2024 Highland County Girls Soccer Preview

Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs
Division V
Head Coach: Dennis West
2023 Overall Record: 15-1-4
2023 SHAC Record: 5-0-1 (1st place)

The Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs ended the 2023 season as Division III Regional runners-up, finishing the season with a 15-1-4 overall record, winning a fifth consecutive district championship. They were also champions of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference with a 5-0-1 record, improving their win/tie (no losses) streak to 92 consecutive conference games, dating back to the 2010 season.

The Lady Mustangs in ’23 had a .850 winning percentage last season, with a .917 winning percentage in SHAC games as their lone tie in conference play was against the Eastern Lady Warriors at a 1-1 score.

Seniors for Lynchburg-Clay are Addie Downing, Jayden Maxfield, Aubrey Slack, Miranda Smith, Olivia VanFleet, Allie Waits and Haidyn Wolfe.

The juniors for the Lady Mustangs for ’24 are Audrey Barry, Caitlyn Collins, Sophia Michael and Reese Ruble.

LC’s sophomores are Savannah Bell, Addie Cordrey, Baylee McClain, Willow Smith and Caraline West. The two freshmen for LCHS are Lizzie Hall and Lily Layne.

The Lady Mustangs — who are coached by Dennis West — last season outscored their opponents 77-13 in 20 games, with six of those goals allowed coming in the regional finals against Cincinnati Country Day School, falling by a 6-0 score, the first time LCHS allowed six goals in a game since 2007.

In ’23, LCHS defeated Georgetown (6-0), Clinton-Massie (4-0), Minford (3-1), Fayetteville (6-0), North Adams (1-0, 2-0), Unioto (4-0), Peebles (12-0), Hillsboro (6-0), Fairfield (5-1, 1-0), Williamsburg (3-0), Ripley (3-0), Chesapeake (11-0) and Alexander (5-0).  

This season, the Lady Mustangs will now be in Division V, moving to a new division as they were previously in Division III, after the OHSAA expanded to five divisions starting the 2024-25 school year.

Entering the 2024 season, the Lady Mustangs will be without their leading goal scorer from the ’23 season. Jade Massey, who graduated, scored 41 goals and she also had nine assists her senior year.

Also graduated from the regional runner-up team for LCHS were Lainie Lunsford, Brya McClain, Zoe McLean, Samantha Merry and Autumn Wilkin. Massey and Lunsford were both All-Ohio selections last season, as Lunsford finished last season with one goal and nine assists. In all, Lynchburg-Clay will have to replace 52 total goals scored due to graduated players.

The leading returning scorer for the Lady Mustangs is Slack, who scored nine goals her junior season and was the assists leader with 10 in ’23.

Another returning player is Waits, who as a junior finished the ’23 season with four goals and seven assists. Ruble last season finished with three goals and one assist, while Bell, Wolfe and VanFleet each scored two goals, while Bell and Wolfe each collected one assist.

Downing, Michael and Smith each scored a goal in ’23, as Downing also had two assists. Maxfield was credited with one assist last season. At goal for Lynchburg-Clay was Collins, who ended the season with 49 saves, as LCHS totaled 13 shutouts in 20 games.

The Lady Mustangs open the 2024 season on Saturday, Aug. 17 at home against the Minford Lady Falcons at 5 p.m. at LCHS.

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Fairfield Lady Lions
Division V
Head Coach: Jacob Alexander
2023 Overall Record: 15-4-1
2023 SHAC Record: 5-1-0 (2nd place)

Coming off their greatest season in program history where they won a district championship and played in the Division III regional semifinals, the Fairfield Lady Lions saw five seniors graduate, and now they have to regroup to replace multiple talented players from the 2023 team.

The Lady Lions finished the ’23 season with an overall record of 15-4-1 overall, were second place in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference standings at 5-1-0, and they won their first-ever district championship in program history after defeating the Minford Lady Falcons in overtime by a 2-1 score.

Seniors for Fairfield for the ’24 season are Hannah Hamilton, Claire Newkirk, Ginny Trent and Kendal Welling. FHS has five juniors, and they are Ava Hooper, Ashlyn Bellamy, Sophie Humphrey, Rilee Quickle and Mariska Sheppard.

Fairfield also has nine sophomores: Miley Brown, Isabelle Hale, Vivian Henninger, Kaylee Hurless-Miller, Meri Jackson, Kristine Lane, Whitlee Morrow, Landry Teeters and Emerson Zink. The lone freshman for FHS is Khloe Welling.

The Lady Lions totaled 15 wins in ’23 with victories versus Hillsboro (2-0), Peebles (13-0), Ripley (9-0), Miami Trace (10-0), Westfall (10-0), Eastern (2-1, 1-0), Alexander (2-0), Northwest (8-0), North Adams (2-1), Fayetteville (6-0), Southeastern (10-0), Zane Trace (10-1), Piketon (10-0), and Minford (2-1).  

Graduated players from the ’23 squad are Faith Donley, Kennedy Zink, Avery Teeters, Kenzie Tolle and Emmi Vance. Those five players were responsible for 70 of the 101 goals scored by Fairfield last season. Donley led the team with 34 goals and 15 assists, while Zink totaled 32 goals and nine assists. Tolle finished with two goals and one assist, while Teeters and Vance each scored one goal.

