AREA HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SOCCER SQUADS LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING SEASON STARTED

Cape Girardeau Central is coming off a dream season but needs to fill plenty of holes, Jackson is also coming off a strong season, Notre Dame made plenty of improvement last year and Perryville is joining the fun.

That sums up the area high school girls soccer outlook for the 1998 season, which is just around the corner.

Central, Jackson and Notre Dame all are entering their third year of competition while Perryville will be fielding a team for the first time.

All four of the area squads will take part in next week's Noon Optimist Kickoff Classic set for Monday through Thursday in Cape Girardeau. Central and Notre Dame serve as co-hosts for the event.

The Noon Optimistic Kickoff Classic will be played on three fields at Shawnee Park. Monday's first-round schedule features Cape Central against Marion, Ill., Jackson against Carbondale, Ill., and Notre Dame against Poplar Bluff. Perryville has a first-round bye.

Following is a look at the area's girls soccer teams:

Cape Central

The Lady Tigers' season last year was nothing short of sensational. In only its second season to field a team, Central had a perfect regular season and won a district title before falling to Lafayette 1-0 in the playoffs.

Central wound up 18-1 last year, allowing only five goals and recording 14 shutouts. But many of the key players off that team are gone, including scoring leader Nichole Thiele.

"We had a great season last year, but we lost a lot of very good players, particularly a lot of our scoring," said coach Tom Doyle. "We'll be young, but I still think we'll be pretty decent. Our defense will be strong. It's just a question of if we can put the ball in the net."

The Lady Tigers do return several starters from last season, led by senior goalie Amy Harris, a first-team all-conference performer who recorded all 14 shutouts.

Others back who either started or saw a lot of action are juniors Erica McDonald, Kim Aslinger and Corey Nunnelly; and sophomores Lori Bittle, Katie Cozby and Jennifer Daume.

Doyle will also be counting on the likes of seniors Sarah Bruening, Spring DeCramer, Micah Goodrich and Melissa Altenthal; juniors Rachel Hessenkemper and Annie Christian; and sophomores Amber Voerg, Ashley Voerg, Amanda Heiler and Mindy Hoffman.

"We've got some good people coming back. They're all good kids. They work hard and do anything you ask," Doyle said. "There's just not a lot of soccer experience. It's a matter of how quickly we develop as a team."

Notre Dame

After a rocky inaugural season, the Lady Bulldogs improved to 10-10-1 last year and coach Jeff Worley has hopes of even better things for the '98 campaign.

"Things are looking good," said Worley. "Our depth is the best it's ever been. One of our goals is to improve on last year's record and I think we certainly have the group to do it."

Several returning regulars figure to lead the Lady Bulldogs, including last year's top two goal-scorers, senior Jennifer Glueck and sophomore Jill Edwards.

Also back are a pair of first-team all-conference performers in senior Jaymie Frank and junior Sara Westrich, along with junior goalie Shannel Bueltemann, who made second-team all-conference.

Other experienced players returning are seniors Marissa Gibbar and Crystal Kanaday and juniors Jessie Fluegge, Stephanie Miller and Jessica Lawrence.

Worley also has the largest freshmen group since the program's inception and he expects several frosh to contribute, among them Cyndi Cox and Katie Mehner.

Jackson

The Lady Indians had a strong season last year, going 13-5-1 -- with four of the losses coming to Cape Central, including a 2-1 setback in the district championship game.

Like Central, Jackson lost some key players, but the Lady Indians do return quite a few talented performers. That's why coach Bonnie Knowlan is upbeat about the campaign.

"We're looking pretty good," said Knowlan. "We had a good season last year and we lost some key players, including four starting fullbacks.

"But I think we'll be competitive. We're young in a lot of areas so you worry about that, but I think we'll be fine."

Jackson returns several regulars, including senior Dana Eakins, a first-team all-conference performer.

Another returning standout is sophomore Julie Wunderlich, who earned first-team all-league honors as a freshman.

Also back are junior goalie Laura Beck, fellow juniors Jennifer Horst, Jennifer Brown, Jessica Shultz and Carrie Myer; and sophomores Kerri Gordon and Sarah Schlick.

Knowlan will also be counting on the team's four other seniors: Bridgett Tracy, Jennifer Jones, Joanna Gordon and Emily Ruessler.

Perryville

Although the Lady Pirates will be venturing into untested waters, coach Duane Hadler said they should fare much better than most first-year teams.

"We're all very excited," he said. "Most of the girls have played quite a bit of soccer. We have a pretty large youth league for the girls. I've coached a club team the last few years and about eight of our girls have played on that.

"I think we've got some pretty good talent. I look for us to be competitive. I don't really consider us a new team. I don't want to say we'll do really good, but I think we'll do better than most first-year teams."

Among the players Hadler will be counting on are seniors April Watts, Sarah Hadler, Laura Ernst, Brandi Arneson, Jamie Meyr and Tae Matsusaka.

Hadler is also looking for good things from the likes of juniors Jamie Mueller, Shannon Dryer and Jeni Blevins; sophomore Amanda Schumer; and freshmen Jamie Amberger, Stacy Baer and Brooke Winkler.