During his first season in charge of the Minerva girls soccer team, Jake Nightingale shook things up in a big way. The Lady Lions improved from 3-12-1 and a last-place finish in the Eastern Buckeye Conference in 2023 to a 7-9-3 mark and third place in the EBC last year.
Minerva lost two seniors from last year, Kaylie Loveless and Addy Turick. They will be missed, but the Lady Lions are welcoming back a large contingent of letter winners.
Senior letter winners are led by forwards Kyleigh Lippincott and Ireland Kirkpatrick, defenders Lillie Stoltzfus, Kendra Johns, Grace Angione, Autumn Thompson, and Lexi Yonkey (MF). Liz Battin (MF) and Maddy Standing (D/GK) comprise the returning juniors, while Tateum Richard(MF), Ava Whiteleather (MF), and Kelly Bolanz (D) are sophomores.
Lippincott’s name is all over the Minerva record book as she broke the single season goals scored record, the single season assist record, and most goals in a single game record. For her efforts, she was made an All-Ohio selection and named first team All-EBC, Stark County, and East District.
Meanwhile, Ireland is back after missing significant time last season due to a knee injury. According to Nightingale, she has “come out this year with a chip on her shoulder and is ready to compete.” Nightingale also points to Angione as the team’s defensive leader, saying, “The best thing about having a player like Grace on defense is that she will help facilitate the attack with our midfield and is able to score from distance with excellent ball control.”
To this mix will be added multiple freshman, including Alexa Lippincott (MF), Ally Sullivan (D/GK), and Sophia Burick (F).
Nightingale sees his squad becoming more skilled in technique, particularly precision passing and ball control, both of which lead to sustained attacks on goal.
“This year's team is different from last year's team with their ability to pass and maintain possession of the ball,” he said.” We have worked extremely hard on building confidence with the ball at our feet and distributing the ball with a purpose.”
The Lady Lions also possess speed on both sides of the ball and Nightingale sees players entering the program with more experience already under their belt being an advantage.
“This year's team's greatest strength is the ability to quickly counter the attack,” Nightingale said. “The experience that both our returning players and incoming freshmen have will give us plenty of options to capitalize on quick scoring opportunities.”
It is always good to have goals, something to work toward. Last year, the Lady Lions improved from the EBC’s cellar to the middle of the standings. Therefore, it’s only natural that they aspire for another upward move.
“I am expecting league play to remain very competitive this year as it has in years past,” said Nightingale. “We have talked as a team and are hoping to not only finish highly in league standing but are hoping to win the league this year.”
