Kelly girls soccer team still faces challenges in Year 2

Everyone loves something new. It's untouched. It's shiny. It's chock full of possibility. But new comes with its own set of challenges. Like figuring out how it works.

Kelly girls soccer isn't exactly "new" anymore. It's more like an infant than a newborn. And infants are adorable, except when they're not. That is to say -- the excitement is there, but there are plenty of challenges.

The Hawks are officially in their fourth season as a program, but just their second at the varsity level. And while building a program from the ground up is a fulfilling process, it's not always a linear climb. When Kelly walked off the field after a 6-0 loss to Cape Central this past week, that much was evident on the girls' faces.

In 2015 -- Year 1 in the life of Kelly varsity girls soccer -- the Hawks defeated those same Tigers (same in name, at least) 2-1 in penalty kicks. Not this time around, though.

Still, they forced a competitive first half that saw just a 1-0 score at the break, and inches were the difference between a pinged crossbar and a 12th-minute Hailey Noon 35-yard wonder strike that could have changed the complexion of the game.

A Kelly player clears a ball in front of her own goal during last week's 6-0 loss to Cape Central.

Welcome to the sport, ladies. The margins are always slim.

"There's times we didn't get the ball on the ground as much as I'd like to and had some bad first touches," Kelly coach Lance Powers said, "and when you have bad first touches and don't get the ball down then you turn the ball over and bad things are going to happen. Cape Central took advantage."

Powers has helmed the young program for all four years of its existence. He spent the first two years gathering players and getting them familiar with his system and expectations while only fielding a junior varsity team, before taking a step up to varsity in 2015.

Last season saw the Hawks go 7-11-1 in their inaugural effort -- not too shabby for a first attempt. There were some ups and downs -- including a five-game goalless stretch -- but a competitive season was a good building block.

Now Kelly is trying to push on.

"As a coach, obviously every year I expect us to win more games and get better and be more competitive in the district," Powers said. "That philosophy, that trickles down to my players. They fully expect to come out here and win every game and be competitive. Every year is going to be a building block and every year we expect to get a little better and hopefully put a good product out there for our community in Benton, Missouri."

The work continues for Powers and his Hawks. His team still features a lot of youth, but it does return nine of 11 starters from its inaugural season. It only features new faces at goalkeeper -- currently a timeshare between veteran athlete Tori Duenne, a senior, and goalkeeper of the near future Taylor Crank, a freshman -- and one spot in a five-woman midfield.

One thing a short history has not afforded Kelly is a great deal of depth, and injuries early this season have already tested the squad, as it has dipped into inexperienced reserves. It sometimes showed against Central, though Powers praised his returning players for being flexible, in particular praising Anna Hughes for her willingness to shift from her normal spot in midfield to fill a void on the back line.

If it's going to take a team effort to find success, the coach believes he's got girls who have bought in.

"I've got great kids down there that work hard," Powers said. "Eventually the girls that have never played will learn more about the sport, and once that happens and the community learns more about it, it's going to really take off down there."

For now, that journey is more like a funicular than a rocket, but the Hawks opened this spring 2-2; it took them 10 games to pick up their second win a year ago.

The players are expecting to see improved results, and that's why the frustration was evident after a convincing second loss of the season.

Behind the scenes, the team is a step ahead of where it was a year ago.

"This year, when we started it was a lot less teaching and more concentrating on the tactics of it and less on footwork," Powers said. "I expect that to keep building every year."

New was never going to be easy, but as Kelly soccer moves into its second year at the varsity level, it believes it is on track to figuring out how it works.