Berkshire’s girls’ soccer team will have plenty of new faces in the starting lineup, but the Badgers aren’t concerned.
After finishing 16-2 overall and winning the Chagrin Valley Conference Metro Division with a 6-0 mark, Berkshire returns several of Northeast Ohio’s top players.
“I see a ton of potential for this group,” said sixth-year head coach Ian Patterson. “We don’t have many returning starters or letter winners, however, the girls we are bringing back are some of the best players in the area and they are helping the younger girls progress at a rapid rate.”
Berkshire returns just four starters, but each is a returning all-conference performer.
Senior forward Evania McCandless is the reigning Metro Division MVP after she scored 28 goals with 11 assists last season.
“She is the heart of the Badgers,” Patterson said. “You will know instantly which player she is on the field if you stop and catch any five-minute window of a game this season or if you have seen us play in the last three years.”
Sophomore forward Kelly McCandless added seven goals with 16 assists last season on the way to earning first-team All-CVC honors.
“Kelly is extremely talented and can play any position on the field for us,” Patterson said. “Her one-on-one abilities are really starting to shine so far this season.”
In the midfield, senior Alyssa Lawson returns after finishing off 10 goals last season to go along with six assists. She also earned first-team All-CVC honors.
“Alyssa runs the middle of the field for us,” Patterson said. “She has a very high soccer IQ and makes a lot of suggestions for adjustments to us and her teammates throughout the course of every contest. She might not rack up the most stats, but Alyssa is quietly one of the best leaders and players this program has ever seen.”
Back in goal is Senior Sarah Wendl, who recorded 76 saves and nine shutouts. She allowed just 19 goals last fall and earned second-team All-CVC honors.
“Sarah has almost all goalkeeping school records at this point with 300-plus career saves and she is a key piece of the lineup this season with so many new players in the back line,” Patterson said. “The rate at which they can progress will stem from her overall input to the program this season and I think it’s safe to say we’re in good hands.”
Wendl’s presence is even more important this season considering the Badgers will be young and inexperienced on defense.
“We graduated our entire back line last season as well as another 100-career point scorer in Brooke Ruchalski,” Patterson said. “The incoming freshmen and some of the other underclassmen are fighting for spots in the back line, while we plan to fill the Ruchalski void with sophomore Kelly McCandless. Coming off her freshman year leading the News Herald area in assists, she will take on more of an attacking role this season.”
Patterson expects to experience some growing pains as his younger players develop and settle into their roles, but he’s also confident he has the senior leadership in place to make another run at the conference title.
“This is probably more of a rebuilding year than we have experienced in the last five years,” he said. “Our team needs to learn quickly from the mistakes we make early in the season in order to be successful. We have the toughest schedule we have ever seen this year so there will be a lot of opportunity to learn and if we can do that quickly we will continue to pick up on the success we had last fall.”
