EC Women’s Soccer Full of Youth, Potential
EUREKA – After a preseason of steady development and two early-season tests, the Eureka women's soccer team is ready to open St. Louis Intercollegiate Conference on their home field.
On Tuesday at 3 p.m., the Red Devils will host Blackburn at McKinzie Field for the first home match of the 2022 season. The maroon and gold will be gunning for their fifth straight win over the Beavers.
"We're excited for our first home game," EC coach Shelby Chrisman-Forza said the week before the match. "We're going to go all-our, and we're looking to continue that success."
The last time the Red Devils played at McKinzie Field, they said goodbye to a strong class of six seniors who made a significant impact on the program. This year, Chrisman-Forza and her staff brought in a promising class of new players to fill their roles. The class includes eight newcomers and seven freshmen.
"We had a lot of technical talent come into our program this year," Chrisman-Forza said. "We had a lot of high-caliber recruits with high soccer IQ."
Eureka has welcomed an athletic and skilled goalkeeper from Missouri in Lizzie Brooksher. Brooksher, who is also a member of the women's wrestling team, has made 13 saves in two matches and allowed three goals.
In front of her in a three-back, the Red Devils have a trio of strong freshman defenders in Sydney Gabbard, Ellie Livengood and Abby Mitchell. The former player is another out-of-state talent, and the latter are local products. Gabbard joins the Red Devils after a prolific career in Indiana. Livengood is one of two Washington graduates on the roster and was a First Team Mid-Illini honoree, while Mitchell was a Second team All-Illini Prairie honoree at Illinois Valley Central.
"They work really well together," Chrisman-Forza said. "They communicate well. They talk well and they work off each other really well."
Returning sophomore Alyssa Bryant and freshman defender/goalkeeper Alicia Bruketta are the wingbacks, while two key returners anchor the midfield.
Three-year starter and junior Hope Binder plays the role of a true holding midfielder, while energetic senior Daniela Gonzales is more of an attacking midfielder and playmaker for the Red Devils.
They're joined by freshman newcomer Isabella Tolentino and junior newcomer Elly Maier, a dual-sport athlete who is also a key outfielder for the softball team. Sophomore Kate LeMasters and freshman Emma Jones are two other contributors coming off the bench.
Up top, the Red Devils have a true forward and reliable finisher in freshman Jenna Kinney. The maroon and gold's other Washington product, Kinney scored Eureka's match-winning goal at Defiance.
"After Saturday's game, we talked about our strengths and things that we wanted to improve on," Chrisman-Forza said. "And we implemented those couple of little tweaks – more communication, more sticking together, more checking our shoulders. Little tweaks here and there.
"And our movement off the ball was better, and I believe that is why we won."
Since the win at Defiance, the Red Devils have had over a week without any matches to continue to train and hone in on areas of improvement. They've been focusing on fostering good communication on the field when fatigue sets in, movement off the ball, completing passes, keeping shape and advancing and dropping as a team.
With so many new players, the EC coaching staff realizes that it's going to take time for everyone to jell as a team, but they're looking forward to seeing what the Red Devils can accomplish together once that happens.
"I'm excited about the talent that we brought in, and really seeing them come together as a team," she said. "When we come together as that team, it's going to be exciting soccer to watch. It's going to be the best soccer that we've had here."
"I'm excited to see the continued growth every single practice, every game," EC assistant coach Laura Thompson said. "It's just exciting to see where we can go, and how far we have come."
