STUARTS DRAFT — Call it a youth movement. Don’t, however, call it a rebuilding year for Stuarts Draft girls soccer. Despite an influx of freshmen, the Cougars are 6-1-2 through April 23, currently in second place in the Shenandoah District.
Stuarts Draft has eight freshmen on its roster, two times more than the next closest team, Wilson, who has four ninth graders. The other seven teams in the district have 11 freshmen combined.
And it’s not like the freshmen are just on varsity to watch. In a 3-2 win over Wilson Memorial April 23, Ellie Weatherholtz scored twice and Kendall Clark added the winning goal. Both are freshmen. Alexis Waite, another ninth grader, added an assist. The goalkeeper, Morgan Beauford, who shut out Wilson in the second half, is also just a freshman.
Junior Angela Hibshman said a lot of the younger players had already been on teams together so they were used to playing with one another. This season, those player have done a nice job meshing with the veteran Cougars.
“It’s been really nice to get to know and get to use everyone’s skills to their abilities,” said Hibshman.
And the players aren’t easily rattled. Trailing 2-1 to Wilson at halftime, Draft controlled most of the second half.
“I told them they were lucky to only be down 2-1,” coach Jess DeWitt said. “We started off the game very slow, just reacting to everything and not anticipating or moving toward the ball, so we were pretty lucky. At halftime the message was we have to win 50-50 balls and every ball after that.”
The few chances Wilson did get in the second half, Draft’s defense stepped up. DeWitt said she was most impressed with the defensive line. Some of the personnel were switched around after losing a center back, but the players got the job done against Wilson.
Beauford also came up with a couple of beautiful saves to keep Wilson from scoring in the second half. DeWitt had worked with Beauford in volleyball and thought she could make the transition to goalkeeper. She had never played that position until this season.
“Everything she does is natural talent and natural instinct for her,” DeWitt said. “We’ve worked with her, but kudos to her natural ability to find it, see it and get there.”
DeWitt called the experience with this young team “a little unpredictable.”
“We came into the season really not knowing how they were going to all pull together with the upperclassmen,” DeWitt said. “So it has been unpredictable. Game to game those experiences they are getting at the varsity level they haven’t had, so not knowing how they’re going to react in certain situations, like if we’re down a goal or two, how they’re going to navigate that is hard to tell. But they’re doing a good job.”
The young Cougars began the season with a pair of ties against Wilson and Riverheads. Then it was three wins in a row by a combined 23-2 before getting a huge one-goal victory over Staunton. That had the confidence soaring, but it crashed quickly with a 7-1 loss to Waynesboro, currently the top team and unbeaten in the district.
DeWitt said a lot of her players, including the younger ones, have played so much travel soccer over the years that they have had games against much better teams. That experience has helped them learn how to quickly bounce back from a disappointing loss.
“The mentality at practice the next day was very much humble,” DeWitt said. “They knew they had to work. They wanted it again, they want to play Waynesboro again. I think we’ll bring a different mindset into that game next time.”
That match is still three weeks away though. In the meantime, Draft has rematches with Riverheads on April 28 and Fort Defiance on May 1, more opportunities for this young team to continue to mature.
“I’ve really enjoyed coaching them,” DeWitt said. “They’re a very coachable group, which is important if we’re going to have them for a long time. This is a team that, if they stick together and continue to progress they way they have, it could be really exciting the next couple of years.”
Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips are always welcome. Connect with Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and on Instagram @hitepatrick. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Stuarts Draft girls soccer using freshmen talent to find success