By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
It was a season of milestones for the Branson Lady Pirates in 2022 and coach Brandon Scott looks for his team to build on that momentum.
The Lady Pirates finished 18-10 overall, 5-4 in the Central Ozark Conference, made it to the Class 3 District 6 championship game, set program season records for most goals, wins, assists and shutouts. Branson also had several players break into the top 5 in several career categories.
“Last season was one that raised the bar of our expectations as a program,” said Scott, who is just two wins shy of 100 for his career and is in his 10th season as the Branson girls’ coach. “We are competing at a high level consistently and look to continue that into 2023.
“There is something very important when you build a culture of winning and setting high expectations for yourself, and I feel our program has done a great job of that over the last several seasons.”
The Lady Pirates return seven players from their district runner-up team.
• Kloey Alms, senior midfielder; scored 18 goals with 11 assists; named a captain last season; earned all-district honorable mention and second-team all-conference honors; committed to play at Evangel University. “Kloey brings a great deal of leadership and knowledge of the game to the field for us,” Scott said. “She has great foot skills and can impact a game with her freekick and corner abilities. We look for Kloey to finish her senior season in the top 3 of all offensive statistical categories for her career.”
• Briley Efird, senior midfielder; 5 goals, 5 assists; earned first-team all-district and all-conference honors. “Briley primarily plays as a defensive midfielder, but we look for her to move up the field this season and create more offensive opportunities for us. She has the unique ability to play any position on the field and can impact a game with her knowledge and awareness on the field. We look for Briley to step in as a huge leader for us this season.”
• Avery Webber, senior forward/midfielder; 5 goals, 6 assists; earned all-district honorable mention honors. “We look for Avery to step into a scoring role for us this season as she makes the transition (from wing) to forward and finds herself in front of the goal. Avery is very crafty and has the ability to put herself into great spots to score and has really been working on her finishing this offseason. We are also very excited for Avery to be a senior leader for us on the field this season.”
• Sadie Lampe, sophomore defender; was an all-conference honorable mention selection. “Sadie started every regular-season game as a freshman except for two last season as she ended the year on an injury. We look for Sadie to continue anchoring our defense this season as a defensive midfielder and helping give some experience to a brand-new defensive line this year. Sadie’s leadership will play a huge role in defense this season.”
• Kaylor Alms, sophomore forward; 16 goals, 8 assists; named first-team all-district. “We look for Kaylor to step in and provide a lot of offensive power for us this year. Kaylor has game-changing speed up top and the ability to find creative ways to score. We look for Kaylor to really have a breakout season for us this year.”
• Tatum Worth, junior goalkeeper; 12 solo shutouts; earned first-team all-district honors. “We look for Tatum to continue to grow this year as she has a great deal of athleticism and soccer knowledge in the goal. She looks to break some school career goalkeeping records this season.”
• Abby Decker, junior defender. “Abby was an impact player for us on the defensive line last season. Her great deal of speed and athleticism keeps opposing offenses in check. Abby comes off a great sophomore season where she was a full-time starter. We look for Abby to grow as a leader this season and take on the role of center back for us, where she will use her varsity experience to guide our defense.”
The Lady Pirates have several players who saw varsity time last season who Scott says will be looking to step in and fill some of the roles left from graduation. Those players include senior Talysha Ramirez, juniors Abbie Hymel, Anna Marti, Summer Pollard, Andrea Garduno and sophomore Abi Jones.
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“We also have a great deal of incoming freshmen that we are very excited about; potentially one of our biggest freshman groups to come through, several of which have a lot of club and soccer knowledge to bring with them,” Scott said. “We could also see several of our freshman players in the mix of playing time at the varsity level this season.”
Scott noted one of his team’s strengths is its chemistry.
“We have a full roster of players who are truly excited to see each other succeed and that is a great asset to have,” Scott said. “I look early in the season for our offense to set the tone as we have several returning players there. This will allow some time for our defense to grow and develop as a unit as the season progresses.
“This team has got a lot of energy. They are a very fun-loving group that knows how to have a good time. This can be scary as a coach at times, however, this group also knows when it’s time to get to work and show their competitive side.”
The Lady Pirates lose six players who were key to their success since their freshman year, including Chloe Grimm (all-state, all-district Offensive Player of the Year), who is playing basketball and soccer at Hendrix College; Ava Marti (all-district), playing soccer at Avila University; Kayla Brenner (all-district); Alyssa Marti, playing soccer at Avila University; Shelby Heil, playing basketball at Hendrix College, and Peyton Bonsey.
“We are going to miss all of our seniors from last season as they were a huge part of our success and leadership the last several seasons,” Scott said. “Four of those players saw minutes at the varsity level since their freshman seasons. Chloe Grimm and her goal-scoring abilities, several defensive starters and others will leave some big shoes to fill.”
The Lady Pirates will participate in a jamboree at Republic with Hillcrest and Central on March 10, and will open the regular season in Columbia against Waynesville and Columbia Hickman on March 18.
“We certainly raised the bar for our program last season and showed ourselves how we can compete at a higher level and be successful,” Scott said. “This will be evident in 2023 as we have changed our schedule up and will have a stronger strength of schedule this year by picking up some out-of-area games in Jeff City and Columbia, as well as some nonconference opponents.”
