STARKVILLE — Starkville Academy’s girls soccer team is off to a strong start under new head coach Boston Hampton, having won back-to-back games since going 1-1 at the Bayou Invitational preseason tournament.
SA has continued to build on good defensive performances with district play just a couple of weeks away.
“Man, we’ve looked great,” Hampton said of his team. “We’re having people try different positions and we’re trying different formations. The girls are continually working hard and having fun.”
The Vols dominated in a 4-0 win against Starkville Homeschool on Monday. Belicia Sotomeneses scored a brace of goals while teammates Betsy Grey Barrett and Sara Stokes McReynolds each added a goal of their own.
The win came after a 3-0 victory a few days earlier against Magnolia Heights, the first official game of the season and Hampton’s first win as head coach. Barrett was on the scorer’s sheet that day as well alongside Chloe Hardin and Rylee Fisher.
Hampton knew from previous coaching experiences that he had a strong group of seniors to work with coming into the job, and since taking over the team’s experience has helped, especially on the defensive side. He has tinkered with the lineup and team formations in a way that he believes will help them be adaptable, and though he doesn’t want to give away any tactical secrets, he made it clear that the adjustments have gone over well.
“So we actually completely restructured the defense in terms of who was playing there,” he said. “As far as working on defense, we’ve simply just made plans so that they know what they need to do with the ball in different defensive situations.”
The Vols return to action next week with a trip to face Madison-Ridgeland Academy. Head coach John Kehoe’s program is a traditionally successful one in the Jackson area, and Hampton expects it to be a difficult test. He has high expectations for his team, and this test will be a big one ahead of their district campaign, which begins the following week on the road at rivals Heritage Academy.
“Coach John runs a great program there at MRA, so I expect a competitive game with a strong opponent,” Hampton said. “But regardless, we are going there to seek a win.”
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