Photo by Sam Chandler.
Chelsea’s Kailey Littleford (8) in a match againstMountain Brook last season. Littleford is one of fiveseniors for the Lady Hornets and is one of the team’s primary goal-scorers.
The Chelsea High School girls soccer team is hoping to use last year’s heartbreak as motivation to return to the state championship game. But this time, the Lady Hornets hope to finish the job.
The Lady Hornets finished 21-3-1 last season but lost to Homewood in the state championship game 3-2. The devastation has slowly faded, but Chelsea wants to be in the same position this year and achieve a different result.
“We have to play our game, play as one, and not be too individualized in things,” senior midfielder Morgan Bright said. “Make sure we stick together and do what we do best.”
Chelsea head coach Jonathan Hammett said getting back to the state championship will require a full team effort and more consistency.
“First off, we have to play as one team,” he said. “I think that’s my biggest focus each and every year is to try to get everyone to play with the same mindset. I thought we had our ups and downs last year with that. Consistency is a big issue there, and hopefully this year we can be consistent in that effort and see where things go.”
Senior midfielder Mary Connor Smith stressed the importance of all the players working together to win matches and ultimately try to get back to the state championship.
“It’s all 11 players working when we’re defending and attacking, so it’s not just one person, it’s all of us together,” she said.
One thing that will help the consistency is the Lady Hornets returning five seniors who all play meaningful minutes. Seniors Morgan Davis, Emily Pulmano, Kailey Littleford, Bright and Smith are all back. The Lady Hornets will also return one of their leading scorers in junior Haley Duca to pair with Littleford as the main scoring threats.
Hammett said most of the team’s key players are back for the 2020 campaign, but Chelsea will have to lean on some freshman talent coming up to help the team. Chelsea will have a lot of experience in goal and with midfielders and forwards, but the backline will lack experience. One of those freshmen will be Lucy Allen, who adds speed to the lineup.
Hammett said he thinks the inexperience on the backline will work itself out through the early part of the season.
“We’re going to have to really coach them up,” he said. “They’re athletic so that can mask mistakes, but we’re looking forward to seeing them in game situations.”
Hammett did not want to get ahead of himself when talking about hopefully returning to the state title game, but he wants his team to take things step by step.
“Win the area,” he said. “We have to do that and at least qualify for the playoffs. Once we make the tournament, it’s anybody's ball game at that point, so we have to do our best and be playing well at the end of the season.”
Pulmano said the formula is simple, but now that the season is here it’s time to put it into practice.
“It’s important to stay focused, have a good mindset and work together,” she said.
Chelsea began the season in early February. Through the month of March, the Lady Hornets will face the likes of Briarwood, Pelham, Gadsden City, Helena, Vestavia Hills and Homewood.
