JERSEYVILLE – The girls soccer team at Jersey Community High School recently announced their award winners for the 2019 girls soccer season, while head coach Brad Kimble announced that he is stepping down as Panthers’ head coach after nine seasons at the helm.
Gaby Stephens was voted the team’s Most Valuable Player, along with being presented the PAC Pride Award, while forward Maci Bohannon was presented with the offensive player of the year and Kate Krueger was named the team’s defensive player of the year.
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Boston Talley was named the team’s Rookie of the Year, while Morgan Margherio was the team’s most improved player, and Jade With was selected as the “Character Coin” player of the year.
In addition, Bohannon was named to the all-Mississippi Valley Conference first team, while Stephens was named to the second team, and Krueger and Sally Hudson were named honorable mentions to the all-conference team.
It was a very successful season for the Panthers, who often started seven to eight sophomores, as they finished 8-13-1 on the year, but won six of their first seven matches. Jersey finished second in the Puma bracket of the season-opening Metro Cup tournament, along the way defeating two of the teams Jersey lost to in 2018, and beating out Civic Memorial on the goals allowed tiebreak in the standings.
It was also the second-best record in the program’s history, scoring 37 goals during the season, the most since a team-high 42 goals in 2010, and defeating CM in the IHSA Class 2A regional semifinal 3-2, the Panthers’ first win over an MVC team since 2010.
The team had eight different multiple-goal scorers, the most since 2014, and lost twice out of conference, to Father McGivney Catholic and to Litchfield in a penalty shootout after playing to a draw after extra time.
“I have been involved with the women’s soccer program at JCHS for nine years,” Kimble said in his announcement that he would be stepping down as head coach. “I have helped create a culture within this program that I am extremely proud of, and I know it will be in good shape for whoever decides to pick up the torch and continue the program’s growth.”
Early on, Kimble and his assistants decided on a growing the game at a deliberate pace in the community and helped to create a total package that enlisted the Jerseyville Parks and Recreation Department in conducting coaching clinics for the past 20 years, including assisting the volunteer coaches in running their teams. Kimble also assisted in officiating clinics and rules interpretation clinics for referees during that time frame, along with helping to influence teams down to the fourth grade, and the efforts have paid off in helping to grow the game within the Jerseyville community.
“That ‘total package’ included the whole soccer experience so that youth players would continue to have great experiences within this game, and continue to play into their high school years,” Kimble said. “I feel that the total soccer experience in this community is in a good place, and I look forward to watching the next person step into these roles, and continue to improve the sport here.”
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