SOCCER PREVIEW: Lady Cardinals ready to defend region crown

Les Dixon, The Times-Tribune, Corbin, Ky.
·2 min read

Aug. 13—LONDON — First-year coach Lora Rison takes over a South Laurel Lady Cardinal soccer program that is loaded with talent, and is ready to defend its 13th Region championship.

The Lady Cardinals posted an 18-4-1 mark last season while going 11-0 against regional teams which gives many prognosticators good reason to tag South Laurel as the team to beat entering this season.

With that said, Rison admitted her team has continued to put in lots of work to live up to the preseason expectations.

"Coming off such a successful season, we've had some work to do in preparing for the upcoming season," she admitted. "Since losing some major players we have some key positions to fill. But overall, we are excited about the potential this team holds."

The cupboard is far from bare with South Laurel returning most of its scoring from last season.

"We have seniors Belle Dotson and Kyla Heuser that should come up big on both offense and defense, while being leaders on the field," Rison said. "We have returning juniors Josie Gill, who was named the region player of the year, with 23 goals, and Ella Rison, who is strong in the midfield. We also have returning starters Avery Sauers and Brook Clontz, who prove to be versatile players, and of course Tess Little, who holds her own at keeper."

Team chemistry will be one key to the Lady Cardinals' season this fall while Rison's main concern is the graduation of so many seniors from last year.

"Our players have been training hard in the offseason and have played together for several years," she said. "They have great chemistry and good communication which will help on the field.

"We have a good class of sophomores and freshmen coming up, but with that being said, they're young and don't have the varsity experience of the upperclassmen," Rison added.

Another challenging schedule will have the Lady Cardinals prepared for district play along with postseason play.

"Our schedule has a good combination of competition that will hopefully have us ready for the postseason," Rison said. "As reigning district and region champs, we of course want a shot at the title again.

"Although we know some of our toughest competition is within our own district and cannot look past any of these teams," she added. "We are familiar with these teams, know the players, and know they will bring their best against us. In having a shift in the coaching staff, we hope to prepare the team for the competition and feel we will have the right people in place to have a successful season."