There is plenty of talent back on the Silver Lake High girls’ soccer team this season and because of that, they should be one of the stronger teams in the area this season. They will also likely be a tough opponent in the playoffs if they do what they are capable of achieving.
After all, they are coming off a relatively strong season where they battled to an 8-8-3 finish, a performance that was good enough for them to earn a spot in the playoffs. From that team, they are returning nine of their starters–which is most of their team’s top contributors from last season.
Of those nine players coming back, two of them were Patriot League All-Stars last season. Both Ali Crawford and Izzy Ruprecht got the nod in 2016, beating out several other players on quality teams for the honor. This year, they will be vital pieces of the team with Crawford leading the attack and Ruprecht on defense.
Hannah Vogt and Morgan Palma were two of the Lakers’ strikers last season, and they are back once again. Palma had 11 goals while Vogt added eight more. They will be joined by both Jill Wohlgemuth and Morgan Wohlgemuth on the attack while Mel Coughlin and Tayla Mayberry bring strong experience to the team’s defense. Once again, Caity Smith will be in net for the team this season after excelling last year.
So far the Lakers are off to a 2-2 start. Their first loss came against a tough Whitman-Hanson opponent, who made a deep playoff run last season. Regardless, the Lakers are in a good position to finish this season with an even better record than they had last year.
The Lakers next game is this Saturday, Sept. 23, at home against Pembroke High. The game has an 11:30 a.m. scheduled start time.