The top returning goal scorer is Henninger with eight goals, and she’s also the top returning assists leader with six last season. Other goal scorers from last season who are returners are Hooper (five), Welling (four), Quickle (three), Landry Teeters (two), Trent (two), Zink (two), and with one each were Brown, Hamilton, Jackson and Newkirk.

Newkirk was the starting goalie for Fairfield in ’23, finishing her junior season with 89 saves in 20 games, including 11 shutouts. FHS outscored their opponents last season 101-15, allowing more than two goals in a game only once.

The Lady Lions open the 2024 season Friday, Aug. 16 at Clinton-Massie.

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McClain Lady Tigers  
Division IV
Head Coach: Blain Bergstrom
2023 Overall Record: 9-5-3
2023 FAC Record: 5-3-2 (3rd place)

The McClain Lady Tigers start the 2024 season coming off a nine-win ’23 season where they finished in third place in the Frontier Athletic Conference as they continue to build their program.

Seniors for MHS this season are Kenzie Wise, Lindsey Hutchinson, Piper Davis and Isabelle Smith. The juniors for the Lady Tigers are: Karlee McGlone, Mylie Lovett, Becca Bergstrom, Abigail Marsh, Addison Olaker, Tatiana Buckner and Bailey Parson.

McClain’s sophomore class includes Paisley Pryor, Laura Stevenson, Ana Lugo, Baylee Hickok and Larah Henson, and the lone freshman for McClain is Kay Hughes.

Returning players for the Lady Tigers who scored goals include Pryor with 12 goals and nine assists in ’23.

Olaker totaled four goals and six assists in ’23. Hutchinson ended last season with three goals and four assists, while Lovett had two goals and three assists. Parson finished last season with two goals and three assists, and Wise as keeper finished ’23 with 122 saves, including five shutouts.

In ’23, the Lady Tigers — who are coached by Blain Bergstrom — had a 9-5-3 overall record, and in the FAC they finished with a 5-3-2 mark, a season where they scored 66 goals and allowed 28 in 17 games..

McClain’s wins saw them defeat Logan Elm (5-0), Washington (7-0, 3-0), Hillsboro (5-0, 2-1), Miami Trace (6-1), Southeastern (6-0), Peebles (10-1) and Westfall (11-1) in ’23.  

The ’23 season also included McClain scoring five or more goals seven times, and twice scoring 10 or more goals in a game, with those being a 10-1 win over Peebles and an 11-1 win against Westfall. The Lady Tigers’ season ended in the sectional round where they lost to Warren by a 1-0 score.

Last season, McClain also had a first in program history by sweeping rival Hillsboro in FAC action winning by scores of 5-0 at home and 2-1 at HHS.

The Lady Tigers open the 2024 season on Friday, Aug. 16 at home with a 7 p.m. start against Piketon at McClain Field.

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Hillsboro Lady Indians  
Division IV
Head Coach: Amanda Miller
2023 Overall Record: 7-11-0
2023 FAC Record: 5-5 (4th place)

The Hillsboro Lady Indians are set to start the 2024 season by adding to the experience they gained last season while competing in the Frontier Athletic Conference.

HHS in ’23 had an overall record of 7-11-0 overall and in the Frontier Athletic Conference they finished with a 5-5 mark, a fourth-place finish. As a team the Lady Indians scored 48 goals, averaging 2.7 goals per game.

In ’23 the Lady Indians had wins against Washington (5-0, 7-0), Miami Trace (2-0, 3-2), Chillicothe (2-1), Wilmington (12-0) and Piketon (14-1).

The Lady Indians have two seniors on their ’24 roster, those players being Peighton Bledsoe and Miranda Butler.

HHS also has six juniors consisting of Taylor Thoroman, Meredith Dietrick, Kobie Miles, Kiara Boris, Kamryn Asbury and Aubry Yochum. The sophomore class for Hillsboro includes Phoebe Holland, Madison Karnes, Riley Meek, Esther Brandyberry and Arianna Evans.

Hillsboro also has four freshmen, and they are Ella Jordan, Morgan Kelch, Grace Palmer and Ella Walch.

Hillsboro had seven seniors on their roster last season, totaling 23 goals, including team leader Rylie Scott with 10 goals and a team-best six assists. Also gone to graduation are Addyson Miles (three goals, three assists), Hannah Holland (four goals, three assists), Gracie Thoroman (three goals, three assists), Brooklyn Lucarello (one goal, one assist), Ramsey Haines (one goal) and Madisyn Hollen (one goal).

Returning to the team as the leading goal scorer is Kobie Miles, who as a sophomore totaled eight goals and three assists.

Another returning player is senior Bledsoe, who finished her junior season with six goals and five assists, while Thoroman returns following a sophomore season where she collected five goals and one assist.

Yochum and Dietrick as sophomores each scored one goal in ’23. As a freshman, current sophomore goalie Phoebe Holland finished with 85 saves.

Hillsboro’s season ended in ’23 with a 2-1 overtime loss in the sectional finals against Athens.

The Lady Indians open their 2024 season on Friday, Aug. 16 at home versus North Adams at 6:45 p.m.

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