Coach: Clayton Girls Soccer Team is 'Back on Track'

Coach Paul Hoelscher and the girls soccer team approach each and every season with success in mind.

“It’s good to be back on track," said Hoelscher, noting that the team finished below .500 in 2010. "We expect to win more than we lose.”

The Lady Greyhounds finished the season with an 11-7 mark. Clayton compiled a 3-0 record in the Suburban East Conference to win the league. The Lady Greyhounds were followed by Affton, Normandy, Jennings and Ladue.  

in district play. The Lady Greyhounds lose four seniors this year: midfielders Helen Wiley, Lily Gage and Allison Bayly, and goalkeeper Bree Northern. Bayly and Northern were both starters. Hoelscher said it will be hard to replace them.

Bayly had two goals and two assists, and Northern compiled a 10-3 overall record and finished the 2011 campaign with 47 saves and seven shutouts.  

Experience will be a strong point for Clayton next year. Nine juniors will return to the team: midfielders Karley Woods, Andrea Stiffelman and Petra Petermann; defenders Amanda Wagner, Sarah Tait, Allison O’Neal, Katie Marvel and Taylor Gold, and forward Clair Laufketter.

Woods finished the season with seven goals and six assists, and Laufketter had four goals and two assists.

Hoelscher said he would like to see the girls improve their scoring next year.

“We need to be able to score against good teams,” he said. “We scored in bunches, but when facing a good defense late in the season, we didn’t create any chances.”

Clayton has some scoring weapons in its arsenal for next year. The Lady Greyhounds had three underclassmen—Meg Sutter, Abby Rivard and Christina DiFelice—who finished with at least five goals. Sutter, a sophomore forward, led the Greyhounds in scoring with 14 goals and 13 assists. Rivard, a freshman midfielder, and DiFelice, a sophomore midfielder, both finished the 2011 campaign with five and seven goals, respectively.