FARMINGTON, Minn. -- With just one starter back from the lineup of their last section tournament game, Farmington girls soccer is a land of opportunity.
A few players are back that got some starts in 2023 and about ten players return that had some time on the varsity pitch.
Head coach Aaron Johnson says this year's group is ready to step up, "I think we've got a lot of good players to fill those holes. But we're definitely in a different spot than we were a year ago when we had most starters returning.
"There's a lot of playing time up for grabs this year. It makes it fun but also a lot of question marks right now."
The team has most of its experience on the defensive half while bringing back Madigan McGhie, a South Suburban Conference honorable mention selection as a freshman, "[She] was the only underclassman that started in the section semis. She's really good. [Sophomore] Kaylee Koomis played in midfield a lot last year, but she played center back for her club team this year. Both those two will be anchoring our defense."
Seniors round out the defensive corps, "We've got a lot of good athletes…Defensively I think we should be pretty solid," Johnson said.
Senior goalkeeper Riley Solie steps into the starting role after playing junior varsity in 2023, "She's got big shoes to fill with Ayden [Gagner, All-State] graduating. No matter how well she does, everyone's going to compare her to Ayden. We just want her to be solid. She doesn't have to be spectacular.
"She's a good leader. She's vocal. She learned a lot from Ayden last year." Gagner is now at Duquesne after registering six shutouts last year for the Tigers.
Solie's backups are two freshmen and an eighth grader, "All of them are solid, real good goalkeepers," Johnson added.
"I think we're going to stop some people from scoring but are we going to able to score enough goals ourselves."
The Tigers need to find new players to score after graduating Jillian Hagman who led the team with 12 goals and earned All-State. Taitym Voth (North Central) and Lauren McGough (UMD) contributed to the offense and are both playing in college.
Johnson said, "We have Gianna Carpentier who started a lot last year as a ninth grader. She's back. She's really athletic. I think she'll be dangerous. Cienna Field, who's a senior. She's looked really good this summer…We've got some other good athletes that we'll put out there."
Carpentier scored her first varsity goal during the section quarterfinal win over Rochester Mayo last fall. FHS went 8-6-4 overall and 3-3-3 in the SSC. The Tigers lost to Lakeville South 2-1 in the 1AAA semifinals.
Johnson says Eagan was a young squad last season when they won the SSC title and advanced to state. He looks at Rosemount and Eastview as good clubs and Lakeville North and South as perennial contenders in the section.
"Until someone proves they can beat both of them, they're probably the favorites for section." North went to state last year. Edina won the state AAA title.
The season opens Thursday, August 22 at Northfield at 7 pm. The Tigers home opener is Saturday, August 24 with Waconia at 12 pm. A section game with Rochester Century follows on Tuesday, August 27 at 7 pm at FHS. After a road trip to New Prague on Tuesday, September 3 at 7 pm, the SSC schedule begins at Shakopee on Thursday, September 5 at 7 pm.
Section playoffs start on Tuesday, October 8.
