Building a program
The Tonganoxie High soccer team has several seniors on its team this year. Pictured, from left, are Morgan Galvin, Emily Williams, Megan Briggs, Sophia Breedlove and Sarah Ahart.
The Tonganoxie High girls soccer team has advanced to three straight regional championships.
To make it four in a row, the Chieftains will have a seasoned group working to fill some leaders lost to graduation.
THS went 9-8-1 last year and returns much of that team, but it lost its all-time leading scorer in Emily Soetaert to graduation.
Other seniors last year were Madison Simmons, Taylar Morgan, Aly Bartholomew and Alissa Donnelly. Simmons and Bartholomew were four-year starters.
Current senior Morgan Galvin, though, things this year’s Chieftain squad will be just fine.
“It’s definitely not our first rodeo,” Galvin said, noting that the team has several players back from last year’s squad.
Coach Justin Seever, who has led the team to two straight winning seasons — the team’s first winning seasons in program history — said the team is coming along in the preseason.
THS opens the season at 4 p.m. today against Bishop Ward today at the THS soccer complex.
The team then welcomes powerhouse Spring Hill and Kaw Valley League favorite Lansing before traveling to Shawnee to take on another KVL contender in Mill Valley.
That’s three games in the span of five days, which will be a common theme this year.
“It’s brutal, but we’ve got the numbers to withstand it,” Seever said.
Seniors returning this year along with Galvin are Emily Williams, Megan Briggs, Sophia Breedlove and Brenna Kietzman. Sarah Ahart, one of the top players on the THS girls basketball team, is out for her senior season.
Williams and Breedlove agreed that communication was a strength for this year’s team, which Briggs described as a tight-knit group.
“We’re really good at being a family,” Briggs said.
Breedlove, meanwhile, said the team had the potential to put together a strong year.
The team also has a new starting goalie in Nicki Talent.
Seever said he planned to tinker with some strategies in the season opener against the Cyclones before moving forward with a specific system after that.
Seever said the team has some talent, but the group will relies on being a tough team.
“They defend hard and are out there for each other,” the coach said.
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- The Tonganoxie High soccer team has several seniors on its team this year. Pictured, from left, are Morgan Galvin, Emily Williams, Megan Briggs, Sophia Breedlove and Sarah Ahart.