COLUMBUS GROVE – An experienced team led by 10 returning starters from a nine win campaign a year ago highlights the upcoming campaign for Columbus Grove.
Still in relative infancy the Columbus Grove girls soccer program has continued to grow year by year and enter the 2021 season with a 30-28 mark under head coach Chris Halker.
Coming off a 9-5-2 season that produced a second place finish of 4-1 in the Northwest Conference the Bulldogs mentor sees big things for his team this year “We have a little different look and attitude this season as we have some things to prove and to go out
and do for ourselves this year and finish games off like we should.”
Returning for the Bulldogs this season will be every player who netted a goal and all but one starter in Kenzie King, Savannah Ridenour, Melana Lohman, Emma Renner, Maddie Thompson, Grace Meyers, Landyn Dotson, Kiersten Closson, Hanna Schroeder, and Camryn Gratz.
Kenzie King and Savannah Ridenour headline a list of players who notched 1st team NWC honors and were joined on the conference’s best list by teammates Grace Meyers who was named to the second team and honorable mention selections Melena Lohman, and Emma Renner.
While the Bulldogs are heavy with returning talent they will also feature a strong group of incoming freshmen that Halker believes will be enough to help the team contend not only in the Northwest Conference and Putnam County League standings, but also aid the squad in their pursuit of the programs first district crown.
“The girls have worked very hard all off season and so far with the season just beginning. This senior group is the group that begged to get high school soccer started back when they were in the 5th grade, and here we are with a chance to do something we haven’t yet and that is make a long tournament run. We heard the complaints that we started this program for this group but they are wrong. We did start
the program because of this group but it wasn’t just for them. It was for the girls who played and graduated the last 4 years and for those that will keep playing and coming through the program” said Halker.
Columbus Grove opened the 2021 season with a 3-1 victory over Cory-Rawson and will next be in action on August 24th when they travel to Miller City to battle the Wildcats in a 5:00 P.M. kickoff to the PCL season.