Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
One of the area’s top duos — Savannah Little and Brooke Wiley — returns for Lake as the Flyers look to build off a historic undefeated regular season last year
“I'm a realist, but I'm also an optimist, so I think the sky's the limit,” second-year head coach Lauren Colangelo said. “I really do think we have a group of girls that can be successful if they put the work in and if they're focused on what our task is.
“A lot of area schools that we play have a lot of returners as well. I think that we will see some really good competition throughout this season, and I definitely think that we can compete.”
After a 5-7-5 finish in 2023, Colangelo took over a program that also graduated Brianna Braatz, a four-year varsity forward who broke Lake’s single-season goals record with 35.
A former Lake standout herself, Colangelo shifted Little from the defender role she played as a rookie to a spot up top, joining forces with Wiley. The duo ultimately combined for 43 goals and 21 assists.
“There really isn’t enough words to describe them,” Colangelo said. “You really don't have one without the other. A lot of attention was on Savannah last year, and she deserved every bit of that, but Brooke just brings something else to the table.
“They work off of each other so well that if Savannah didn't have Brooke, I don't think she would have had the success that she has. They're best friends off the field, so that definitely helps and shows that chemistry matters. Brooke is a returning captain. They're both great leaders. They've shown up all summer, willing to put the work in.”
Little led the way with 28 of those goals, while Wiley had 14 assists, and along with several other standouts, Lake produced an undefeated regular season and a share of the program’s first Northern Buckeye Conference title since 2017.
The Flyers finished 13-1-3 with their only loss coming in the district semifinals to eventual regional finalist, Eastwood.
Outside of Little and Wiley, Lake was led by a strong senior trio of goalkeeper Lauren Tobias and defenders, Adeana Cowell and Audrey Snowdy.
Tobias could be the toughest to replace as she was a stabilizing force in net.
“It's going to be hard,” Colangelo said. “We have some goalkeepers who have been training and putting in a lot of work, and I definitely think that they're up for the task. But Lauren came off of the kind of a season that I don't think anyone expected her to have. I am just reminding our goalkeepers now that that's not the expectation. They're their own person. They're their own goalkeeper. And we will adjust how we have to adjust.”
Meanwhile, replacing Cowell and Snowdy will also be a challenge on defense and in terms of leadership.
“Adeana is a high school player that is very hard to replace,” Colangelo said. “I don't think people realize … I think they knew that she was important, but not really. I don't think they realized the caliber of what she did for the team until now that we don't have her. She was vocal, she was loud, she was aggressive. I mean, she's everything that you could ask out of a defender.
“Audrey wasn't a game changer on the field, and she didn't have a lot of stats, but leadership-wise, she was the best leader that we had on the team. She really kind of came out of her shell just being that leader. I always tell my players that a captain or a leader doesn't have to be the strongest soccer player. And she was the perfect example of that. Losing that leadership is going to be something that's pretty difficult to replace.”
In addition to Little and Wiley, Lake returns four seniors in Penelope Garcia, Tabitha Balsmeyer, Riley Byington and Kaydence Eckenrode.
“Their experience brings a lot to the team,” Colangelo said. “They were all starters throughout the majority of the season, so just having that experience on the field — that alone is something that they're gonna help with, just kind of knowing how we play.”
Those seniors are among eight returning starters for the Flyers.
“They kind of bought into our team motto last year,” Colangelo said. “And already this season, they've bought in, they came in ready to work and realize that last year's success isn't the expectation, but that is what we are working towards every day that we are out there.
“They have been really good at relaying that to some of our freshmen and just making sure that everyone is on the same page. Winning games and coaching soccer and stuff, that's my job, but I think as a whole, the group of girls that we have, they bring a lot more to the table than just their athletic success.”
Having graduated three seniors who played in the back third of the field, one of Lake’s primary focuses in the preseason is there.
“We’re trying to replace that and move some people around,” Colangelo said. “Some people are gonna be playing places that they're unfamiliar with and maybe not where they played last year, but they're all willing to do so. We’re just trying to make sure that we kind of work out those kinks early in the season.”
Colangelo also said that the program has an infusion of young talent in the program this year. For the first time in a long time, the Flyers will have an all-girls JV team.
“It’s been years since we've had that,” she said. “We've played co-ed JV whenever we've had the numbers to do so, so it was good to see that. That obviously helps down the road, but I'm excited for this season. (Obviously we have) Brooke and Savannah, and having them coming back is a huge help, especially for our offense and just kind of knowing how we do things, but we have some underclassmen, some freshmen that definitely could be key players. We just haven't quite figured out who that is yet and what they're gonna bring to the team.”
