The Garretson/Dell Rapids Girls Soccer team is gearing up for the 2021 season and looking ahead to their game schedule, which begins tomorrow (Friday) when they face off against Vermillion here in Garretson at 4:00 p.m.
"We ended last year 3-7-2 and barely missed out on qualifying for the first round of the state tournament," said Coach Amber Williamson. "Despite our record, we were within a goal of turning many of those losses into wins. This year we are focused on finding more ways to put the ball in the back of the net and coming out on the other side of those close games."
Practice began for the team on Monday, August 2, and they opened their season with a Jamboree in Tea last Saturday, where they played scrimmages against West Central and Brandon Valley to touch up on their techniques.
Williamson is looking forward to the team dynamics.
"We have five seniors on the team this year- Madison Ljunggren, Tori Lodmell, Paige Sterud, Miriam Pickard, and Oliviyah Thornton," she said. "Our five seniors will be surrounded by a host of underclassmen with plenty of varsity experience including [Garretson] juniors Reagan Altman, Morgan Damman, Kayla Genzlinger, and Jenna VanHolland. Jordyn Williams, Joely Sterud, and Kylie Christensen will also be counted on as big contributors this year. Along with our high school athletes, we have a number of junior high players that will be seeing varsity time this season, including Ava Ockenga, Alyssa Olson, and Brooklyn Trudeau."
Overall, there are twenty-five athletes on the Varsity roster. After the game on Friday, the team will travel to Groton on Saturday to play the Tigers.
