Pana girls soccer squad return veterans
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Members of the Pana High School girls soccer team this season are, in front from left, Rowan Waterman, Rachel Holthaus, Delaney Epley, Kaylee Zahradka, Mya Smith, Torrance Smith and Kassie Weideman. Middle row, Claire Osborn, Jenna Hadowsky, Ayda Coleman, Karsen Manuel, Belle Anderson and Xheneta Ademi. In back, Assistant Coach Steven Thompson, Aryn Alde, Marissa Barring, Jillian Hamilton, Lily Rochkes, Bayle Jewsbury and Head Coach Mike Weideman.
(Tom Latonis/Breeze-Courier Photo)
Tom Latonis
Breeze-Courier Writer
(PANA) — With a good blend of veterans and new people in his lineup, Head Coach Mike Weideman is looking forward to improvement as the season progresses for the 2022 Pana High School girls soccer team. He has 18 players who will vie for time on the pitch.
“You know, we’re really not a young team, but we’re really not an old team. We’ve got several girls who have shown a great deal of progress in their careers and some younger who are destined for good things,” Weideman said. “What I’ve told the girls is with each game, we steadily improve so we are at our best going into the play-offs.”
Three senior co-captains lead the foursome of seniors with a newcomer as well. Kassie Weideman led the team in goals and assists last season and she was a first team all-South Central Conference player and has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer at Kaskaskia College in the fall.
Jillian Hamilton, another captain, is described by the coach by being the player “who makes a play before the play.”
She is a very intense player and very aggressive, “Weideman said.
The third captain is Rachel Holthaus, who was all-conference second team last season. She will be center midfield, “kind of a coach on the field,” Weideman said.
The fourth senior is Kaylee Zahradka, a first-year player. “She’s doing well, she’s very coachable and learning. Very enthusiastic. She’s going to give us a lot of good minutes.”
There are a half-dozen junior players and several of them are the backbone of the defense. This includes goalkeeper Torrance Smith, who was third team all conference last season.
“She’s doing an outstanding job,” the coach said. “She had a lot of saves during our recent St. Teresa tournament that kept us right in the game. She’s very athletic in that position.”
Also on defense is Delaney Epley, a back line defender who Weideman says “keeps the back line pretty tight.”
Another defender, Bayle Jewsbury, is someone who is “smart with the ball” and will look to get it to someone at mid-field. She is also being employed to take the team’s corner kicks. Karen Manuel, another returning starter, on defense, is someone “who has some speed and can cut-off anything” if the opposing team tries to get a clear on the Panthers. Aryn Alde is a versatile player who, according to the coach, can play the middle of the field aggressively almost anywhere.
On offense, Jenna Hadowsky, a returning starter at forward, is someone who is “coming around and has better field awareness than she did last year.”
“She has better ball control and will definitely be a threat as far as goal scoring goes.”
At the sophomore level, the Panthers have Claire Osborn, another returning starter, who the coach said is very aggressive for her size. “A lot of times, I think, other teams see her smaller size, but she gets right after it and there is no quit in her whatsoever.”
Other sophomores looking to make a contribution are Marissa Barringer, Mya Smith and Xheneta Ademi as well as freshmen Belle Anderson, Ayda Coleman, Lilly Rochkes and Rowan Waterman. Each of these players, Weideman say are improving and will all see action throughout the season.
He sees the South Central Conference race as a toss up with every team being tough. Top non-conference rivals will be Williamsville, Athens and North Mac on the road and home matches with Decatur LSA and Auburn.
