LAST SEASON: 7-11-2 overall, 5-3-2 in O-K Green conference play, finished fourth. Lost to Mona Shores in opening game of districts.
RETURNING STARTERS: Sophomore Jaslynn Kops (11 goals as a freshman); junior Abby Hill (9 goals as a sophomore); junior Mallorie Messer (All-District defender last year); junior Ashley Bradley; senior Chloe Brainard; senior Reese Tryska; sophomore Gracie Callender; junior goalkeeper Sara Carlson.
OTHER PROMISING RETURNEES: Sophomore Ashlyn David, who played very well as a freshman before an injury ended her season early. Seniors Ella Siembida, Morgan Rekeny and Madilynn Dyer are expected to play much bigger roles this season.
REST OF THE ROSTER: Seniors Kiera Ketner and Hanna Potts; juniors Chloe Parker, Morgan Huddleston, Maya VandenBosch, Lola Sapone; sophomores Grace Tindall and Emmarie Siembida.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN BY CLASS: Seven seniors, eight juniors, five sophomores.
PRESEASON OUTLOOK: The Rockets were very young but talented last season, showing promise at times and taking their lumps at others. The reward is the return of eight starters who should help them take a big step forward this season. The return of proven scorers like Kops and Hill will bolster the offense, and several other players are expected to pick up their goal production this spring, as well. Carlson gained valuable experience as a sophomore goalkeeper last season and should play a strong role.
THE OPPOSITION: The newly-configured O-K Green conference will be a challenge, with strong teams from Byron Center, Caledonia and Jenison joining the conference. Mona Shores is still in the conference, and the Rockets have not beaten the Sailors in several years. R-P will drop down from Division 1 to Division 2 in postseason play, which might make things a little easier, but defending D2 state champion Spring Lake will be in their path.
FIRST GAMES: Wednesday March 19 at East Grand Rapids; Friday March 21 at home against West Ottawa.
COACH COMMENTS: "We have a lot of great soccer ahead of us this spring, and we need to just be smart about how we manage our athletes. Our numbers are small this year, but we have a lot of quality players, for sure. We're back in Division 2 so we're going to use a very challenging conference schedule, along with several competitive Division 1 teams teams on our schedule, to prepare for a good postseason run this year. Even though we have eight starters back, some roles are changing and are always developing, so the girls will have plenty of opportunities this season to showcase different skill sets. We have an amazing group of kids, so we know that regardless of the record, it's going to be a ton of fun this season, and we're going to enjoy competing, week-in and week-out." - Kody Harrell