Lansing girls soccer posts another strong regular season

The regular season has come to a close in Section IV soccer, and it was another successful one for Lansing girls soccer.

The Bobcats head into the postseason with a 9-4-2 record. Throughout the course of the campaign, the Bobcats have certainly been battle-tested, facing state-ranked teams such as Trumansburg (twice) and Watkins Glen. Even though those games didn’t go their way, it was still valuable experience for a younger Bobcats team.

“We don’t shy away from any competition, and we try to get top-caliber teams each season to get tested,” said head coach Eric Stickel. “I think outside of the first Trumansburg game, it showed that we can compete with these teams. We had some mistakes on our end that led to some goals, some opportunistic chances on the opponents. We obviously didn’t win them, but they were there.”

Stickel has seen his team grow in leaps and bounds since that season-opening 5-0 defeat to the Blue Raiders.

“You try to focus on shape so you limit the amount of energy expended, and you trust those in front of you and behind you,” Stickel said. “I don’t think we did initially, and so we just got caught kind of running all over the field, and we just got gassed early on. Lately we made some changes, and when we stick to the shape and the system of play, there’s opportunities in there to rest. It’s a grind. It’s a long season, and you’ve got to be able to find those moments. I don’t think it’s realistic to think that we can go 80 minutes full tilt against top-caliber teams, so finding those moments where you can [have a] little bit of rest, catch your breath, refocus, has been huge for us.”

One of the biggest changes for the Bobcats has been in their attack, which has had little issues in terms of production thanks to one of their newcomers. Bella Drake is only in eighth grade, yet she leads the team with 14 goals, quite a few of them stunning strikes from outside the 18-yard box. It’s safe to say the Bobcats don’t have to worry too much about their scoring prowess for years to come.

“She’s quality with the ball at her foot,” Stickel said. “I think everyone knows that, so we can just find different ways to get her the ball, which we’re trying to do. I think she’s just going to add to the success she’s already had as an eighth grader, but she’s just a great kid, great mindset, willing to compete, willing to do whatever it takes. And that’s what you want out of anyone, but certainly an eighth grader that’s so impressionable. [She’s] like a sponge, just soaks it all up.”

Last year, the Bobcats’ front line consisted of the effective trio of Izzy Gustafson, Emma Heasley, and Hailey Jacobs. With Heasley and Gustafson graduated, Jacobs has found a new role this season and has flourished in a deeper part of the pitch.

“She’s more of a distributor in the midfield to find Bella and anyone else that might be up top there,” Stickel said. “She’s been a great leader. She’s grown so much through this. She was an eighth grader who started me for five years. I just think from where she was then to where she is now, from a leadership standpoint she just found that she can get through any challenge that’s out there, and that goes from what’s on the soccer field and what’s off it. It’s only gonna serve her well when she goes to college.”

Lansing wouldn’t be complete without a strong back line, and that’s certainly been the case this season with six shutouts. Diyah Rahaman leads the defense as a senior captain. Even when she missed a handful of games with an injury, the likes of Erin Dhameeth, Leah Clark, Makenzie Hunter, and Raid Lyerla have valiantly stepped up their game.

Then there’s goalkeeper Nasia Whyte, who dazzled last year by earning IAC First Team All-Star honors as an eighth grader. She has continued to grow and flourish now in her freshman campaign.

“She’s such a great goalkeeper [with] so many great skills: her vision, her on-the-ball ability, the way she comes off her line, attacks. She just has it all,” Stickel said. “[We’re] just trying to instill confidence in her and put that bad play behind you and move on to the next one and just compartmentalize the 80 minutes.”

As the Bobcats aim to make another deep run in sectionals, the key is treating those big postseason matchups like any other game.

“I try to remind the girls, ‘The volume of the ball is the same. The field dimensions are the same. The saying is that they put their pants on the same way. We just gotta get out there and play and not worry about all the other stuff,’” Stickel said. “When we play loose and free and got a good set of positive energy around us, we tend to be more successful than that uptight nature.”