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Times they are a changing: East begins new season with new district, new coach
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
First-year Plano East girls soccer head coach Eric Smith, who came to the Lady Panthers after previously coaching at Richardson, was quick to state, "teams don't necessarily show their entire hands during tournaments."
That being said, East showed plenty Jan. 18 in a 3-1 victory over Rowlett at the Plano Tournament of Champions.
"This is the first time I've had a team that's beaten Rowlett," Smith said. "It was a really good match and the girls played the way I expect them to every match. They knew exactly what we wanted to accomplish and they were working together; if we do that every match, we'll be just fine."
"Yeah, our first week wasn't exactly what we were hoping for," Smith said.
In the Dr Pink Invitational (Jan. 10-12), East started 1-3 with a victory over Frisco Heritage (2-1) and losses to Wichita Falls Rider (2-0), McKinney North (2-0) and Frisco (1-0).
East's lone loss in Plano's tournament came Jan. 17 versus Frisco Centennial (5-0).
"We had sort of a challenging start there," Smith said. "But Centennial is a really good side."
The Lady Panthers finished the event with a 3-1 mark after victories against The Colony (1-0), Rowlett and Plano's JV (3-0). The cost of those wins was high though as East lost multiple midfielders to injury.
"That's one of the reasons I communicate to the team that everyone needs to be on the field at some point," Smith said. "That way they are prepared to play when the opportunity presents itself."
That philosophy held forth over the weekend at the Lewisville Cup.
The Lady Panthers have senior Alexis Alba back in net, but brought up freshman Laurel Stefani for the tournament so she could gain experience. Alba and Stefani playing behind a defense that features senior Marissa Hughes and junior Lauren Leto as the marking backs with senior Kylie Peterson at sweeper.
There was further variety in the midfield due to the team's injuries.
"Yeah, we're having to shuffle a bit," Smith said.
That may have contributed to the mixed bag of results as the Lady Panthers went 1-2 with an 8-0 thumping of W.T. White wedged between losses to host team Lewisville (2-0) and Arlington Martin (4-1).
Once at full strength, East is expected to rely heavily on seniors Maddie Pitcock, Abby Canny and freshman Natalie Newell in the midfield. Pitcock, Newell and senior forward Abby Bailey have been the team's primary source of offense.
"Those three have really been our core as far as scoring goes," Smith said.
Bailey could be joined at forward by senior Katie Howard. Howard, Leto and senior Kelsey Peterson each scored two goals in Friday's win over White.
"Katie has done some work in the back for us too," Smith said. "But I really like her powerful shot and I think it will be good for us to use her up top."
The more shots the better as scoring has been at a premium for East the past two seasons. The Lady Panthers scored just 19 goals while compiling a 3-24-1 record the past two seasons in District 8-5A. That total will have to go up if the team hopes to advance out of a district that includes Plano West, Plano Senior, Allen, McKinney and McKinney Boyd.
"It will be a challenging district for sure," Smith said. "But that's for everyone, not just us. I don't think any team can walk in and say they have any match won before stepping onto the field."
East last made the playoffs in 2009.
"I think that is a realistic goal for us this season," Smith said. "Ultimately the girls are the ones who have to go out there and make it happen, but I like the direction we're heading."
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