AVILA WOMEN'S SOCCER 2024 SEASON PREVIEW
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – One of the longest-tenured coaches at Avila, Katie LaForge has spent the later summer months on maternity leave while taking a different approach during the preseason. From her temporary position, she and her assistant coaches have the Eagles women’s soccer team all on the same page.
“I’ve had to take a different role, which has helped me step back from a lot of the superfluous things,” LaForge noted. “It’s like I’m scouting from an outside perspective. To watch us be very much on the same page with a lot of different aspects is great.”
After last season ended in the KCAC Tournament quarterfinal, LaForge wanted to make it a point to grow the team’s communication and chemistry:
“Defensively, we have never been this organized. Usually it’s chaotic and nobody is on the same page and you’re worried about hemorrhaging goals. Having a senior goalkeeper is fantastic.”
Kenan Ebel, with 32 games of experience under her belt, will be relied upon heavily this season:
"Kenan is a captain this year, so she’s going to bring a different leadership for us. That is going to help a lot. Goalkeeper such a huge position. On top of that, the girls view her as leadership and we do as well. It can be a very, very important part of the puzzle. She has proven herself time and time again. I’m excited for her to step up as a senior.”
Ebel and the entire Avila defense will be the one of the main keys to success. Sophomore Korynn Peregine joins Ebel on the defensive side of the ball as a key contributor this season.
“Korynn will be big for us as well for her leadership qualities and her demeanor in general. She is very much an example of what we want from every player every time. She never gives up, she works her butt off, outruns everything and sacrifices her body. She’s very aggressive and great in the air. She does all the things that you don’t see on a stat sheet. Kenan and Korynn are both very calm and that certainly helps.”
A season after allowing 2.42 goals per game, LaForge made it clear that the defensive unit has significantly improved.
“The defensive continuity (has improved the most). There is this calmness and the plasticity that you need. You joke around in the soccer world about being a duck – super calm on top but kicking like hell underneath – and that’s what you want from your defenders, you want them to be feisty but you never want the opponent to think that they have gotten to you. We have that. The other side of it is being in the right mentality. We have a good mentality towards what we’re doing. Everything we ask of them, they’re willing to do and they’re willing to do it for each other.”
A strong defense can be complemented by a strong attack, which LaForge believes the Eagles have this season:
“We have a ton of people who can score. That’s exciting. And that is our job as coaches to see what that recipe looks like. It’s the hardest thing, I think, to figure out when it comes to our sport because offense is meant to be free-flowing. It’s more about getting a feel for each other. Preseason is important and chemistry is huge. You don’t want to limit them, you want them to be free when they play. It’s exciting, from an offensive side and it’s very comforting from the defensive side.”
On the offensive end, LaForge will rely on a pair of returners and two freshmen among many other playmakers:
“We have a couple other captains – Annika Holtorf and Sam Mendez. Coming in as a transfer, Sam was very important for us last year. Annika stepped up as a junior for us last season.
We do have the freshmen twins – Cali and Samantha Lasater. I’m excited to see what they can do. They have a lot of speed, mentality and excitement.”
Five of Avila’s 12 losses last season saw the Eagles within one goal in the final 10 minutes of play. LaForge believes the team can be on the winning side of those outcomes this year:
“The season will be successful if we can end up on the right side of very tight games. If we can end up on the correct side of those results, that’ll set us apart.”
The Avila women’s soccer team begins their season – LaForge’s seventh in charge – this evening at Dordt at 5 PM.
