Saxony Lutheran hopes the “strength by numbers” approach reaps rewards

The Saxony Lutheran girls' soccer team brings back 16 players that saw significant playing time in 2022.

Crusaders head coach Chris Crawford hopes the experience gained last season will carry over to even more meaningful minutes played for his underclassmen.

“We only have two seniors this season,” Crawford said. “Three-year captain Anna Mueller and Ava Perry will no doubt be the leaders of the bunch but we are looking for Camille Richey (Soph.), Clara Brune (Jr.), Faith Dreyer (Soph.), Kylie Peters (Jr.) and Katie Swain (Jr.) to breakout for us this season on offense.”

The Crusaders finished last season 8-14 and will depend on Mueller’s defensive prowess, along with Payton Meier (Jr.), Mallory Kohlfeld (Jr.), Maci Hollis (Jr.), and Lina Deckard (Soph.). Crawford said he has three newcomers that will likely see substantial playing time this season as well.

“I expect sophomores Abigail Haley, Sophia DeBrower, and Maggie Hillin to see substantial time on the field as all three have shown significant improvement," Crawford said.

For a successful season, Crawford believes his team must buy into the system.

“I believe we can make a deep run if these girls buy into our system, accept their role on the team, and execute that role to the best of their abilities,” Crawford said. “With consistent effort during practices, we should be playing our best soccer at the end of the season.”

The Crusaders will host their tournament on March 23-24 for their first home games of the season. Saxony Lutheran will play Cape Central on Thursday and Poplar Bluff on Friday. It will also host Jackson, Parkway Central, Marion IL., Poplar Bluff, St. Pius X(Festus), and rival Perryville.

Road games throughout the season consist of Farmington to open the season on March 17, Fredericktown, Sikeston, St. Louis Christian, St. Vincent, and North County.

“For us to have success this season, we must defend and our goalkeeping must continue to perform at a high level with our offense taking advantage of opportunities,” Crawford said.