ross and Brittany Hessler, all juniors.
Mickley’s club lost all defenders except one, senior Caroline Kaschak. A contender entering mid-August practices to take over Austin’s goalie spot is Katie Matus, a junior who started in that spot for Mickley on the JV team.
● Central York (8-7-2, 6-3-1) will return junior Katie Hackos following an all-star performance in 2012. Considerable losses to graduation included Tua-Lisa Ekehult, Sam Sweeney and Bri Carr, who transferred to the Panthers last year from York Suburban. The Panthers received a lift with Kelly Williamson, returning to the pitch after spending last fall playing field hockey.
● Opponents might see double again at South Western (10-8-1, 5-4-1). It was just spring 2012 when Erin and Shannon Laird led the Mustangs. Now, another set of sophomore sisters are competing at the Corral – except this time Lauren and Taylor Gough are two sisters among triplets, as opposed to the Laird twins. Lauren is coming off a 15-goal season as a freshman. Taylor also is a returning starter, and South Western has seven of them this season. Goalie Jacey Shipley is back, plus juniors Keanna Rebert, Melissa Woodward and Tia Wildasen. The biggest task for second-year coach Dwaine Briggs will be replacing four-year starter and all-league performer Amy Spigelmyer.
● Red Lion (7-8-3, 4-3-3) will return eight starters from a team that hovered around .500 but had plenty of draws. The Lions’ strengths reside in the midfield and defensive end, where Kylie Strong is back for her senior season. She scored six goals and assisted on 10. An All-YAIAA performer last season, Strong returns to the midfield with senior Taylor Sprenkle and junior Jordan Gebhart. Senior defender Aubree Davis also returns to the Lions.
● Spring Grove (5-10-1, 2-7-1) lost Courtney Kauffman to graduation but returns Leanna Miller after her strong freshman campaign.
● New Oxford (1-15, 0-10) graduated one of its top players, Margo Jacoby, who played in two all-star games last year, including a YAIAA vs. Lancaster-Lebanon League matchup.
DIVISION II BREAKDOWN
● Dover (14-5, 7-4) took the YAIAA by surprise and won the league tournament title despite finishing third in its division. The Eagles will not sneak up on anyone this year as most coaches have picked them as the favorites. Why not? They return many of the players who set the tone in last season's championship run, including captain and multisport star Maxine Herman. As a junior she scored 29 goals and assisted on 25 more. She will be joined by another returning captain, senior Brooke May. They did lose Emily Firestone to graduation, but Brooke Firestone will be only a sophomore. Junior Katelyn Wilt also returns.
● West York (10-5-1, 10-1-1) won the regular-season championship in this division for the fourth straight time. The Bulldogs go for No. 5 without Shyanne Kimbrough. The longtime standout graduated and now is playing soccer at Drexel University. Coach Sarah Waybright's second year running the team will include returning captain and all-star Amanda Cheak.
● Two seasons ago -- in fact, less than a year ago when girls' soccer still played in the spring -- Susquehannock (15-5, 9-3) nearly pulled off the same feat as Dover. The Warriors finished behind two high-powered teams in Division II, West York and York Suburban, only to last last longer than them and make the YAIAA tournament finals. They will enter this season with their third head coach in as many seasons. Scott Austin will guide the girls' program as Brett Maxwell has shifted to the boys' team. Sophomore defender Emily Landis will return for Austin, as will junior Brooke McGee and senior Cassidy Mummert.
● Logan Neiman and Payton Hauck return after all-star seasons for Northeastern (8-7, 6-6). Neiman, a senior midfielder, set the tone for the Bobcats last season. Hauck, a junior who also plays basketball and track, scored in 12 of 15 games last season. She brings speed and physicality. Another junior, Haley Zimmer, also is back.
● York Suburban (7-7-2, 5-4-1) will be hard pressed to match the scoring ability it enjoyed in previous seasons with Mikala Kin, last year's Division II Player of the Year. Defensively, the Trojans should be in a good spot with junior Jordan Shoff. She served as a captain and made the divisional all-star team as a sophomore. Honorable mention all-star Hannah Kowalewski is back for her senior year.
● Eastern York (3-12-3, 1-8-3) looks to improve in coach Brian Lyle’s second year as coach. To do so, the Golden Knights will lean on the defense of junior Leah Myers and senior Rekah Richardson. Senior midfielder Lauren Beaver will bridge the gap to returning junior forwards Ashley Deitz and Katie Bompaine. Junior Hailey Heistand is in contention to take over goalkeeping duties.
● Sophomore Madison Ferner, junior Alyx Miller and senior Emily Cooper return for Kennard-Dale (1-13-1, 0-10-1).
DIVISION III BREAKDOWN
● Lexy Junker could become a four-time player of the year at Fairfield (14-3, 12-0), but to do so she will lead a team that graduated all-star center defender Erin Donaldson and midfielder Katelyn McDonald.
● With junior Hannah Laslo back in goal, York Catholic (15-8, 10-2) should be able to produce another strong season like last year’s run that included a District 3 consolation win in Class A. However, the Fighting Irish must find a way to replace three starting defenders. They should have six starters back total, including midfielders Natasha Vadas and Anna Mucci. Another midfielder, Emily Ryan, has started every game the last two years, while defenders Lisa Casagrande and Katherine Andrews return to the lineup. Elizabeth Johnson came off the bench last year at forward and scored 14 goals to go with seven assists.
● Eight starters return for Danielle Cramer’s Canners. Biglerville (8-10, 8-4) boasts sophomore defender Haley Kuhn, who started every game last season as a freshman. She’s not the only returning sophomore, either. Destinee Bobo could play on either side of the field after missing part of last season because of injury. Coral Wagner also has brings that versatility and youth, while defender Hannah Stremmel is small but tough. She even played goalie, a position that will be occupied by another sophomore, Rebecca Martin. When an injury knocked out last year’s starter, Martin moved into the position and registered two shutouts and 52 saves in seven games. Juniors Michelle Diaz and Summer Slusser will add offensive pressure, while junior defender Ashley Dellinger adds leadership to that young backfield. Another junior, defender Crystal Castillo, is skilled and accurate.
● Delone Catholic (3-13, 1-11) goes on without graduated All-YAIAA player Marianne Freed. The Squirettes will be young with center-mids Dominique Dockins and Emily Biesecker among the returning starters. Biesecker, a sophomore, earned All-YAIAA honorable mention as a freshman. Returning goalie Abby Mason will move to center fullback, while junior Maddie Pfaff takes over in net. Pfaff played mostly JV last season before moving up to start the last few varsity games for coach Derf Maitland. The scoring could come from sophomore Teresa Pecher, who moves up from JV, and sophomore Cait Paterson, who sat out most of last season with a concussion.
● Bermudian Springs (6-13, 6-6) graduated an all-star in Rachel Wilkins. Littlestown (3-10-1, 3-8-1) lost one of its top players, Sarah Bentajar, to graduation following an all-star season. Hanover (2-14-1, 1-10-1) will need a new goalkeeper after losing all-star Destinee Winhauer.
MARK THE CALENDAR
● Fairfield vs. York Catholic: The Division III frontrunners first face off Thursday, Sept. 5 at York Catholic. The rematch is Thursday, Sept. 26 at Fairfield.
● Dover vs. Susquehannock: The last two Cinderella teams of the YAIAA could be the key players in Division II this season, along with an improving Northeastern squad. Dover and Susquehannock meet Saturday, Sept. 14 at Susquehannock and Saturday, Oct. 5 at Dover.
● YAIAA tournament: The quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 12, followed by the semifinals Oct. 15 and championship Oct. 17.