East girls look to build off end to 2022 season

“State is always the goal, and winning is always the goal,” East coach Rebecca Valdez said. “Obviously, you have to get better every week. It is good to have goals, but that is the telescope. You have to have the microscope and work on everything day to day to get better during the season.”

East started last season off in a rough place last spring, dropping five of its first six games. The T-Birds rallied toward the end of the season, however, picking up four consecutive wins to close out the regular season. They finished the year with a 9-10-1 record, including a 6-5-1 mark in conference. They also finished the year with a plus-one goal differential (26 goals for, 25 goals against), according to MaxPreps.

While East ultimately came up short of the ultimate goal last season, it still plans to use some of the lessons learned and positive outcomes of last year to boost its confidence this year.

“We finished really well last year, and we need to be more consistent with that,” junior Aryana Booth said. “A lot of the same girls we have this year are the same girls from last year. So, I think we are just going to be able to build off what we ended up with last year, and move forward.”

East returns six starters from last season. However, the T-Birds will be without two of their key contributors, midfielder Tayler Miller and goalkeeper Kiara Kershaw, who have graduated and gone on to be key contributors to a Laramie County Community College squad that captured a Region IX title and berth in the NJCAA national tournament last fall.

Replacing the production of players of Miller’s and Kershaw’s caliber is not an easy task. But Valdez believes she has the answer to both.

In terms of replacing Miller’s production on the field, Valdez believes in junior Jordan Griess and sophomore Brooklyn Paskett. Greiss played a big part in the offense alongside Miller last season, and Valdez said she will be an even bigger part this year.

“She is looking to be more of a prolific scorer this year,” Valdez said. “We are going to advance her up in the midfield.”

Paskett is a relative newcomer to the varsity squad. She started last season on junior varsity and eventually moved up, but battled a knee injury throughout the season. Valdez said she anticipates Paskett will play a big part in the offense this year.

As for replacing Kershaw, Booth will be minding the net for the season. Booth played in the field last season while also serving as a backup to Kershaw. Now, she is switching back to her natural position, and is ready to put what she learned from Kershaw to use.

“It feels pretty natural (moving back to goalkeeper),” Booth said. “I got to play a lot of JV, as well, so it just feels like the same thing.

“I learned a ton (from Kiara). She helped me a ton, and we did everything together. She always helped me out, and I learned a lot of good things from her.”

East opens its season against two schools from Nebraska. The T-Birds will play Gering on the road tonight before heading home Saturday to face off against Scottsbluff. Valdez said that the opportunity to play two schools from the neighboring state presents a unique opportunity to test where the team is at.

“It is kind of cool because we will never see these teams again,” Valdez said. “We are excited to try some different lineups and combinations to see what works with us.”