Three senior captains lead Big Red girls
soccer team
By
PARKERSBURG— The five seniors on Parkersburg High School’s girls
soccer team completed their final practice on school grounds Wednesday in
preparation for their final trip to Beckley for the state tournament.
For the three senior captains — defender Tara Cheeseman,
midfielders Amelia Hammell and Katie Roberts — their
third state tournament trip cites the culmination of four years of hard work.
“After playing together for basically four years in the fall and in the spring,
we know where each other is going to be on the field and it really helps a
lot,” Roberts said.
When PHS takes the field at the YMCA Sports Complex in
“Having the experience is nice, but it’s completely different every year; every
game is different,” Hammell said.
Each senior class relies on the underclassmen to fill the gaps from the
previous year’s losses and step up to a new challenge. This year’s group of
youngsters have kept up with the changes and been important in the team’s
overall improvements.
“We’ve definitely gotten a lot better,” Hammell said.
“We were watching our sectional game tape from last year before we had
sectionals this year, and the difference is just amazing how much better we’ve
gotten.”
The team captains are the leaders of the improved ’07 team and Cheeseman has already analyzed the attributes of each
contributor.
Cheeseman is the team’s self-proclaimed loudmouth,
and her ability to direct passes, check coverages and
shut down threats from the outside makes her an important leader on the pitch.
As a second-year captain Hammell is the strong silent
type, lets her play speak for itself. At her midfield position, Hammell is very effective on 50/50 balls at midfield, on
corner kicks and at weaving the ball into the attacking third.
As a midfielder, Roberts is the smart one, according to Cheeseman,
and is responsible for choreographing Big Red possession transitions from the
defense to the forwards. Roberts is also a two-time first-team all-state
selection and second-year captain with four goals on the season.
It’s enjoyable to watch the Big Reds work the ball downfield, and a lot of it
has to do with the way the team communicates and creates passing lanes. In
order to play faster and find the open teammate, there’s got to be something
that separates the ’07 Big Reds from the ’06 champions.
“We’re a lot closer as a team — not just on the field, but off the field,” Cheeseman said. “
This year’s team is quite possibly one of the best PHS teams thus far and with
the returning talent from last year’s tournament team, it’s no wonder the Big
Reds are so successful.
Along with success comes expectation.
The expectation for the Big Red girls is nothing less than a second consecutive
state title. Stating that is simple, but going out game after game and playing
like the best team on the field is a challenge for any athlete.
“There’s a lot of pressure,” Roberts said. “You can’t worry about it. What happens, happens. You can only control how well we’re going
to do, not how well other teams are going to do.”
That attitude has carried the Big Reds all season. They force other teams to
adapt to the PHS style of play and dominate possession game after game.
The only thing the Big Reds can do now is wait and
focus on what lies ahead.
“I’d really like to come home with a win and hope that we play our best,” Hammell continued. “There’s nothing else we can do.”