EDWARDSVILLE - The girls field hockey team at Edwardsville High School will be returning after missing the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the optimism about the Tigers is very high, with the team looking forward to returning to action.
"It's been going really well," said Edwardsville head coach Jaimee Henderson, formerly Jaimee Phegley, who got married during the summer off-season. "It's been nice to have the girls back all together again. It was pretty great that we were able to have a somewhat season last year, but we're just excited to actually be able to play other teams this year. So we're just trying to prepare for that. We missed out on getting to see any other school play last year, so we're just trying to prepare as much as we can, for we have no idea what to expect."
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"It's been going really well," Henderson said of the start of practice and season preparation. "Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been too cooperative for us, so very grateful for summer workouts. With the heat advisories, we've had to cancel a few times on the outside, and just supplement it on the inside with some weightlifting and conditioning. So that has gone well, and the girls seem to be in some pretty good shape from the summer, and so that helps us out through the games."
The spirits are high after missing the 2020 season, but the Tigers played inter-squad games to keep sharp, and the competition level was very high for those contests.
"Definitely, and that was something I was worried about, not getting to play legal games," Henderson said, "how that would affect the girls. But everybody came back ready to go, and they really took those scrimmages last season, the inter-squad scrimmages, seriously. I think that's going to make a huge difference in how we come out this year."
The key returnees for the Tigers include senior defender Sydnee Campbell, who'll play mainly central defense, but will also see time in the midfield as well as a four-year varsity starter.
"Sydnee had been on varsity since her freshman year as a starter," Henderson said, "so definitely a strong player that we're excited to see what she can do this year, and she looks really strong in practice."
Sophomore forward Ulla Sharp also returns and is a very talented goal scorer who looks to become one of the St. Louis area's premier players.
"I'm excited to unveil her as she goes on the field," Henderson said with a laugh and smile. "She's a very quick player, her soccer skills are very strong, and her awareness is just obvious through that. I think you'll see Ulla come in as a strong scorer this year. Returning to our team, but league-wise, no one has seen her besides for Gateway Field Hockey; she does play club over there."
Other varsity returnees include seniors midfielder and forwards Lily Wittkamp and Lilly Berry, and junior goalie Taylor Mollet, who will be in her first year of varsity but has practiced with the Tigers in the past. Nine sophomores will be contributing to the Tigers' cause this season, all of whom would have played for the varsity had there been a regular season. Morgan Angle, Megan Kalb and Chase Cherenka are among the key sophomores who'll see playing time.
The schedule includes many of the St. Louis area's top teams, including St. Joseph's, Visitation, Villa Duchesne, Cor Jesu, Ladue, MICDS, and John Burroughs, among others, and the Tigers will also play in the Gateway Tournament at the SportsPort in Maryland Heights, Mo., against top teams from Wisconsin, Texas and Kentucky. The climax will be the Midwest Field Hockey tournament, the unofficial St. Louis area championship tournament.
"The Midwest Tournament will be nice," Henderson said. "It'll be fun to see how far we can go in it. I would obviously love to see us get as many games as possible and have some redemption from 2019, when we got knocked out in that first few minutes of overtime and didn't expect it. So, the girls have been mentally preparing for the season, and just enjoying and really not taking advantage of having the opportunity to play games."
Both Henderson and the Tigers are looking ahead for their return season, with the coaching staff trying to make the previous season as normal as possible.
"Oh, absolutely," Henderson said. "And we did everything we could last year to make it as 'real' as possible. We called them games instead of scrimmages, just trying to get the girls' mindsets there. But the reality of it is there weren't games, and the fact they are right now is so just awesome. The energy is just up, and they're just excited."
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
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