For the first time since winning four-straight district titles from 2003-06, the Lyon County girls’ soccer team enters the 2020 season in search of a third consecutive 5th District championship. After last season’s 2-1 title-game win over Trigg County, the Lady Lyons said goodbye to five seniors, including team assist leader Emily Smith and fellow midfielder Bailey Guess. Defenders Kate Gray and MaKenzie Lewis move on as well, but an experienced group returns in Eddyville.
The top two scorers return from 2019’s 9-13 campaign, including the 2nd Region’s second-highest scorer Rose Smith. Smith tallied 41 goals as a sophomore and found the net twice in the district-title victory over Trigg County.
Senior Sydney Hoffman is back after being second on the team in both goals and assists, and the Lady Lyons get an offensive boost from Leah Schroeder’s return from a knee injury that wiped out her sophomore season. Sophomore Mary Beth Davis is also back to bolster the attack.
On the defensive side, goalkeeper Abby Smith returns after allowing 4 goals per game last season. Smith will be well protected by returning sophomore defenders Emmy Slaton and Abbeni Jones, and seniors Crista Cummins and Abbi Crawford. Seniors Destiny Dycus and Jordyn Schofield can play in both the midfield and defense, along with junior Samantha Hooper. Sophomore Maddie Russell also returns from injury and may see time at goalkeeper as well in the field.
Coach Abby Smith also welcomes a group of young players to provide depth and push the returning starters for minutes. Freshmen Krysta Stovall, Ashlee Kent, and Olivia Adams are all options in the midfield or defense, while Anna Crawford will help out in the middle of the field, and Alli Holt can support the backline.
The Lady Lyons will jump in the deep end at the very start of the season, opening with an All-A matchup with UHA on September 8. The Lady Blazers won last season’s meeting 9-0.
District meetings with Trigg County come on September 21 and October 1, with a September 29 trip to Caldwell County in between. The Lady Lyons dropped both regular-season matches with Trigg last year, while Caldwell was a 4-0 winner in Princeton.
Ahead of a recent practice, Coach Smith previewed the upcoming season.
