Spartan girls soccer excited about potential of newcomers

PRIEST RIVER — The Priest River girls soccer team will take the pitch on Thursday to open its season.

With six newcomers to the squad this fall, head coach Rob Lawler is optimistic about the Spartans' chances of making some significant strides this season.

"I got some good athletes and I'm looking forward to getting the season underway," he said.

In 2020, Priest River went 0-11-1 and fell to Timberlake in the 3A District 1 tournament. The Spartans lost seven seniors from that team, including all-league selections Hannah Palfrey and Makia Fitzmorris.

Fitzmorris was a star in net for the Spartans and replacing her won't be easy, but Lawler is expecting some big things out of sophomore goalkeeper Brooklyn Best, who saw some playing time last season.

The six newcomers to the team — Lizzie McCracken, Hadassah Davis, Cheyenne Thompson, Chaelynn Charleston, Lucy Bowen and Rebecca Sedbrook — have impressed Lawler in the first few weeks of practice. With only 13 players currently on the roster, the newcomers will be pivotal to Priest River's success.

"It's going to be a small team so they are going to be tested pretty quickly with not having a lot of subs," Lawler said.

Despite their inexperience, the freshmen and sophomores will leave their mark this fall, Lawler said.

"I'm super excited about the talent that we've got," he said. "... They're setting the bar higher. They are pushing the upperclassmen to be better."

Hannah Wagoner is the lone senior on the team. Juniors Kiersten Davis and Elisheva Davis are expected to take on key leadership roles for the young squad.

Lawler is anxious to see what returners Marley Burgess-Duquette and Samantha Pound do on attack. In her freshman season last fall, Burgess-Duquette got better with every match and Lawler hopes that continues this season.

"I think she'll continue to grow as a player," he said.

The Spartans lost their entire backline and will be searching for answers to fill those holes early in the season.

Lawler said his team needs to get a few games under their belt before he determines what identity and playing style the Spartans will have this fall, but he sees plenty of potential.

"I've got some speed that I haven't had in a while, so I'm hoping to utilize that into a potential attacking formation," he said.

With the low numbers, players will have to wear multiple hats for the Spartans this season, but Lawler expects them to shine.

"It might take them a game or two before they settled in and start to figure it out," he said.

Priest River opens the season at home against Stillwater Christian School at 5 p.m. Thursday.