AIS Soccer is Off and Running

By Sports Boosters

“Soccer is off and running! Despite being hampered by rainy weather, lack of practice space, and an overlap with the basketball season, the players’ spirits are high, and the results of their hard work are already evident. Both varsity teams are benefiting from the return of seasoned players and are being strengthened by a talented crop of freshmen. The varsity preseason games on February 8 pitted AIS against Meadowcreek High School, a Division AAAAA team. (High schools are designated by size from A to AAAAA. AIS is one of the smallest schools and has a “One A” designation, so this was a David and Goliath match up.) The boys scored a moral victory right out of the box, keeping Meadowbrook to one goal despite their considerable talent. The girls fared even better, winning 3-0 on goals from Caroline Geiger (2) and Julia Lancaster, with help from teammates up and down the field. The season opener was a contest with Chamblee, last year’s AAA State boys’ runner-up. Both the boys and girls put up a good fight but were unable to overcome Chamblee’s offense. The girls’ first game against a team in our region came on Tuesday, February 19 against Pace Academy. AIS started off strong and pulled ahead with goals from Julia and Tanya Lancaster. Pace pushed hard in the second half, but the AIS defense, lead by goalkeeper Amy O’Halloran, kept them to one goal before Bianca Paggi secured the victory with the third goal for the Eagles. (The boys play Pace on March 1.) The varsity girls, lead by Coach Ken Dawson and Assistant Coach Veronica McDaniel, include four sets of sisters. Coach Dawson noted, "We have a very young group of girls but the talent is high. The more we play together, the better we look as a team. We are going to surprise a lot of schools this year as we make a run for the playoffs." The players are: Caroline Geiger (captain), Paige Brownlow, Rebecca Geiger, Claire Giblin, Julia Lancaster, Tanya Lancaster, Eve Laurent, Amy O’Halloran, Ciara O’Hallorah, Stazi Owen, Lucie Pages, Bianca Paggi, Lucy Pettitt-Schieber, Alia Reid, Jenna Sanborn, Kelsey Sanborn, Lindsey Sanborn, Avery Stonestreet, and Nicole Wilke. The boys’ team under the leadership of Bob Geiger and Philip Leopold includes Captain Simon Kolbert, Alex Bartsch, Saxon Bartsch, Thomas Courboin, David Dorsch, Charlie Geddes, Peter Gogarty, Manuel Gruenenfelder, Max Hunt, Marcus Kiessling, Nick Leach, Marcel Link, Christian Mustroph, Santiago Patino-Gomez, Phaethon Philbrook, Benji Schuttler, Will Silva, Dumela Thomas, Michael Webb, and T.C. Winter. Coach Geiger noted, “This will be a building year for us, but we have the basis for an excellent team. Two-thirds of the players are in grades 9 and 10, but the skill level is good and the players are rapidly learning how to play as a team.” Grab a coat and come out to the field for a great game, a mouthwatering hamburger, and lots of fun! The season schedule can be found at www.aischool.org/athletics/soccer.html. The boys and girls junior varsity teams begin competing soon, so look for more information on their season in next month’s Globetrotter.