For the fourth year in a row, the Southern Boone County High School girls soccer team won the Lebanon Tournament.

This year the championship trophy came on the high scoring performance of a freshman and the tested leadership of their defenders.

The Eagles opened tournament play with a 7-2 victory over Crocker. Freshman Jersee Wren had a hat trick, while Koyia Prince added two goals and Grace Dunn and Mary Grover had one each. They earned a spot in the championship game with a 4-0 shutout of Webb City, where Wren tallied another hat trick and Dunn finished out the scoring with a goal.

A trio of goals sealed the first place finish with a 3-1 win over Mt. View Liberty. Wren, Hailey Ansel and Ashton Standifer scored the three goals to earn the win.

“The last two years we’ve actually tied in the final games but won the tournament because of total points. It’s a bigger tournament, with six teams this year, and it’s always a good way to start off the year,” head coach Chris Miller said.

Miller especially liked that the good start was accompanied by 14 goals in a three game stretch. The team is looking to replace the production of Kate Ponder, a prolific scorer who often carried the offense.

“We’ve got a lot of girls that can sort of fill in. Kate scored a lot and we relied on her quite a bit, but this year is going to be a more balanced approach. I think 10 of our 14 goals were from freshman. I think there’s a couple of others that are certainly going to contribute,” Miller said.

~ Get the whole story in today’s Journal ~

By Briley Eilers