The 2025 girls’ soccer season officially kicked off earlier this week. Local teams have various expectations, with some aiming for deep playoff runs and others seeking to establish a foundation for years to come.
Apollo: The E-Gals enter the season with a new head coach in Kevin Peveler, who wants to continue the team’s defensive philosophy. Last year, they scored 70 goals and only allowed 40. Despite losing their top goal scorer from a year ago to graduation, the E-Gals return plenty of talent including seniors Jada Pollard, Rebecca Jones, Kensli Yeiser, and Dalleigh Sullivan.
They are joined by Rachel Edens, Millie Hill, Cing Kiim, and Lia Nicola-Sebaugh. Peveler also expects multiple freshmen to step up and play a bigger role than they previously had.
“The girls that I have, they show up, they work hard, and haven’t given me any grief about anything,” Peveler said. “I am a little different being an older coach than some of the younger guys, but they work hard and that is all a coach can ask for.”
The team has its eyes on being competitive in the district and making a run to reach the 3rd Region Tournament.
Daviess County: After leading the Lady Panthers for over 20 years, head coach David Sandifer retired and has been replaced by his former player and assistant coach Paige Crisp. Daviess County enters the season with a senior heavy class that includes Kaelin Labhart, Bailey Brown, Mary Evelyn Wiman, Maddy Purcell, Molly Floyd, Emma Schmitt, Anslie Dant, and Mack Elliott. All eight have evolved as leaders both on and off the pitch over their careers and have proven themselves as key pillars of Daviess Countys success.
Sophomores Sasha Foster, Caroline Whitaker, and Bella Coombs will be leaned on to take the next steps in their development, while Crisp lauded her entire freshman class.
Despite losing four seniors to graduation, including last year’s leading scorer, Crisp is expecting the offense to be more of a balanced attack this year and receive scoring by committee. She doesn’t expect to make any major changes to the teams schemes and formations, but instead plans to continue to build off of last years success.
“We always want to be competing for a regional championship and looking to move past that if possible,” Crisp said. “We always have high expectations for our girls, and this season is no exception.”
McLean County: Amid a youth movement, the Lady Cougars enter the season with what head coach Ricky Humphrey refers to as a young, but athletic roster.
“We have three seniors and everyone else is a sophomore or freshman,” Humphrey said. “This group is eager to shake off the stigma that McLean County is not a soccer school.”
Landry Humphrey, Starr Dickerson, Haley Louden, and Gracie Baldwin all return this year and are joined by up-and-comers Lilly Miller, Hannah Smith, Tatiana Rojas, and Avery Keown.
“The goal is to always be better in October than we are in July,’ Humphrey said. “We are slowly building a competitive team, and we want to continue to make strides to reach the postseason again.”
Owensboro: After graduating the majority of their defense, the Lady Devils enter the season with a revamped defensive unit. Leading the way for Owensboro is Ella Hall, Lily Nieman, Amelia Calhoun, Lilly Paige Early, and Hayley Sikes.
Head coach Sarah Poole has been pleased with the way seniors Caroline Smith and Lily Carrol have grown as leaders and acknolwedged how vital they are to the season.
“Our programs have numbers this year, from middle school to varsity,” Poole said. “We are working to build a culture that will continue in future years. We are excited about our current and future teams.”
Owensboro Catholic: 2024 was an unfortunate year for the Lady Aces, having to forfeit the season after only two games due to limited numbers. They enter this year with 20 athletes on the varsity roster and an increased hunger to prove themselves. Despite the abrupt end to the season, Owensboro Catholic spent the past 12 months playing in various other leagues.
“The ninth and tenth graders dropped down and played JV and were able to have a season that way,” Owensboro Catholic head coach Meg Patton said. “We all did the indoor Futsal league in the winter. A lot of the girls played over for I believe the Indy Spirit in the spring and fall. A lot of the girls were very active, whether that be indoor, high school, or club,”
In the midst of a youth movement, the Lady Aces have zero seniors on the team, but have 11 juniors. Leading the way are Ireland Quinn, Meredith Traylor, Allie Marston, and Chloe Marston, and they are joined by underclassmen Scarlett Isenbarger and Jenna Bray.
Offensively, the Lady Aces will be looking to play out to the wings and look for crosses into the box. Defensively, Patton lauded her teams communication skills and ability to pressure cover and drop back. Felicty Payne will be the teams starting goalie and impressed Patton and her coaching staff last year in the teams two games.
“As long as the girls are out there having fun, playing hard, and giving everything they have, I believe, it will be a very successful year,” Patton said. “I expect to win many games and we are going to win and lose here and there, but I want the girls to know that’s ok. We’re still learning to play with each other and it’s kind of a rebuilding year, so we are still working on rebuilding our team. But I believe we will have many successes.”
