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north pontotoc vikingS women’S Soccer
NORTH PONTOTOC
2022-2023 vikingS women’S Soccer
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2022-2023 north pontotoc lady vikingS Soccer team
The North Pontotoc Lady Vikings soccer team includes (back row, l-r) Jazmin Lopez Manager, Sasha Tyler 6, Cheyenna Cable 22, Alexandra Nova 11, Josh Harlow Head Coach, (middle row) Anna Garcia 8, Yecenia Lopez 24, Fatima Lopez 9, Anne Crotwell 2, Kyndall Roberts 14, Iesha Bailey 4, (front row) Miriam Gonzalez 1, Naomy Camposeco 10, Annslee Rhea 21, Hope Culpepper 7, Carly Walker 18, Allie Hamilton 3, Karen Lopez 5.
Photo by Torrance Photography
LADY VIKINGS LOOK TO INCREASE PROGRAM’S CONSISTENCY
Jonathan Wise
Sports Writer
North Pontotoc girls soccer is striving to develop into a program that can compete at a high level year-in-andyear-out under the guidance of firstyear head coach, Josh Harlow.
“We have introduced a new system,” Coach Harlow said of the preparation for this season. “It is more defensive. It is based off of, I would say a counter-attack, but it is going to be a little bit of possession as well. So it is a bit of everything to give us some options this year.
“The girls have really responded well, and I am looking forward to getting started to see how we can implement it.”
North has a senior-laden lineup, starting in the goal with Miriam Gonzalez.
“This will be her first year in between the posts, and so far she has done well,” Harlow said.
“Allie Grace Hamilton will be our starting center-back. She is physical, and she understands how to cover for her teammates. So she is perfectly suited for that position.
“I am looking at Hope Culpepper and Carly Walker on the outsides to give us support, and Annslee Rhea is going to play center-mid. She (Rhea) does a good job of recognizing the play and being able to switch fields. Naomy Camposeco does as well, who is going to be playing the striker position for us.”
Anne Crotwell made a big contribution last year, and, although still only a freshman, will be a key cog for the Lady Vikings.
“Anne is very experienced on the wing, but in high school I want her to play more central, see more of the ball and be able to pull strings from the middle,” Harlow said. “She is very intelligent as far as soccer IQ goes, and I want to give her a little bit more freedom to kind of play the ‘quarterback’ position, if you will.”
Harlow also looks for sophomore Alexandra Nova, 8th grader Kendal Roberts, junior Yecenia Lopez and junior Karen Lopez to fill important roles.
“I don’t know if they’ve played their positions before, but they’ve done a fantastic job of maintaining their composure and getting used to something new,” he said. “I’m excited to see how they do this season and beyond.”
Harlow wants to, over time, get the Lady Vikings to a point where they are considered a consistent contender.
“First and foremost we are here to compete,” he said. “We want to compete in our division and make it to the postseason, and we want to continue to better ourselves each season. We want to change the perception of this program in 4A soccer and be one of those teams that competes at the next level.”
NOVEMBER 17 Grenada
NOVEMBER 28 @ New Hope
DECEMBER 1 Corinth
DECEMBER 3 @ South Pontotoc
DECEMBER 9 Ripley
DECEMBER 13 @ Tishomingo County
DECEMBER 16 New Albany
JANUARY 6 @ Ripley
JANUARY 9 @ Corinth
JANUARY 12 Tishomingo County
JANUARY 14 Senatobia
JANUARY 17 @ Senatobia
JANUARY 19 @ New Albany
