Tony Hepburn has always been a person to tell it like it is?#34;whether you like it or not.
But even the Fenwick girls soccer coach isn’t quite sure what to expect this spring from his squad.
“We’re young, but we have a lot of kids back,” said Hepburn, who is entering his third season. “I really don’t know what to expect, but I know we’ll be competitive.”
After leading the Friars to a Class A fourth-place State finish in 2004 and a Sweet 16 berth a year ago, Hepburn knows the road will be tough this spring.
Fenwick is one of 274 teams across the state that will battle for the Class AA crown, while only 75 teams remain in Class A.
“Being in the Lyons Sectional is not going to be easy, because we’re going to be up against teams like Oak Park and Lyons,” Hepburn said. “We don’t have the numbers that some of those schools have. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
Sophomore midfielder Candace Ruff heads the list of returnees.
“I’m most excited about her,” said Hepburn, referring to the 2005 team MVP.
“She has a lot of potential.”
Senior forward Katie Dalton is one of a handful of players that remains from the 2004 squad, which brought home the program’s first State trophy.
Junior goalie Angela Righeimer, senior defender Colleen Kelly and junior forward Catherine Moloney are three others that will provide some leadership.
Sophomore defender Niki Carter is another rising star to keep an eye on.
“We have 15 or 16 players back from last year’s team,” Hepburn said. “Six of them were starters, too. I decided to keep a couple more freshmen this year, so that’s why we’re going to be young in some spots.”
Midfielder Ellie Galvin is one freshman that is expected to make an immediate impact for the Friars, which opened the season on Monday against Lincoln Park. They will host Morton today at home.
“Our first six games are at home, so hopefully that will help us get off to a good start,” Hepburn said. “I’ve kept some of our tougher games like Benet, St. Ignatius and Loyola toward the end of the season.”
As for East Suburban Catholic Conference, Benet is the team to beat. But after that, it’s anyone’s guess.
“Benet is going to be tough,” Hepburn said. “Carmel is always good, but I don’t know how St. Viator is going to be.
“They’ve had a lot of changes there. So I see us in the middle of the pack. The conference is tough every year, and I’m sure it’s going to be tough again.”