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Chattanooga: Lady Trojans aim for a state return

By: Jaime Lackey
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Moises Drumond

Last year’s trip to the Class AAA state tournament was a pleasant surprise for the Soddy-Daisy girls’ soccer team.

This season, the Lady Trojans will be disappointed if their season doesn’t last until November.

Coach Moises Drumond returns 10 starters from his underdog team of 2007, which ended Ooltewah’s five-year run of District 6 championships, then went on the road to upset Riverdale in a sectional and earn Soddy-Daisy’s first state berth since 1998.

“We had a lot of talent, but at the same time not a lot of experience,” Drumond said. “That was something that worried me, but going into this year, I think last year has really helped us prepare for what’s to come.”

With just three seniors, Soddy-Daisy will again be relatively young but won’t be lacking in talent, depth, leadership or experience. The combination of those elements has left the Lady Trojans excited about their prospects and eager to get their season started.

“We all worked really well together last year, so I’m happy that I’ll have the same girls with me,” said senior forward Kelsey Swann, who led Soddy-Daisy in scoring last season. “We have new girls coming in that are really good, so I’m excited.”

Drumond’s team will have to replace playmaker Caiden Barcomb, the assists leader from a year ago, but three freshmen help complete a lineup filled with potential contributors.

“Depth is definitely one of our strengths,” Drumond said. “I think this is the deepest girls’ team I’ve had in eight years here at Soddy, so to be able to sub girls in and not miss a beat is really going to help us this year.”

Soddy-Daisy will also benefit from the senior leadership of Swann, stopper Sarah Atchley and sweeper Clair Lanter. The three highly respected players have been a positive influence on the team’s underclassmen, and the success they experienced together last season has been motivating the Lady Trojans ever since.

“Last year I don’t think we expected to go to state,” Atchley said, “so we weren’t really working as hard in practice. Now that we expect it, I think we’ve started working harder earlier.”

Although the large number of returning players gives Soddy-Daisy the luxury of picking up where the team left off last season, the players know what it will take to build on those achievements.

“We’re going to have to work really hard,” Lanter said, “and we can’t ever come out thinking out that we’re better than any team, because it’s anybody’s game. There’s a bunch of good teams in Chattanooga, and so we really have to play with a lot of heart.”

Several of those good teams will be in Region 3-AAA, where Soddy-Daisy finished runner-up to Cleveland last year. Drumond said one of his team’s goals for this season is to earn the home sectional match that comes with winning the region final, but the top priority is to be one of eight teams competing in the Class AAA state tournament Nov. 5 at GPS.

“We always have the expectation of trying to get to state,” Drumond said. “Since we made it there last year, I think obviously you want to do even better this year, so I think anything short would feel like a disappointment.”

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