Although their coach says he’s “not as concerned about winning or losing as in development,” the young Logan County soccer program did a good job in both categories this fall. The Lady Cougars’ middle school team had a 9-1 record this year after going 5-8 in their first season in 2009.
Meanwhile, the school’s first junior varsity team went 3-6 with wins over McLean County twice and Muhlenberg County. The older team was in contention in several losses, including being involved in a scoreless tie with always powerful Bowling Green after a period.
Next year, Logan County’s soccer teams will play on a varsity basis, which will be a huge step. They’re getting prepared for the challenge. The lone loss for the middle school team was to a University Heights Academy team that used mostly males against them. When they met a second time, UHA fielded an all-girls team, and Logan won with ease.
“We played Warren East when they had 16 eighth graders-many of them boys, and we beat them anyway,” said Coach Daniel McCarley.
Other middle school victories came again South Warren, Hopkinsville and Ohio County.
Some of the key players on the JV team were in middle school, including starting center midfielder Brittany Barton and sweeper Taleia Mason, a seventh grader. Also on the high school team were the only other eighth grader besides Barton, Rachel Cunningham, and seventh graders Madison Bruner, Breanna Baptistste, Holly Foster, JoBeth Varble, Emma Cartas, Christian Lynch, and Lauren Burnett.
The oldest players on the junior varsity team were sophomores Emily Peters, Kelsey Markham, Tabitha Dearing, Haley Mayner, Katlyn Penny, Courtney McReynolds and goalie Morgan Johnson. Freshmen were Anna Holman, Taiya Collier and Monica Rust.
McCarley lists as JV starters Peters, Collier, Holman, Markham, Mason, Rust, Mayner, Penny, Barton, McReynolds and Johnson.
Middle school starters, according to McCarley, were Barton and Cunningham, seventh graders Hannah Shelton, Bruner, Baptiste, Varble, Cartas, Mason, Lynch and Burnett and sixth graders Logan Williamson and Lauren Allen.
Also on the middle school team were seventh graders Rachelle Forgy and Holly Foster along with sixth graders Madelyn Wharton and Shelby Rigsby.
The team and coach are fortunate that McCarley was available to start the program. The youth minister of Crittenden Drive Church of Christ, he is trained and experienced in working with young people. He also has an extensive soccer background, having been a standout in the Russellville High School soccer program throughout the late 90s. He played four years of NCAA soccer at Ohio Valley College in Parkersburg, W.Va., switching to defense his senior year and after having played midfield forward on offense his first three years. He served as captain of the Fighting Scots his final two years.
While serving as a youth minister in Glasgow, he coached soccer at Glasgow High School for four years, including two as head coach.
“I love the game of soccer. At the end of soccer seasons, I hardly know what to do. Soccer is a blast,” he says.
Several of the players-primarily the seventh graders-are still involved in soccer on a travel team known as The Renegades. Toby Baptiste, who has been highly successful while coaching Russellville Middle School football the past couple of years, coaches the Renegades.
McCarley preaches team play. “Passing is so important in soccer,” he says. “Teams that encourage players to shoot whenever they have control of the ball are playing kickball, not soccer.”
The Lady Cougars will play a varsity schedule next year. McCarley and his players look forward to the challenge.