For the past six years, the Lady Chiefs have reigned over the county pitch with an iron fist, going 19-1-1 against Etowah, Cherokee and Woodstock since 2001. That also was the last year the Lady Chiefs did not have at least a share of the county title.

The Lady Eagles defeated Sequoyah 3-1 in 2001 to claim the county title. It was the last time the Lady Chiefs lost to a county foe. Etowah and Sequoyah tied 0-0 on March, 19, 2004 and the two shared the county title.

Since then, the Lady Chiefs have won 10 straight county games, outscoring the opponent 36-11. The Lady Eagles have not scored a goal against Sequoyah since 2002. Cherokee played Sequoyah to a one-goal game in 2007, ’05 and ’04, but the team that has threatened the Lady Chiefs’ stranglehold on the county title the most has been Woodstock.

For the past two years, Sequoyah and Woodstock have squared off with the county title on the line and each time the Lady Chiefs have prevailed. Last year they won 4-2, and two years ago Sequoyah erased a two-goal deficit to win on the road, 3-2.

This year the Lady Chiefs appear to be the odds-on-favorite to repeat as county champs. Woodstock, which has a new coach, is expected to contend for the county title, and Etowah and Cherokee, who both welcome new coaches, should both be improved.

Arguably the most promising team is Creekview, which went undefeated last year. The Lady Grizzlies, playing a full region schedule and having games against Cherokee, Etowah and Woodstock, have lofty goals for reaching the state playoffs for the first time.

CHEROKEE

During her high school career, Chrissy Culver was a standout soccer player at Pope High in Marietta. Now she takes over a Cherokee program coming off a 9-7 season that saw the Lady Warriors flirt with reaching the state playoffs.

Although the team lost Ali Wiggins and goalkeeper Jessica Hirsch, who is playing at Reinhardt, Cherokee returns nine starters that could push the Lady Warriors into the postseason this year.

Leading scorer Caity Michel, who had 18 goals, and Erica Goldschmidt, who tallied 17 goals, both return as does Caroline Geiger. The midfielders are sophomore Tori Lewey, senior Rachel Brown and junior Anna McIntyre.
Freshmen Kelly Hall, Carlie Smith, Sarah Berry and Rachel Gordon add depth and strength to the team.

The defense is anchored by seniors Allison Weaver and Sarah Ruiz. Sophomores Anelyse Wiggins and Kady Rogers will step up to fill holes in the defense.

“After a fifth-place finish in the region and not making the state playoffs, the girls have made it their goal to make it to the state playoffs for the first time in school history,” Culver said.

CREEKVIEW

Playing their first year of varsity, Creekview went 9-0-1, including a 2-1 victory over Fellowship Christian. With seven starters returning, including leading scorer Whitley Dover, who was named to the all-county first team, the Lady Grizzlies have high aspirations for this season.

“Our region contains a group of really good teams, but we feel that we will be at least competitive in those games,” head coach Kerri Schmitt said. “We are aspiring to make it to the playoffs and hope that we can make our first season of regional play a success.”

Helping Dover lead the team is junior Eli Arthur, sophomores Megan Hill, Courtney Griffin, Chloe Frew, Morgan Hall, Krystina Odish and Jade Denison. Freshmen looking to contribute are Jessica Estes, Sam Logan, Jordan Walker, Heather Thoele and Jordan Arthur.

ETOWAH

The turf is not the only thing new at Etowah. With Al Evans electing to take on the head coaching job with the JV, John Murnan takes over the varsity, becoming the third head coach in four years at Etowah.

He inherits an experienced roster. The Lady Eagles played several freshmen last year on a club that went 79 and finished sixth in the ultra-competitive Area 5-AAAAA. With just one starter lost from last year, the Lady Eagles are optimistic they can fight for a playoff spot.

Junior Danielle Fey and senior Lauren Lameier, who signed a scholarship to play for Milligan (Tenn.) College, anchor the offense at the forward positions, and the quartet of juniors Bridget Gilmore, Meredith Parry and seniors Rachel Gilmore and Kait Cook provide speed in the midfield.

Junior Laura Imler is in goal, and sophomores Mary Crowers and Elise Stafford head the defense along with Taylor Baldwin and senior Kaitlyn O’Connor.

The Lady Eagles also have depth with seniors Alana Orzechowski, Emily Halstead, sophomore Ashley Yarger and freshman Haley Morton.

SEQUOYAH

It has been nearly seven years since the Lady Chiefs have lost to a team from Cherokee County, and the Hickory Flat club is eager to continue that dominance as they return eight starters from a team that won region and set a school record for most wins in a season, going 18-2.

