Receiving special honors at the Seymour goals soccer awards program Tuesday night were, front from left, Katy Roark, Ella Brock, Rochiely Zarate Gibson, Emma Woodard and Addi Reece; back, Ailen Roque, Delaney Warren, Maggie Calhoun, Emma Braman, Brylee Ramsey, Fiona Toral and Melany Calhoun Lopez.
Arv Koontz | The Tribune
Coach Greg Musser said even though her statistics might not show it, Delaney Warren did a lot for the Seymour Lady Owls soccer team this fall.
“This player was a captain on the field for us all the time,” Musser said of Warren Tuesday night at an awards program held in the school cafeteria. “She covered a lot of ground for us and saved numerous goals for us.”
“She commanded different people in various positions, really tried to control what was going on from start to finish. She worked with a lot of new players who were cycling into new positions.
“This player stepped into a new role for us and really did a nice job or controlling the play, settling us down a lot of time as we worked through some of those defensive issues we had at the beginning of the year.”
Warren, a junior, was named Seymour’s most valuable player.
Ella Brock and Katy Roark were named to the Hoosier Hills all-conference first team, and Warren was named HHC honorable mention.
Roark was named recipient of the Top Team Player award.
“What we looked at in this award was statistically someone that was up there in statistics, in voting was near the top for the awards. (Roark) battled through some injuries and a lot of times played hurt. She created a lot of chances for our team when she was playing.”
She missed six matches because of an ankle injury but still tied Kenzi Henkle for the team lead in goals (8) and assists (5).
Addi Reece received the Coaches Award.
Musser said Reece had three assists from her defensive midfield position.
“She was a pit bull for us in the middle winning the ball and was asked with shutting down better players against our opponents.”
Brylee Ramsey, Maggie Calhoun, and Ailen Roque shared the most improved award. Musser said all three improved tremendously from the summer workouts into the season and they all earned a lot of playing time as the season went on.
The Owls finished the season 3-15 and lost 5-1 to New Albany in the Jeffersonville Sectional.
He said the start of the season was tough for the Owls. “We played eight games in the first 15 days of the season with very little practice time.”
Musser said after the Jeffersonville match on Sept. 3, the Owls had nine days before their New Albany match and during that time they had several good practices where they made a lot of progress.
“From there on out we were much better,” Musser said. “We started to figure some things out and we started to get a little more organized, get more players some more minutes that hadn’t played a whole lot of varsity, and I think we grew as a team.
“The hardest thing is to stay motivated in a season like this. We had a lot of talks with the girls throughout practices, and after games about the mental toughness that is needed.
“Without a shadow of a doubt I know every one of these girls will be successful because in the face of adversity and in the face of disappointment they showed up. They showed up every day with a good attitude, they worked hard, they did everything that was asked of them, and I think they grew tremendously as a team.
“They battled from start to finish every single time and I have nothing but admiration for them. That is a hard thing to do. By the end of the year, I think we put a much better product on the field.”
Warren, Ramsey, Calhoun, Rochiely Zarate Gibson, Emma Braman, Emma Woodard, Melany Calderon Lopez and Marisol Vicente were named academic all-state.
Musser said the players had to have at least a 3.75 grade point average and had to be a junior or senior to be named academic all-state.
Fiona Toral was named the JV most valuable player.
Musser said the JV had made a lot of progress in the past two years and this fall finished with an overall record of 3-4.