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Sophomore Certainty

Lady Jayhawks Return Nine From 2016, Including Starting Defense

Jamestown Community College’s Brianna Ingerson, right, is one of four returning starting defenders. P-J file photo

In the world of junior college athletics, returning

players are like gold.

On the pitch this fall, Jamestown Community College women’s soccer coach Dana Shelters has an embarrassment of riches.

The Jayhawks will feature nine returning players when they take the field for their first game today at North Country CC.

Leading the charge will be a pair of double-digit goal scorers in Tayler Morrison (Dundee/Dundee) and Courtney Hewes (Ashville/Chautauqua Lake). Both women found the back of the net 10 times a season ago, when Jamestown CC finished with a 5-11 overall record.

Members of the Jamestown Community College women’s soccer team, in front, from left, are: Sarah Russin, Kristen Bowker, Savannah Rivera, Abigail Merchant, Lauren Madden, Brianna Ingerson and Alexa Dix. In back are: Heidi Hoden, Morgan Schoonover, Courtney Hewes, Lexus Cornelius, Rebecca Butcher, Tayler Morrison, Kelly Keefe, Kennedy Scott and Annalise Boyer. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

“Having those two there and adding Kristen Bowker (Scio/Scio) and Alexa Dix (Jamestown/Jamestown) into that mix, we have some tremendous speed,” Shelters said. “Team defense and team speed are what excite me about this bunch.”

Overall last year, Jamestown CC managed to outscore its opponents, 40-39, but those numbers were inflated a bit by a 12-0 victory over Niagara County CC and a 10-1 win over Cayuga CC.

Shelters hopes to improve on his team defense this season and thinks he has the right pieces in place to do just that.

Four of his returning sophomores are starting defenders Kennedy Scott (Bolivar/Bolivar-Richburg), Brianna Ingerson (Jamestown/Jamestown), Heidi Hoden (Lakewood/Southwestern) and Lexus Cornelius (Bolivar/Bolivar-Richburg).

“To be able to have pretty much our starting defense back is the biggest thing,” Shelters said. “Heidi is the general back there. She knows how to work the defense and how to play it.”

In the middle of the field will be sophomore captain Savannah Rivera (Pomfret/Fredonia), who will be joined by freshmen Morgan Schoonover (Portville/Portville) and Annalise Boyer (Randolph/Randolph).

“They see the whole field, so they not only can direct themselves but the players in front of them. … They can tell them to play the ball right, left, those types of things,” Shelters said of the connection between his defense and midfielders. “Those little things in the game are what make a big difference. The more they hear each other’s voices and have been around each other to understand what they are saying, the better off you are.”

Despite the improvements in front of the net, Shelters believes his team’s success will begin in the back where keeper Rebecca Butcher (South Dayton/Pine Valley) is back for her sophomore season. Last year as a freshman, Butcher made 108 saves and picked up a pair of shutouts.

“There are good keepers and then there are keepers that are above good. Becky has unlimited potential. She is tall, she’s athletic, she’s everything you’d want in a keeper,” Shelters said. “She’s very coachable and has a great head for the game. Having that defense in front of her, she can yell at that defense and they can yell those instructions forward.”

When all was said and done, 2016 was an up-and-down season for the Jayhawks, who never won more than two games in a row and saw their season fall apart late when they lost eight of their last 10 contests.

“The biggest step I think in soccer is between high school and our level. The speed and physicality is every play. For sophomores to have lived through that one year and to impart it to the freshmen is big,” Shelters said. “To be able to put that many sophomores on the field at one time, they know what’s going on. Before they hit the field, all those jitters are gone. They understand the travel and everything else. It’s a lot to put on these young adults.”

That added experience this season is what Shelters feels will help his team turn a 5-11 record into something much more respectable.

“When I look back at last year, two things we needed to be better at were speed and defense. We’d get down a goal and then start to play,” the 11-year coach said. “You can’t be successful in this league doing that very long.”

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