After sending off many of their teammates to college, the Farmington girls soccer team is ready to pull together for this season. "We're going to have to make this a family like we did last year and I think that'll be one thing that is easy for us," says senior co-captain Olivia Theirl. "We spend a lot of time together. Even this week we're out here full days, like our job is to hang out with each other, pretty much. Just become a family. Be there for each other. On the field, off the field."

Many, if not most on the roster play club soccer, keeping them around the game year-round. The high school season is special though, according to senior co-captain Anna Lorenzana, "I'm really excited. It's always fun for high school season because it's so much different of an environment than club."

She doesn't tire from the sport, "No. I think it's pretty fun. So, I enjoy going year-round and not getting much of a break." Theirl echoed those sentiments, "We have practices about four to five times a week. It's kind of extreme. But then we play leagues here. We have tournaments here but we also have tournaments around the Midwest. I went to Denver this summer, Chicago, Virginia."
               
The Tigers graduate heavily off a team that reached the Section 1AA finals before falling to Lakeville North. Lorenzana looks at the success of 2021 as a good start to this year. In her role as captain, "Making sure everyone is doing their part. Making sure everyone has a positive energy. No one is feeling like they aren't accepted."
               
Between the lines, "We do a really good job moving the ball, keeping it away from the opponent. So I'm real excited to see that."
Coach Aaron Johnson points out, "We've lost a lot of really good seniors but we had a lot of really good underclassmen on the JV team and a lot of really good players on the varsity team. Some of them started a little bit. Some of them maybe came off the bench."
               
He's also pleased with the experience that returns, "I feel like from goalkeeping up to our forwards, we've got a lot of really good returners coming back so it should make a good season for us."
               
Some retooling might be necessary after losing some top-notch defenders, "Hannah Hagman (UW-Stout) was a really good defender. She started I think for the last two or three years, been on varsity since her ninth-grade year. She made up for some mistakes we made the last couple years."
               
Johnson likes the options to replace Hagman and was looking forward to getting on the field to see who will work into the role, "We have probably four seniors who will be our defenders in the back. Some of them played quite a big last year. Some of them didn't play a ton. Some of them played a lot but didn't play as a defender last year. So, we're going to get those four out there and see how they work best."
               
The Tigers bring back an experienced keeper, "Ayden Gagner was our starting goalkeeper. She's very good…as good as any goal keeper around." Gagner started as a junior last fall and played some as a freshman. She played in a variety of showcases over the summer while traveling around the country. Keeping her healthy is a key said Johnson. Scrimmages at Stillwater on August 20 start the process of the keeper and defenders gelling together.
               
Scoring may come from some of the more youthful players after losing a number of seniors who scored goals including Tenley Voth (St. Scholastica). Jillian Hagman had a few goals in 2021 before an ACL tear early in the season. "She's really good, but she's still not a-hundred-percent. Taitym Voth, Tenley's sister, joined the varsity toward the end of the year last year. She scored for us. She should be another person to look at," stated Johnson.
               
"Olivia Theirl was all-conference last year. She's a midfielder. She can score. But she's also a really good defensive midfielder. So, we think we've got people that can score but we'll see once we get everybody on the field."
               
Johnson sees great dedication from the squad, "We've worked hard all summer, a couple practices each week and we've had JAQS where we go to the weight room, go out on the turf, work on our speed and strength. We've done that four days a week this summer."
               
Theirl says, "I'm extremely excited for the season. It's going to be really good for us. We've been out here working all summer. I just can't wait to see it all pay off for us and see us star on the field." The tough schedule can become a grind, though, "There's a lot of stress that comes with it. Yes. There's very good teams that we play."
               
Rosemount remains the South Suburban Conference favorite and one of the best teams in the state, "They've got some really good returning players. They've probably got the best goal keeper in the state. They've got one or two girls that are going be Gophers." Johnson thinks the section might be a bit more open for the taking with Lakeville North also losing numerous players to graduation. He mentioned Lakeville South as a team to keep in mind, as well as Rochester Century and Owatonna from the Big Nine Conference.
               
"I think this year the section might be kind of wide open. It could be anybody's ball game. Which is good, because some years Lakeville North is just the king of the hill."

The Tigers open at Owatonna on Thursday, August 25.
 
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