“With most of my returning scoring and defense, we should be ready to defend our region title again this year and hopefully repeat a state appearance and have some more success in the playoffs,” said head coach Bill Dillon, who has never lost to a county opponent during his tenure. “We are senior heavy with a great balance of youth to build from in the coming years.”

Anchoring the returners is leading scorer Emily Dover, who signed with Georgia State. She is one of three seniors to sign soccer scholarships this year. Kelsey Carl, who also signed with Georgia State, leads the defense, and Katherine Amatulli, who signed with Reinhardt, leads the midfielders.

Goalkeeper Kristy King signed to play softball at McNeese State.

The other returning starters are sophomore defender Catherine Slaten, senior Alaina Carluccio, sophomore Amanda Ducey and sophomore forward Katelyn Rikel.

Senior Diane Prescott also will start on defense, as junior Brittany Fox will see playing time in the midfield along with senior Kailey Barwick. Newcomer Heather Sherman will likely see starting time at midfield, and freshman Rachael Vinneau also could contribute in her first year at Sequoyah.

“I don’t expect our scoring to be what it was last year, but we should still have a very formidable offensive attack,” Dillon said. “Defensively, I don’t expect any letup from the years past as Sequoyah girls teams have a tradition of being a very solid defensive team.”

WOODSTOCK

Having been on the brink of winning a county championship each of the last two years, Woodstock made a change this year and welcomes Sarah Goodbread, who takes over a program that enjoyed its first winning season a year ago.

Goodbread also inherits a team that has the majority of its players back. The Lady Wolverines, who missed the playoffs because of a loss on penalty kicks to South Cobb, have all but two starters returning.

Although they lost Amy Porch, who is playing at the University of Louisiana-Monroe, the Lady Wolverines return a solid offensive nucleus headed by forward Lindsey Boehmler, who signed with Jacksonville State University. She is joined on offense by Kate Mahoney.

In the midfield, Alex Walker and Ali Meek, who signed with Mercer University, will patrol the center-midfield area. Caroline Copeland and Morgan Plasse also will play in the midfield.

(Left: Senior all-county midfielder Ali Meek signed a scholarship to play at Mercer University. Meek adds stability to Woodstock’s midfield, as the Lady Wolverines look to challenge Sequoyah for the county championship in girls soccer this season. Todd Callahan Ledger-news)

On defense, Erin McGee returns in goal, and Stefanie Barfield returns at sweeper. Courtney Starling and Sarah Yoder solidify the defense along with stopper Melissa Christopherson.

Chloe Bagley, Lindsey Olson, Bekah Mercer and Sam Jameson will contribute to the team this year.

There also is a youth movement, as several freshmen have stepped up, including Katherine Blumhardt, Amara Altman, Sydney McCarthy, Brittney Booz and Jordan Marchidon.

Goodbread will be looking for contribution from the nucleus of freshmen and hope they mesh with the veteran
players.

In years past, the only title Cherokee County soccer teams had to play for was the county championship, but last year Sequoyah put Canton on the map for boys soccer.

Led by Sam Muza, who signed a soccer scholarship to Reinhardt after setting a school record for goals in a season, the Chiefs won the county championship, a 5-AAAA title and reached the second round of the state playoffs before falling to Marist 3-2. It was the lone loss of the season for the Chiefs, who won a school record 19 games.

Although Muza is gone, the Chiefs, who began the season ranked 10th in Class AAAA and shut out both Woodstock and Paulding County, appear to be the class of the county again.

Etowah, with two NCAA Division-I signees in Cameron Miller and Mark Lavery, should be improved, and Cherokee also has a strong nucleus returning. Woodstock has some holes to fill in its lineup, and Creekview is continuing to build its program.

The Grizzlies also have a new head coach in Shawn McClellan. Woodstock also ushers in a new era under head coach Chris Meeks. Meeks is the third different coach for the Wolverines in as many years.

“In the county, I expect Etowah to be very good, Cherokee to be improved, and Woodstock has gotten themselves a good new coach in Meeks,” Sequoyah head coach Randy Smith said. “Repeating as county champs may be tougher than region.”

CHEROKEE

The Warriors finished last year with an 8-9 mark and missed out on making the playoffs, but with the majority of last year’s team back and experienced, Cherokee is eyeing a top-four finish in Region 5-AAAA and a state playoff berth.

“I thought we could have won the whole region last year,” Cherokee head coach Matt Gantz said. “I think we can this year as well. It will be up to the players to see how far we get this season.”

