While many sports lost a huge senior class of talent, the girls soccer talent will be strong this season. '
The area lost nine first-team all-area players - about half, but returns a plethora of talent from all schools and all positions.
Here are the returning players to watch:
Summer Boone-Sautter
SCHOOL: Zeeland East
GRADE: Senior
POSITION: Midfield
LAST YEAR: All-Conference in OK Green. Had four goals and four assists.
COACH'S VIEW: "Summer is one of our best players in the air. Reads the game well and is a connector for us in transition. Summer is one of our lead communicators on and off the pitch." - Joe Grit
Taylor Correa
SCHOOL: Fennville
GRADE: Senior
POSITION: Midfield
LAST YEAR: All-conference and all-district. Had eight goals and 20 assists.
COACH'S VIEW: "Taylor is our assists leader for a reason, she has great vision on the field and can find people through the smallest of openings, she has great awareness of movement on and off the ball. She also has a great shot and isn’t afraid to have a go from anywhere near goal." - Mark Gray
Sarah Geerlings
SCHOOL: Holland Christian
GRADE: Junior
POSITION: Midfield
LAST YEAR: Was all-conference in OK Blue.
COACH'S VIEW: "Sarah took a big step this year on the varsity team at Holland Christian. We could count on her to set the tone on the field for how we were going to compete. She was willing to mark the opposition’s best player and could also create dangerous attacking opportunities with how she distributed out of the midfield. I am looking forward to seeing Sarah continue to grow as a player and person in the future." - Elliot Slenk
Kennedy Gustafson
SCHOOL: Saugatuck
GRADE: Sophom*ore
POSITION: Goalie
NET WORTH: Was all-conference, all-region and honorable mention all-state. Allowed just three open-play goals (non-penalty kicks) during the regular season. When not playing goalie had nine goals and two assists.
COACH'S VIEW: "We haven't seen another goalie at Kennedy's level. She commands attention from every team we've played this year and has given our defense a lot of confidence in how they were able to approach opposing offenses. Kennedy is in control of the goal box like few goalies at this level. She is vocal, makes excellent decisions, distributes the ball well, and impacts every shot that comes her way. On top of that, she'd be an all-conference level field player if she focused on that area of her game." - former coach Jordan Campbell
Jordyn Klaasen
SCHOOL: Zeeland West
GRADE: Junior
POSITION: Defender/midfield
LAST YEAR: Had four goals and eight assists. All-conference in OK Green, all-district and all-region.
COACH'S VIEW: "Jordyn is the most versatile player on our roster this season. The only position she has not played for us this season is goalkeeper. Her speed and technical ability on the ball allow her to dominate the outside of the field - either shutting down opposing attackers, or running at opposing defenders. She is a dangerous threat no matter where she is on the field." - Ben Hondorp
Hannah Lewis
SCHOOL: Zeeland East
GRADE: Senior
POSITION: Forward/midfield
LAST YEAR: Earned all-conference in OK Green. Had nine goals and four assists.
COACH'S VIEW: "Hannah is a speedy player who also has a lot of stamina. Loves to compete and has a drive to get better everyday." - Joe Grit
Emma Margaron
SCHOOL: Holland
GRADE: Junior
POSITION: Midfield
LAST YEAR: All-conference and contributed on both sides of the ball, including a game-winning goal in districts.
COACH'S VIEW: " Emma is young but she is a natural leader. She has a bright future." - Greg Ceithaml
Rogen McLean
SCHOOL: West Ottawa
GRADE: senior
POSITION: Goalie
LAST YEAR: All-conference in OK Red and all-district. Had eight shutouts.
COACH'S VIEW: "Consistent, reliable, technically solid, and constantly looking to improve. Much improved with her distribution, very vocal organizer, team leader with everything that happens both on and off the field." - Brent Wyckoff
Macie Moore
SCHOOL: Zeeland East
GRADE: Junior
POSITION: Forward/midfield
LAST YEAR: Scored eight goals and dished out 10 assists. All-Conference in OK Green, all-district and all-region.
COACH'S VIEW: "Macie has the ability to pass and shoot with both feet. Plays with pace and is always a dangerous threat." - Joe Grit
Chelsea Overbeek
SCHOOL: West Ottawa
GRADE: Senior
POSITION: Midfield
LAST YEAR: One of the leading playmakers in the Red. Honorable mention all-conference.
COACH'S VIEW: "A physical and versatile player who played every position this season except keeper. I can always count on her effort and scrappy play no matter where the team needs her." - Brent Wyckoff
Brooke Pedersen
SCHOOL: West Ottawa
GRADE: Senior
POSITION: Defender
LAST YEAR: Was all-conference in OK Red and all-district. Lockdown defender.
COACH'S VIEW: "Moved to center back this season and was exceptional. Phenomenal ball winner, read play well, crunching tackles, just an all-around force in the back all season." - Brent Wyckoff
Neave Rewa
SCHOOL: Saugatuck
GRADE: Sophom*ore
POSITION: Midfield
LAST YEAR: Scored 22 goals, a school record, and had eight assists. All-conference, all-region and third-team all-state, helping team to 17-3, the best record in school history.
COACH'S VIEW: "Neave is often the first player that opposing coaches want to compliment and know more about. She has such strong technical skills, but has most impressed me with her confidence, humble attitude, and physicality as a freshman. From a playing standpoint, her ability to challenge opposing defenses and set up her teammates has unlocked our offense to another level. It's been pretty impressive to see her operate this year." - former coach Jordan Campbell
Ella Sligh
SCHOOL: Black River
GRADE: Senior
POSITION: Midfield
LAST YEAR: Was all-conference, all-district and all-region. Honorable mention all-state. Had seven goals and 14 assists.
COACH'S VIEW: "Ella contributed to 56% of our team's goals this year either by scoring or assisting. She played every meaningful minute this season. She is a complete player, ball control, speed, strength, finishing ability and most impressive is her field vision." - Kyle Lawton
Rylee Smith
SCHOOL: Zeeland West
GRADE: Senior
POSITION: Midfield
LAST YEAR: Had 14 assists and was all-conference in OK Green and all-district.
COACH'S VIEW: "Rylee is a natural creator in the attacking third. She is very comfortable with the ball in her feet running at people, and was very effective in delivering the ball on time and on target. She has a high soccer IQ and a great feel for the delivery of a ball. She led our team in assists and took most of our corner kicks." - Ben Hondorp
Tianna Stygstra
SCHOOL: Holland Christian
GRADE: Senior
POSITION: Defender
LAST YEAR: All-conference in OK Blue.
COACH'S VIEW: "Tianna is a team player. She made the transition from forward to defense this year and was a strong part of our back line. Her strong clearances and dangerous set pieces helped us throughout the season. Tianna is also a great teammate, looking out for others and making everyone feel welcome on the team." - Elliot Slenk
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Meet the high school girls soccer players to watch this season
