Southwest Missouri was shut out of state championships for the first time in three years, as Catholic's run of two straight Class 1 titles ended.
The Lady Irish did take third, however, and landed three players on the All-Ozarks first team.
Mainstays Glendale (three first-teamers) and Nixa (two) also have a presence on the All-Ozarks team. Ozark landed one, while Republic and Central, both district champions for the first time in school history, each had one.
-- Harrison Keegan
Kindra Lierz Glendale sophomore
Lierz was a brick wall all season for coach Jeff Rogers' Glendale Falcons, recording 11 shutouts and blocking 97 shots on goal.
Rogers said the Falcons went up against some of the top forwards in the state this season, and Lierz always gave his team a chance to win. He said Lierz was especially reliable during the team's run to a fourth-place finish at Class 3 state.
"When you talk about postseason soccer, you have to have a goalkeeper that steps up and she did that for us," Rogers said. "She was huge down the stretch, and in the final four she played awesome."
DEFENDERS Bekah Bade Catholic senior
Catholic coach Ben Timson was having trouble solidifying his backline after the Irish graduated four defensive players following the 2011 season. So five games into this year, he called upon Bade -- one of his best players -- to make the switch from goal-scoring forward to central defense.
Bade, playing defense for the first time, helped solidify things during the team's Class 1 third-place run.
"We moved Bekah to central defense and she had a tremendous year for us," Timson said. "It was kind of scary for her at first, but she was willing to go back and play a position she had never played before."
Bade, also an Academic All-State basketball player, will attend the University of Missouri in the fall but does not plan on playing soccer or basketball.
Alix Opfer Glendale senior
With her all-out hustle, Opfer made things a lot easier for All-Ozarks goalkeeper Lierz. Coach Rogers said Opfer did the dirty work to help the Falcons get possession of the ball and move it upfield.
"Alix was the heart and soul of everything we did this year," Rogers said. "She was our engine, she led us on and off the field."
Opfer, a team captain, was third on the team with eight goals and tied for the team lead with 12 assists. She will play soccer at Missouri State University next year.
Abby Turnbull Nixa senior
It will be strange for coach Evan Palmer not to have Turnbull patrolling the backline next season. She has played defense for the varsity squad since her freshman year, and Palmer said she got better every year.
"She was basically the anchor of our defense the last four years," Palmer said. "She was in control of the defense, she knew where to put girls and she was so solid for us for four years."
Turnbull led the Eagles in an unofficial deflections stat with 18 blocks. She will attend Missouri next year but will not continue her soccer career.
MIDFIELDERS Molly Brewer Glendale senior
One player certainly doesn't make a team but the Falcons knew they had a tall order this season trying to replace Emily Cline, who scored 43 goals in 2011. Coach Rogers turned to Brewer, and she was more than up to the task.
Brewer scored 26 goals this season -- 17 more than anyone else on the team -- and also tied for the team lead with 12 assists. She also came up big in the biggest games, scoring the game-winning goal in the district final and the state quarterfinal.
"She stepped up and scored in huge games down the stretch," Rogers said.
Brewer will play for her father, Rob, next season at Missouri State.
Lydia Holtmann Catholic sophomore
Holtmann was Catholic's unofficial closer this season. The more tense the situation, the better Holtmann played.
She scored 28 goals and had 17 assists for the Class 1 third-place Irish this year and, remarkably, 11 of those 28 goals were game-winners. Coach Timson said he is looking forward to having Holtmann for two more years.
"Lydia had a great year for us as an attacking midfielder," Timson said. "She's very good technically and very good tactically -- and very clutch."
Lauren Moats Nixa senior
Moats finished her Nixa career No. 3 on the school's all-time scoring list despite playing only three years. She scored eight goals and added 12 assists this year, and she had impeccable timing -- twice scoring the golden goal in overtime wins against Waynesville and Catholic.
"She had a way of scoring goals in big games," coach Palmer said. "We had three overtime games and she won two of them."
Palmer praised Moats for her excellent vision and touch on the ball. She will continue her soccer career at Western Kentucky University next season.
FORWARDS Morgan Davidson Ozark junior
Ozark coach Tom Davidson wasn't sure where the offense was going to come from for his Ozark Tigers team this year, but he didn't have to look any further than the room down the hall. Davidson's daughter, Morgan, stepped up in a big way, scoring 24 goals and dishing 12 assists for the 15-8 Tigers.
"Her being such a leader this year, I wasn't sure if she had it in her, but she did well," Tom Davidson said. "There were a lot of times where she carried us on her back scoring-wise."
Morgan Davidson still has one year left, and the father-daughter combo could be in line for another strong year.
Aspen Hawkins Central sophomore
Aspen Hawkins had a simple goal going into this season: She wanted to break the Central girls' single-season scoring record. Thirty-one goals later, she has her name in the record books.
"She's one of those club kids who brought that level of play with her," said Central coach Chris Welch. "She increased her level of play, which brought the other girls up."
Hawkins, a team captain as a sophomore, now has a new benchmark -- she is after the boys' career scoring record of 121 goals. With 49 goals in her first two years, Hawkins certainly has a chance.
Sara Marcotte Republic sophomore
In just the second year of the girls' soccer program at Republic, the team improved by 10 wins and finished 16-10. According to coach Mike Hines, Marcotte is one of the major reasons for the turnaround.
Marcotte had 37 goals (more than the rest of the team combined) this season and added 11 assists.
"She was the catalyst for our offense," Hines said. "I have been coaching girls for 10 years and she is one of the hardest working athletes I have ever coached. I'm very excited about the next two years."
Nicole Ortega Catholic sophomore
Ortega got a lot accomplished in limited time for the Irish this season. Hamstring and knee injuries kept Ortega off the field for seven games and parts of other games but she still put together a tremendous year.
She was a force in the box, scoring 17 goals and adding 10 assists. Springfield teams had better prepare themselves for when Ortega is at full strength next season.
"Nicole is an extremely strong player," coach Timson said. "She actually only played about half of the minutes that were available in the season. But when she was in, she was extremely effective."
All-Ozarks Soccer
Second Team
GK: Megan Goetzinger, Catholic, sr.
D: Brittany Baker, Kickapoo, sr.
D: Carsyn Beard, Lebanon, sr.
D: Kasey Shea Opfer, Glendale, fr.
M: Miriam Melugin, Kickapoo, soph.
M: Paige Townsend, Nixa, soph.
F: Sara Cook, Greenwood, sr.
F: Payton DeHart, Nixa, soph.
F: Nicole Howard, Rolla, soph.
F: Dylan Owens, Willard, fr.
F: Miriam Taylor, Camdenton, jr.
