By Chris Chaney
Sports Editor
First-year Clermont Northeastern varsity girls soccer coach Craig Yeager came into the 2015 campaign in a unique position: taking over a program that had just won its first Southern Buckeye Conference title in seven years.
The Lady Rockets ended the 2014 season undefeated in the SBC and 13-2-2 overall. They boasted nine All-Conference performers, including five who would be returning in 2015, yet they would be without a head coach as the reigning SBC Coach of the Year, Kris Asmus, left for the vacated varsity coaching position at Ross High School.
Yeager, the junior varsity headman, filled the void naturally and given his familiarity with both those on varsity and others climbing the program ladder, the Lady Rockets have melded into another force to be reckoned with.
“They’ve gelled quite well,” Yeager said. “I was a little worried about the freshmen coming in and how they would fit into the mix — I have three freshmen starting on varsity — but they have come together quite well.
“Not only to they all work well together, but they also feed off of each other, which has been very nice to see. Sometimes it’s a little harder when you have seniors down to freshmen to get them all on the same page, but it’s been pretty simple with this group. They all have the same goal in mind and of course, that is to win.”
The meshing of the different age groups becomes easier when there is strong leadership and favorable results, two things the Lady Rockets have had in spades this fall.
Leading the team from the back is returning First Team All-Star McKenzie Cooper. The senior goalkeeper leads the area in shutouts with nine through 13 matches.
She anchors a defense made up of upperclassmen that Yeager credits with not only stifling opposing goal scorers, but also the catalyst that generates opportunities for the CNE offense.
Ahead of Cooper is sweeper Jordan Barker, stopper Lexie Walker and outside defender Katlin Reece. Junior Kayla Diekmann also contributes defensively.
“(Our five upperclassmen defensemen) are very experienced and very solid,” Yeager said. “They show a lot of leadership and we typically go as they go. They fuel most of our (offense). Most of our plays start from other teams’ drives when we intercept the ball and go the other way. They are the start of all those drives and also are in on corner kicks and deep throws.”
Interestingly enough, the further up the formation the Lady Rockets go, the younger they get. The midfield is anchored by junior Andrea Johnson sophomore Grace Wright. Up front, freshman Kayla Nichols has emerged as one of the best goal scorers in the area.
“(Nichols) is just a natural scorer,” Yeager said. “She just has a knack for knowing where to be. She’s not going to be the fastest person on the field, but she knows where to be and has a great feel for the game, which has helped her greatly. She also never quits; a lot of time you’ll see strikers quit on a ball when it goes through, but she never quits on a ball or hooks out short — she runs right past the goalie.”
Fellow freshmen Kylie Cooper and Caitlyn Woerman help to feed Nichols and her running mate, junior Lynzee Sullivan, from the midfield.
At 7-0 in the Southern Buckeye Conference National Division with only three matches remaining, the Lady Rockets are on the verge of going back-to-back thanks to second-half wins over Williamsburg and Blanchester.
Matches against Bethel-Tate (Sept. 30), Georgetown (Oct. 6) and Felicity-Franklin (Oct. 8) are all that stand in their way from another title. And while the conference crown was an important preseason goal, the Lady Rockets would like to make some more noise in the postseason this year.
“Goal No. 1 was to win our league,” Yeager said. “I knew they had done it before and I knew there would be some question marks as to if they could do it again, so when I took over I threw that carrot out there that this was challenge No. 1: ‘you have a title to defend, the expectation is that you will defend it well and you will go undefeated.’
“No. 2 was going deeper in the tournament. Last year, they went out in the first round to a Wilmington team in a game that they felt they didn’t play very well. Seeing the video, I agree that they didn’t play very well; not up to the standards that I have for them. So, those are the goals: win the league, go undefeated and go farther in the tournament.”
The Southwest Ohio District Athletic Board seed meeting is on Oct. 11 and the first game of the postseason in Division II is slated for Oct. 19. Another SBC title can only help the Lady Rockets seed position.