PREVIEW: Northwood girls soccer

The Northwood girls soccer program begins a new era as Kersten Davis takes over as head coach for longtime coach Monte Bandeen, who is now coaching at Clay.

“I definitely give them their flowers when it comes to morale,” Davis said. “They came off a tough season last year, but honestly, they get along so well. They hype each other up. They're great wingmen for each other, and they're very uplifting, which is great to see in a group of high school girls. Their number one strength is they understand that we didn't have a great season last year, but they’re here because they like the sport and want to have fun. That's a really big strength for them.”

The Rangers, which graduated five seniors from last year’s team, will feature three seniors this year: offensive midfielder Haleigh Baker, striker Skylar Ledzianowski and midfielder Mya Calvillo.

Baker enters her second season after converting from volleyball, and with players like Calvillo in their first year playing soccer, she’s been able to mentor some of the kids new to the sport because she was in their shoes last season.

“Haleigh is a very competitive person, and I love to see that,” Davis said. “She pushes our players to bring that more physical side of soccer. She actually said she switched to soccer so she could be physical. That’s how she plays. She’s very open-minded and has been a really great resource for our new girls.”

Meanwhile, Ledzianowski is the team’s comic relief while also being a hard worker.

“She’s so sweet,” Davis said. “We've been especially focusing on shooting, and she's been putting the hours outside of practice and going to the stadium. That's such a great thing for her to talk about in front of the other girls — that you can do things outside of practice to work on stuff. I’ve really enjoyed that.”

Davis, who previously spent some time as a varsity assistant at Swanton, as well as a head coach at Scott, before taking a couple years off, is excited to get back into coaching soccer. She added Kaitlyn Ewing, who previously coached at Cardinal Stritch, as an assistant.

“I was really excited honestly to put my own cleats back on,” Davis said “Soccer has always been a good way to keep myself in shape. It is fun for me, and that's what I really enjoy about coaching.”

Some other key returners for Northwood are sophomore defender Megan Stone, junior midfielder Emma Kirkpatrick, sophomore defender/midfielder Kaydence Miller, junior defender Vanessa Mendoza and junior midfielder Reagan Pendry, who missed all of last year due to injury.

“We have some standout girls,” Davis said. “Skyler will be one to watch. She’s so athletic, and so is Haleigh, but I think Raegan will have a lot of success. She’s got an amazing left foot, which is crazy, especially coming off an ACL surgery and recovery. She’s going to be a real big leader on this team, same with Megan. I would count on them to be our playmakers.”

Top newcomers include freshmen Olivia Mobus and Lydia Areas, as well as juniors Julia Miner and Trista Towner, who could see extensive time in goal.

“We have definitely pushed them this summer in terms of drills and running,” Davis said. “They might grumble here and there as one does, but they do it. I've really appreciated that, especially some of our upperclassmen (who are encouraging the others). They've really taken me and Kaitlin in with open arms, which has been really nice.”

With Northwood coming off a winless season last year, Davis is looking forward to seeing how the team responds in her first season.

“I am very optimistic,” she said. “Looking at our schedule, there are definitely games that as long as they continue on the trajectory that they're on, they will win games. There are games that for sure might be a stretch for us just because we're still building, but they have the morale and a good team spirit in how they work together. They definitely can get some wins under their belt this year. Winning games isn’t my biggest priority, but of course it always helps. I'm really excited for them to be able to be able to say, ‘We won this game,’ or ‘We had some really good connections.’”