After a natural adjustment to a new coach and style of play, the Hahnville girls soccer team appears to be rounding into form just in time for the postseason.
The Tigers have faced a challenging schedule, one first-year Hahnville coach Alex Romero believes has prepared his team for its potential playoff fare.
“We’ve gone through a lot of culture changes and formation changes,” Hahnville coach Alex Romero said. “We’ve asked players to change the way they play in their positions or even to change positions outright. As a coaching staff, we’re extremely pleased and proud of how our kids have responded.”
Hahnville has lost just once in its past five games. It toppled H.L. Bourgeois, 2-1, tied Dutchtown, 1-1, fell to East Ascension, 4-2, and Terrebonne, 4-0, over its past four games leading into Destrehan.
Against Terrebonne Saturday, Phoebe Jurenka scored twice, while Leah Wilson and Claire Schouest scored once.
Bailey King, a junior, is in the midst of a strong season that’s seen her tackle lead roles at both the offensive and defensive ends of the field. King began the season as the Tigers’ top striker, then moved over to the role of defender for a six game stretch. That experiment has ended, and King has returned to her original position of forward. She is Hahnville’s top scoring player this season.
“She has very good physical attributes,” Romero said. “Speed, strength, size, aggressiveness … she’s very productive.”
Romero calls midfielders McKenzie Hargis, Yeimi Gonzalez and Leah Wilson “sparkplugs” and vital to the identity the Tigers have established as a team that controls the ball.
“It’s a change, stylistically, from before,” Romero said. “We play a possession style game.”
This season, just 24 teams will reach the Division I postseason, a change from the 32 team field of past seasons; that change came about with the move from three divisions to four. Hahnville entered the week ranked 23rd, just inside the field, and could need a win in its final game to advance to the postseason field.
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