The Lake Oconee Academy girls’ soccer team has struggled early in the season but has played a tough schedule.
The Lady Titans are 3-3-2 at the midpoint of the season but hope for a better result in the back part of the year.
LOA second-year head coach Kourtney Kelley acknowledged her team’s rough start as most of her players are just getting back into the swing of things on the pitch after recently ending their respective winter sports seasons.
“At the beginning, we did deal with some tough losses. I believe that was because we were still getting into the swing of things and back into the soccer mindset,” Kelley said. “Most of our girls are multi-sport athletes and don’t play soccer year round. It takes us a few weeks to get the hang of playing together again and connecting passes.”
LOA has lost to Madison County, Social Circle, and Hebron Christian. The Lady Titans have knocked off Putnam County and GMC Prep, but have tied with Westminster Christian and Prince Avenue Christian as well.
All of Lake Oconee Academy’s losses have come to bigger schools in higher classifications. According to Kelley, those games are learning experiences and her players will only get better from the losses in the future.
“It’s also good to play better teams early on in the season and take those tough losses,” Kelley said. “It helps us develop more as a team and see how hard we need to work to get back to where we were last year.”
Last season, Kelley’s squad made a historic run to the Class A Division II semifinal. Unfortunately, the Lady Titans ran out of gas and lost to rival Towns County, a team they had already beaten in the regular season.
Kelley and her players have high expectations this season and want to get back to that point. They also want to improve in several areas of the game, including playing better on defense and staying connected on the pitch.
“Our expectations are very high. With last year’s final-four finish, all of the girls came back hungry for another shot at a state championship,” Kelley said. “We have (also) been working at practice to lock down our defense and to stay (more) connected as a team. Holding shape has been a huge priority for us this year.”
A few players such as Lauren Glass, Jane Monachello, and Addison Kelley continue to step up this for LOA. Two of these players were pivotal to the Lady Titans’ success last season during their big playoff push.
Glass, a midfielder, was LOA’s leading scorer last year. She’s again showing this year in LOA’s offensive set. Monachello is also a huge focal point of the Lady Titans’ offense and takes the pressure off Glass at times.
Addison Kelley has also helped LOA, and her coach acknowledged how the freshman has performed this year.
“Addison has surprised us this season. She is a freshman and this is her first time playing on a high-level soccer team,” Kelley said. “Early on, we were looking for a goalkeeper to fill in until Ansleigh Padgett got back from basketball season. [Addison] stepped in and filled that role. She is naturally athletic, very aggressive, and has a never-quit mentality. She has kept us in several games and made some incredible saves.”
LOA’s region play heats up and soon and Kelley wants to see her girls playing their best. Despite dealing with injuries and a little bit of inexperience with a young roster, Kelley believes her team’s bond is strong this year.
“We are a tough team. We have battled injury after injury this season. However, we seem to always bounce back,” Kelley said. “The girls are not afraid to play different positions and give 100 percent, no matter what. I’m proud of how hard they’ve worked and we’re looking forward to region play in the upcoming weeks.”