Ligonier Valley girls have high expectations

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, August 25, 2017 | 5:21 PM

The Ligonier Valley girls soccer team will be looking for improvement this season, even after finishing first in the Heritage Conference in 2016.

The Rams, who were 8-10 overall and 4-0 in conference play, lost in the first round of the District 6 playoffs to Everett.

They return nine starters in their attempt at a title defense.

“I'm very excited to work with this group. I have never had this many returning starters on a team before in 16 years of coaching,” coach Eric Vogelsang said. “And the other two that will be starting filled in and started multiple games due to injuries. We will have a ton of experience on the field.”

“I think we are a lot more prepared for the season than we were last year,” junior Mia Lynn said. “We have the depth and experience. And the chemistry that we have built up from playing with each other last season should give us an edge.”

Last season, the Rams had an 8-0 record against teams with losing records but were 0-10 against teams with winning records. Vogelsang mentioned multiple changes that need to be made in order to compete at a higher level.

“First off, we need to score more goals. Scoring 33 goals in 18 games will not get us where we want to be,” Vogelsang said. “We have changed our formation to a 4-3-3, which is designed to create more offense and give us more opportunities.”

Lynn agreed with the need for adjustments and things focusing on ball possession will help with scoring.

“We were taking shots way too far out last year,” Lynn said. “We want to be able to move the ball and trust each other to get better looks. I think a lot of that comes with time, playing together, so we should be able to execute better in that aspect this season.”

Both Vogelsang and Lynn mentioned the mentality and energy from start to finish in games.

“We gave up too many early goals in the first few minutes too many times because we weren't mentally ready,” Vogelsang said.

“If we were down, we let it get to us,” Lynn added. “We need to come out with more energy and be able to maintain that energy throughout the game.”

With the depth and experience Ligonier Valley has this season, the expectations for the team have been set high.

“This is the most talented team from top to bottom that I have ever coached,” Vogelsang said. “If we can correct the hurdles from last year, this has the potential to be a really special year for these girls.”

The Rams start their season with a nonsection matchup at 3 p.m. Sept. 1 at Indiana.

“We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but our first goal is to get to the playoffs,” Lynn said. “From there we just want to focus on playing one game at a time.”

Cody Scott is a freelance writer.

Tags: Ligonier Valley