Coaches Juan Lucas and Hannah Evans have only had two weeks with the 2023 Racer girls soccer team, but they look to a competitive season with plenty of upper classmen to lead the younger players.
Starting the new year, the team had only eight players, but it wasn’t long before they had a roster of 24.
Among those 24 are returning starters such as Bentlee Lindsey, a midfielder who saw limited time playing last year because of an ACL injury. The coaches think she’ll be productive for this year’s team. Outside or mid-fielder Lauren Miller is also a strong returner.
Another mid-fielder returning is Kaylin Holmes, who the coaches say is really important to the team.
Returner Aundrea Estrada is the team goalie, coming into soccer off an appearance at the State Wrestling Tournament last weekend. There’s also defender Stucks, who does a great job, coaches said, and the Racers also return a really quick defender in Autumn Hites.
The Racers have four seniors on the team: Miller, Emma Allen, Finley Fulton, and Kyla Martinez. They have seven juniors: Stucks, Estrada, Lindsey, Holmes, Carsyn Ray, Brynna Ford, and Dorothy Bledsoe.
They are joined by sophomores Autumn Hites, Daelyn Fulton, Teagan Painter, Addisyn Burke, Ashlyn Simson, and freshmen Kassidy Epperson, Lexi Swetz, Kennedy Epperson, Sailor Kelley, Ella Winn, Alyssa Wagstaff, Bella Allen, and Rylee Heskew.
Coach Lucas said, “We are trying to do our best to catch up after having only two weeks with the team, but we think we have a really good team. A couple more weeks and we’ll know more.”
The Racers won their first pre-season game against Lawton Eisenhour, 4-3. They lost their second pre-season game against Ardmore, but it was more of a game to see what all the players were capable of doing. The coaches said they felt like the game wasn’t a fair representation of the team.
“It was pretty even in the first half,” Lucas said, as the more experienced players were on the field, “but we wanted everyone to get some playing time.”
The coaches said their team has good chemistry and they are competitive. Their goal for the year is to make it to the playoffs.
“I really think we are going to make it this year,” Lucas said.
Boys Coach Tom Pecore said Coach Evans was an outstanding high school player for Mustang. She went on to have a successful career at Oklahoma Baptist University, and brings an attitude of success, no matter the odds. She brings the credibility that young women can identify with, Pecore said.
Lucas comes to Newcastle as a graduate student from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha. He is a coach that loves the high school game, and understands the balance of school and sports, Pecore said, adding that to watch him mature as a coach has been very satisfactory.
Since he grew up in Spain he brings a new way of looking at the game, Pecore said. In Spain there is no school soccer, and only club ball.
Both coaches are commited to their craft, Pecore said.
