Hazelwood West Girls Soccer Eyes State Championship Run in 2011

If every team in every sport had the same goal heading into every new season of wanting to be at least as good as they were the season before, then few teams in the area would have a tougher time reaching that goal than the girls varsity soccer team would this season.

The Lady Wildcats were near perfect in '10. They had a spectacular 25-2 record, were undefeated champions of the Suburban North Conference, and won their third straight district title.

The '10 season was no doubt remarkable and record setting for Hazelwood West girls soccer. But head coach Jason Sellers said it has nothing to do with what kind of team the Wildcats will be in '11.

“That was last year,” Sellers said. “Year-after-year we have to continue to establish ourselves as one of the better schools for soccer.

"So the girls we have now, that’s the challenge that they’re gonna have to meet," he said. "Now whether or not we can do that, is gonna be up to us as a team.”

It certainly won’t be easy for the Wildcats to duplicate last season’s success. Several key performers from '10 graduated at the end of last year, and have now moved on to playing at the college level.

Sellers said at least 10 members from last spring’s team played collegiately last fall, including high-scoring seniors Amy Ward and Suzy Ryan.

Hazelwood West also lost its brilliant goalkeeper from last year, then-junior Ashton Aubuchon.

An incredible young lady, who allowed only allowed seven goals all season for the Lady Wildcats last year, Aubuchon graduated high school in just three years, then accepted a full scholarship to play at Southeast Missouri State, where she started for the Redhawks last fall, and was the youngest student-athlete in all of NCAA Division I athletics last year.

“They were a special group of girls, no doubt about that,” Sellers said. “Obviously, by the (25-2) record was one indication, but there’s even more.

"The relationships we had are still very close," he said. "We got to watch them grow up and mature, and now we get to watch them in college.”

Heading into this season, there’s still a whole lot to be excited about for West.

The Wildcats actually bring back their top three scorers from last year, including junior Mariah Gove, who led the Suburban North in scoring last year with 26 goals and 74 points.

Even though she was only a sophomore, Gove was voted league co-Player of the Year in 2010, and was named to the Associated Press and ESPN RISE all-state teams.

In fact, ESPN RISE had Gove rated as one of the top tenth-grade players in the nation last year, prompting colleges from all over the country to start sending her recruiting cards and letters, hoping she might consider them when she makes her college choice in two years.

“I even got a letter from McGill University in Canada,” Gove said. “I can’t believe so many people have heard of me, and know about me, and want me to go to their school. I almost feel famous.”

Gove was quick to point out though, that without the help of her teammates, she wouldn’t find herself in position to nearly as often as she does.

Two of those teammates who surely seem to have college soccer in their futures are junior forwards Ashley Geist and Jenn Morris.

Last season, Geist was second on the team with 18 goals and 49 points, while Morris finished fourth with 10 goals and 29 points.

“I love those girls so much,” Gove said. “We’ve all played together since we we’re like eight.

"We just have a special connection I think," she said. "We just know how to play together, and play off each other, without even saying a word.”

One key hole the Wildcats will have to fill is in goal, now that Aubuchon is at SEMO. Sellers said he’ll turn to freshman Alex Linck to guard the net this season.

Fans of Wildcat softball will remember Linck’s name immediately. She’s the player that took Suburban North Conference softball by storm last year, winning the league’s Newcomer of the Year award, after leading West in several categories, including home runs, RBIs and runs scored.

“We’re lucky to have (assistant coach) Steve Mays, who played at Missouri State, here to work with her,” Sellers said. “He was a ‘keeper’. He’s been around a long time. And he’s great with goalies."

Sellers said Mays will help train Linck. "Hopefully, she can progress over the next couple years, and be someone we can count on back there," he said.