February 20, 2019 Page 5B
i orter
MARY PERSONS
2019 VARSITY
GIRLS SOCCER
TEAM: Pictured
from left to right
on the front row:
Sidney Briner,
Taylor Buffington,
Annie Giles, Ab-
bie Davis, Banks
McCoy, Sydney
Lewis, Hope
Brooks and Mara
Emami. Pictured
from left to right
on the back row:
head coach Dallas
Hall, Karsen Win-
get, Alexis Havens,
Rachel Adams,
Morgan Lawson,
Maggie Sanders,
Abby Williamson,
Ansley Lawson,
Rachel Martin
and Sarah Bayer.
(Photo/Will Davis)
By Richard Dumas
brs h@mymcr.net
After back-to-back Sweet 16 ap-
pearances, the Mary Persons girls
soccer team will look to establish itself
as one of the top squads in AAAA in
2019.
Third-year MP head coach Dallas
Hall said after going 22-14-2 over
his first two seasons, his 2019 squad,
which features nine returners, is his
deepest, most talented group yet.
Unfortunately for Hall, that depth was
tested before the season even began
as star forward Taylor Buffmgton tore
the ACL in her knee late in basketball
season. The junior Butfington, who
led MP in goals with 34 as a sopho-
more en route to being named a All-
Region 2-AAAA 1st Team selection,
is expected to miss the entire 2019
* season.
Hall said of Buffington: "She
provides lots of goals, lots of assists,
movement, technical ability, she's
very hard to mark And usually every
team we play spots her right away as
a person they need to shut down, but
she's very hard to shut down."
Perhaps the player who could feel
Buffmgtons absence the most is the
team's second-leading returning
scorer, junior center forward Abbie
Davis, who will now be counted on
! to Bttffing/or/ large scoring sloes.
However, Hall said Davis, who scored
26 goals as a sophomore, should
be able to up that number in 2019
because she has added more variety
to her game.
Hall said of Davis: "She has also
progressed greatly since my first year
here. She used to just rely on her
speed and getting in behind. But this
year she can do a little bit of every-
thing. She can go in behind, she can
check the feet, she can play out, she
can turn, she can slip people through.
She's very hard to mark now because
she can do all those things. I think
she's going to have a little breakout
year and be hard to mark "
Joining Davis along MP's front
line will be returning junior Alexis
Havens and one of four talented
freshmen, Abby Williamson. Behind
that trio will be a mostly experienced
group of midfielders, including two
of the squad's most reliable players,
senior co-captains Annie Giles and
Morgan Lawson. Hall compared
Giles, a 1st Team All-Region 2-AAAA
selection in 2018, to a car engine in
the sense that she's the essential piece
that allows MP to transition smoothly
between defense and offense.
"She kind of runs the pace of the
team, so everything runs through
her:' Hall said of Giles. "Players are
comfortable playing to her. She wants
the ball. And it's very difficult when
we don't have her in She just runs
the show. A lot of goals come from
her. She had 20 assists last year:'
As for Lawson, she plays a box-to-
box role that requires her to move
rapidly throughout the midfield.
Hall said of Lawson: "She moved
to center mid and she's been doing
great. She's really taken to that role. So
everything kind of runs through her
and Annie. Her work rate is ridicu-
lous'.'
Starting alongside those two center
mids will be a talented freshman,
Karsen Winget.
Along the back line of defense, MP
will return a pair of seniors, center
back Sidney Briner and left back
Rachel Adams. Briner, an Honorable
Mention All-Region 2-AAAA choice
as a junior and a 2019 co-captain,
was recognized by Hall as last year's
Coaches' MVP because of how hard
she plays and her upward progres-
sion throughout her career. Two new
starters, freshman center back Sydney
Lewis and sophomore right back
Mara Emami, will join those two re-
turners. Hall said Emami surged late
last );ear, cracking the starting lineup
in the playoffs, and solidified her spot
in the lin up during the off-season.
With a two-year starter at goalie
(Lori Smith) having graduated, MP
will turn to sophomore Maggie Sand-
ers, who started on IV last year, as its
netminder.
GIRLS SOCCER . Page 7B
2019 MP JV
edule
DATE
Feb. 21
Feb. 25
Feb. 27
Mar. 2
Mar. 4
Mar. 6
Mar. 11
Mar. 18
Mar. 21
Mar. 25
Mar. 27
Mar. 30
OPPONENT
Mount de Sales
Pike County
Griffin
Mount de Sales
Spalding
ACE
Pike County
Griffin
Upson-Lee
LOCATION
Home
Away
Home
Away
Home
Home
Home
Away
Away
1st Round Area Tourney TBD
Semifinals Area Tourney TBD
Finals Area Tourney TBD
TIME
B-6 p.m.
G-5:30 p.m B-7 p.m.
G-5:30 p.m B-7 p.m.
B- 11 a.m.
G-5:30 p.m B-7 p.m.
G-5:30 p.m B-7 p.m.
G-5:30 p.m B-7 p.m.
G-5:30 p.m B-7 p.m.
G-5:30 p.m B-7 p.m.
TBD
TBD
TBD
