New-look Panthers press on

MT. PLEASANT - When the Mt. Pleasant girls' soccer team walked off the field in 2019, they were walking into what seemed to be an extremely bright future. The Panthers went 13-5, won the Southeast Conference and advanced to the regional semifinals, and would only lose four of their 23 players to graduation.

Two years, two coaching changes and one pandemic later, they haven't played another game.

The first coaching change was expected. Brennan Williams resigned as head coach, making room for assistant Scott Stribe to step up to that position. Stribe was all set to coach the defending SEC champions into a promising 2020 campaign, but the year came and went without one soccer game being played at East Lake Park.

'I was really bummed out when we found out the season was canceled,” said Abby Jalas, one of seven seniors on the team. 'I've been playing forever, and it just kind of hurt me.”

A spring that normally would have been filled with warm but windy spring days at East Lake was spoiled by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a team with high expectations had to sit back and watch the season end.

'The team bonding, and being able to come together and work hard is something I look forward to,” said fellow senior Emma Pieper. 'Not having that was hard for everyone.”

Added on to the frustration of not having a season, the Panther girls were also faced with the uncertainty of who would coach the team in 2021. Stribe is currently serving the country overseas, and at the beginning of the school year, the team hadn't learned who would lead them this spring.

'I knew the school would give us some good coaches, with really good backgrounds,” said senior defender Chloe Warner. 'Thankfully they did.”

As the fall rolled on, former Fort Madison prep Auybriana Johnson was just starting her tenure as a special-education teacher at the Mt. Pleasant middle school. Before long, Johnson would be approached for the head coaching position.

'I like her,” said senior Madi Moore. 'She's really cool.”

Johnson is a 2013 graduate of Fort Madison. The Bloodhounds didn't have their own soccer team when Johnson was in high school, so she was one of a handful of Hounds who played for Holy Trinity.

Johnson went to Culver-Stockton College for women's basketball before transferring to Iowa Wesleyan to earn her degree. Her dad, Tony Johnson, is a head coach himself, heading up the Holy Trinity girls basketball team.

Johnson says that although she loves soccer and basketball, she hadn't previously thought about being a head coach, but she's excited and thankful to be with the senior-led Panthers.

'We're lucky to be able to have seniors that are very strong, and that have great leadership skills,” Johnson said. 'I was grateful to have the number we have now.”

Johnson will have Assistant Coach Micaela Bryant, who she calls her ‘partner in crime' by her side this season. She also says Stribe, who is expected to step back in at the head coaching spot next year, has been a big help.

'He has been really awesome,” Johnson said. 'He sends me emails all the time, and texts to see how things are going. He definitely cares.”

And the seniors are ready to lead. Every one of the seven seniors on the Panthers' roster saw playing time when they were sophomores.

'Being able to play as much as we did freshman and sophomore year, I think we have a really good standpoint going into this year,” said Ryann Davidson.

The new season has hints of normalcy to it, as well, a refreshing change from what the past year has been like.

'At practice, since we're outside, we're allowed to not have our masks on,” said Anna Ostby, who will be the leading returning scorer from 209. 'It's kind of a break from what our world is.”

The Panthers will be back on the field on Monday, when Mt. Pleasant hosts Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union in a girl-boy doubleheader to start the new season. The girls get to go first, at 4:30 p.m.

'I've really missed being in the groove of things,” said senior Emma Rugg. 'It's good to be back.”