Although the Warriors have a big hole to fill at goalkeeper with the graduation of Ryan Achin, who is playing at Reinhardt, they return Ben Vanderbogart and Nestor Moreno, who combined for 24 goals. Gantz returns all three forwards and midfielders as well as some key reserves that could have the Warriors battling Sequoyah for a region title.

CREEKVIEW

Combining a preseason scrimmage and its first two matches of the season, Creekview has scored as many goals as the Grizzlies did in seven varsity games last year when they went 5-2.

The Grizzlies shut out Monroe Area 8-0 on Feb. 12 and routed Gilmer County 13-1 the following day. It’s a sign the program is starting to grow, as Shawn McClellan takes over the third-year program that is playing its first full year of a varsity schedule.

“Our talent pool continues to mature, as we now have a junior class,” said McClellan, who had 35 players participate in tryouts. “It will be a challenging year playing a full, region varsity schedule against some of the better teams in the state.”

In addition to playing in a competitive region, the Grizzlies also play county foes Cherokee and Woodstock.

Douglas Resendiz is the team captain and will lead a young squad of players on the field that includes: Alex Dukes, Josh

Felton, Cole Fraser, Daniel Guerre, Jeffrey Hunter, Nathaniel Martinez, Jordan McClellan, Denis McNamara, Ryan Nielson, Justin Whitaker, Will Herbert, Alex Ryan, Conner Keating and Josh Lietch.

ETOWAH

Three years removed from their last appearance in the state playoffs, the Etowah Eagles believe they have what it takes this year to crack make a return to the postseason. However, Etowah, who will be playing their first season on the synthetic turf field, is playing in the highly competitive Area 5-AAAAA with top-ranked Harrison and No. 3 North Cobb.

Leading the Eagles is senior Mark Lavery, who signed with Kentucky, and Cameron Miller, who will play at Missouri State.

“A lot of our players are returning since we have been so young the past couple of years,” head coach Chris Stahler said. “We have several seniors with excellent leadership abilities.”

Stahler added he has seen improvement across the board from younger players Kameron Mckeeth, Jordan Miramonti, Tommy Franklin and David Foster as well as veterans Aaron Walker and goalkeeper Frank Peterson, who has yet to allow a goal in the Eagles’ first three regular season games.

Etowah opened with a scoreless game against Sprayberry on Feb. 12 and edged Hillgrove, 1-0. Last Friday the Eagles traveled to Cass and came away with a 7-0 drubbing. They play their first game at home Friday against Woodward.

SEQUOYAH

Coming off the greatest season in school history, Sequoyah must figure out a way to replace the scoring void left by the graduation of its top two scorers Sam Muza and Jamie Bunch. They combined for 47 goals – 31 from Muza – and 19 assists.

One strength should be defense. The Chiefs return four starters, including senior goalkeeper Jeremy Smith, who had 120 saves and eight shutouts last year. Matt Kohler, Alex Hoffman and Jordan Smith also solidify the defense.

The top returning goal scorer is senior Will Schweigert, who was a first-team all-county player in the midfield. He will be looked on to fill the scoring void as will returning forward Matt Burgess. Jin Park and Dan Cardoni also look to contribute offensively. Junior Alex Jahl also will be looked upon to contribute offensively.

“We will be younger and a lot will depend on how rising juniors from the JV Cody Keel, Andy Bray, Austin Guilfoil, Juan Rivera and David Buck step into new roles on varsity,” Smith said. “Youth will be served as sophomore Mason Strain and freshmen Brett Snyder and Isaac Carluccio will compete for starting roles against the older players.”

The Chiefs have already taken the first steps to repeating as county champs, as they shut out Woodstock 1-0 on Feb. 13.

WOODSTOCK

Heading into this year’s campaign, the Woodstock boys soccer team has the distinction of having had as many head coaches over the past two years as the team has had wins. The Wolverines won two games in 2006 and was 1-10 last year.

This year, the Wolverines welcome Chris Meeks, who brings 10-years of coaching experience from Florida where he led West Shore to a district title last year.

“The theme on campus is to look towards the future, not the past,” Meeks said. “As a team, we are building a soccer program that will become a team to deal with in the future.”

Chris Perez is expected to be the leader on offense, and goalkeeper Cody Mizell, who played for the U.S. National team last year, will be the leader on the field. Meeks also is looking for big contributions from Stefan Goddard-Johnson, Caleb Thomas, Nate Curry and Jose Montero.