Talent up, but numbers down for Demons

WASHINGTON - The more there is to choose from, the better the choices become, regardless of what the choosing consists of.

The Washington Demons had 34 players out for the girls soccer team last season but never were able to practice before the oncoming train of COVID-19 precautions shut the complete spring sports schedule down.

This season, girls head coach Steven Caulk is looking at 15 to 16 on the roster.

'Our biggest weakness is our numbers,” Coach Caulk said.

Washington boys coach Sally Hart's 2019 team had underclassmen Cole Anderson, Simeon Buie, Zac Stout, Luciano Marcelino, Daniel Marcelino, Ayden Frazer, Fernando Marcelino, KJ Rohr, Oscar Flores, Brandon Coronel, Aidan Miller, Noah Suchan, Fabian DeJesus, and Xavier Perera.

'Hopefully there (were) some opportunities for summer soccer they take advantage of,” Hart said.

Washington's boys won three matches after going 9-7 in 2018 and 6-8 the previous year.

Offense was a problem with just eight goals scored in seven games before a four-match scoreless streak.

The Demons finished with 15 goals, six in a late win over Keokuk. Letter winning girls on this season's roster are seniors Sarah Hall, Emily Jeffrey, Trina Griffin, Yulisma Torres, Taylor Brinning and Alivia Emry with Jaden Chalupa and Ariel Ramirez. Letter winning juniors Greta Rothe and Ava Turner are joined by classmate Elyse Hunt. Lindsay Diaz and Alex Murphy are sophomores. Freshmen are Giselle Marcelino and Audrey Anderson.

The Demon girls had no trouble scoring, racking up 44 goals. Seven matches saw at least four goals scored and all were wins.

Washington was 5-1 in its first six games. While the Demon girls finished under .500, it was a breakout season under then-coach Protacio Marcelino. The Demons stopped a losing streak of 41 games over three seasons in 2018. The eight wins was more than the previous five seasons combined.

Griffin was second in goals with 19 in the Southeast Conference in 2019 as a sophomore. Greta Roth was sixth with 13 and she was a freshman.

They are the leading returners from 2019. Of the top 15 goal scorers that year that will play in 2021, Clare Else of Fairfield was seventh with 11 goals and Brandy Walker eighth with 10. They will be seniors this season. Burlington had freshman Katelee Lieberg-Nichols and sophomore Gabrielle McDowell tied for 15th with four in 2019. Roth is the leading returner in assists. She had three. Griffin was second in successful shots with a percentage of 35.8. Roth was second in shots at 88. Both leaders from that year have graduated.

'I think that we have a lot of talent on the team,” Caulk said. 'Griffin and Rothe both demonstrate outstanding technical ability and an understanding of the game that translates to effective performances on the field.”

The SEC will have Burlington to deal with for the first time in spring sports.

Caulk could not comment about the possibilities of the conference since he was new to the Demons head coaching position as of last year. 'In terms of the strengths of the Demons, I think that we have some real talent on the team,” Caulk said. '(We have) players who have both the foot skills and positional understanding to make a difference.”

2019 SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE GIRLS FINAL STANDINGS

School SEC overall Avg. points For Against

Mt. Pleasant 6-2 13-5 2.9 1.3

Fort Madison 5-3 9-8 1.8 2.1

Fairfield 5-3 7-7 2.5 1.6

Washington 4-4 8-9 2.6 2.3

Keokuk 0-8 2-161.0 4.9

*Burlington 8-9 overall and played in the Mississippi Athletic Conference 2.8 3.1

2019 SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE GIRLS FINAL STANDINGS

School SEC overall Avg. points For Against

Fairfield 7-1 10-7 3.1 1.6

Mt. Pleasant 6-2 13-6 3.6+ 2.1

Fort Madison 4-3 10-9 2.3 2.5

Washington 1-5 3-12 1.0 3.5

Keokuk 0-7 2-17 1.7 5.6

*Burlington 3-13 1-7 0.9 3.9