The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Lady Outlaws soccer team returns 10 experienced and skilled players this year, and will add four players who will lend athleticism and depth to the squad.

Senior Josie Patton is back for her final year. She is one of the team’s captains and will again play in the goal. Patton has improved her play every year and with her height (close to six feet tall), strong hands, confidence, and leadership, she will be an enormous asset to the team. Coach Brian Holden told The Nugget that he expects Josie to be one of the best goalies in league, and possibly the best in the state.

Returning defenders include seniors Analise Backus (captain) and Sage Wyland (captain), juniors Maggie Lutz and Brooke Harper, and sophomore Shae Wyland. These girls are veteran players who work well together with both communication and balance. They have speed, distribute the ball well out of the back, and push forward when the Outlaws need to get goals.

Senior Trinity Alvarez, juniors Marley Holden, Izzy Schiller, and Lily Sundstrom are all back for another year and will anchor the middle, as well as provide outside scoring opportunities this year.

Senior Tatum Cramer and sophomore Ella Davis round out the returning players, and will play at the forward position. Both girls are tall and their size and speed will give their opponents’ center backs a hard time.

Holden said, “Ella (Davis) is very determined and driven, and has a hunger to score.”

Five new players to the varsity team this year include Zoee Bafford, Ella Eby, Juhree Kizziar, Tallis Grummer, and Becca Blausen.

Bafford, a freshman, will start for the Outlaws in the midfield. Holden noted that Bafford is a feisty, tenacious, relentless, and hardworking player who will make tremendous contributions in the middle. Eby, Kizziar, Grummer, and Blausen are all athletic and coachable players who will have success on the field this year. Blausen, a foreign exchange student from Hamburg, Germany, will play as an outside midfielder.

Holden told The Nugget that he expects a lot of scoring from both the forwards and midfielders, and noted that this year the defenders will contribute goals as well.

Holden said, “This is a close group of girls and our goal this year is to control the pace of the game and take lots of shots in and outside the box. These girls definitely have enough talent to compete for the league title. Traveling and playing on different surfaces is always challenging, but I believe this group of girls have the grit and determination to get through the difficult games.”