Dawn of a New Day

This spring, following three sub-.500 seasons and a combined 18-28-10 record, the Cougars finished 16-3-1. They won their first League of Independent Schools regular-season and tournament championships since 2011. They reached the VISAA semifinals. They placed seventh in Central Virginia in the final Richmond Times-Dispatch Top 10 poll.

 

They were duly honored. Senior Mia Jackson, junior Maisy Fling, sophomores Maya Jackson and Kate Johnston, and freshman Julia Edwards were voted All-LIS. Rob Ukrop was named coach of the year. Mia Jackson and Johnston made first-team All-State. Fling and sophomore Kaitlyn Sanderson were selected to the second team.

 

So what’s created the turnaround?

 

“We’re a group of kids who love to be together,” said Ukrop, a 1988 Collegiate graduate, an accomplished player in his day, and a long-time coach who assumed leadership of his alma mater’s program in 2014.

 

“They understood their roles and embraced them to the best of their ability. They understood how we wanted to play: build out of the back, keep the ball, tire other teams out with our ability to pass and create good chances in the final third. The last three years, we’ve seen all those qualities start to show up.

 

“Win or lose, on the road or at home, the girls genuinely have a spirit where they lift each other up and encourage each other. Don’t get me wrong, though. They’re competitive. They love to win.”

 

Seems they love to have fun, too.

 

“We’ve always had good players and good potential, but this year we were more competitive on the field and more determined,” said Mia Jackson, a five-year varsity veteran. “We’ve also created an environment that allows people to feel comfortable with each other. We did a lot of bonding activities like team breakfasts and team dinners.”

 

And then there’s the crossbar challenge.

 

“We have this competition during practice a couple of times a week,” Mia continued, “where if we hit the crossbar, Rob takes us out for ice cream.

 

“He usually puts the ball about 15 yards past the 18 (-yard line) and picks one person to try to hit the crossbar. It’s usually (senior) Olivia Hess. It’s a fun activity that lightens the mood. Also, you get ice cream out of it.”

 

There’s more.

 
"The first couple of weeks I drove the van (from the main campus to the soccer field at the Robins Campus for practice and games)," Ukrop said, "the girls talked about music and singing, so I started bringing a Pitch Perfect CD for the 11 underclassmen that rode out there with me. Pitch Perfect has a couple of a capella groups having sing-offs. We had a lot of sing-offs this year. A lot of people take sports so seriously, but it really is a part of life and something you can enjoy with your friends.”

 

All of which translated into a very successful and fulfilling spring.

 

Mia Jackson (forward and center defender) led the squad with 16 goals and seven assists. Edwards (attacking midfielder) scored 11 goals and contributed 14 assists. Sanderson (center forward or outside wing) scored nine goals and assisted on four others. Johnston (holding midfielder and, in Ukrop’s words, “our glue kid”) scored five goals and added three assists. Fling had a 12-2-1 mark as goalkeeper, recorded four shutouts, and had a .85 goals-against average.

 

“A lot of players were versatile and interchangeable in different positions,” said Fling, a transfer from Lee-Davis. “We had a strong starting 11. We also had strong players coming off the bench who made a big difference.”

 

Youth can sometimes be a disadvantage. Not with the Cougars, which bodes well for the future.

 

“We’re a really young team,” Johnston said. “We’re building up from the bottom. We had a lot of freshmen and sophomores playing a lot of minutes. We work well as a team. Our biggest assets are that we fought back when we got down early, we played really well as a team, and we believed in each other. We had high expectations for each other, but at the end of the day it’s all positive feedback and constructive criticism. We were just trying to get better.”

         -- Weldon Bradshaw