Lakers Girls Soccer Team Ready to Begin Its Season

The girls soccer team was shut out from opening its season with a game against Waterford Mott on Friday due to snowy weather. However, head coach Jason Clark is poised to keep the Lakers from being shut out by opponents in 2011.

The season, now scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. Thursday at , will be Clark's third as coach. Under his leadership, the team rose from 2-10-2 in 2009 to a winning 9-7 record in 2010. Clark is determined to add to that momentum with an Oakland Activities Association White Division championship.

“Our goals are winning the league, playing well in our off-conference games and then going into the playoffs on a high note,” said Clark after practice last week.

“This year, most of our stars will be our seniors that have been on the team for the past four years.”

Clark pointed to senior captains Alissa Neff, Niki Zuk, Bronte Payne and Taylor Hotz as leaders on and off the pitch. Payne, a midfielder, echoed the sentiment, pointing to an improved team showing at the exhibition Lakes Area Showcase on March 20 as reason for optimism.

“Our goals this year are winning our league," Payne said. "We had a showcase on Saturday, we had played some pretty tough games, but we came out pretty well.”