Houston leading the pack, several other area teams could go deep in playoffs

Houston and Briarcrest had tremendous seasons in 2014, finishing as state runners-up in AAA and Division 2-AA, respectively. And there’s no reason to think this season should be any different.

Coach David Wolff’s Mustangs return a host of attacking talent from last year’s team that finished 20-1-2. Leading the way will be a pair of Pepsi Best of the Preps Player of the Year finalists and All-South region choices, Gabby Little and Ole Miss commitment Paola Ellis.

Alexis Heinz’s Briarcrest team finished 17-2-2 a year ago and is dealing with injury issues in the early part of this season. Nevertheless, the Saints still have Alyssa Neuberger. The future Dartmouth player was the BOP winner last year after scoring 23 goals and assisting on 16.

In AAA, the race for second behind Houston should be interesting. Collierville coach Brittany Streger has a solid group as always, led by the veteran core of center-back Emily Woods, center-midfielder Hannah Nelson and forward Kami McGee. Zeke Vezina says his Arlington team will be rebuilding offensively, but the Tigers should be bolstered by the return of Bobbie Willis and Erin Young, both of whom missed 2014 with torn ACLs.

Bartlett coach Robby Midyett will depend heavily on veterans Carly Eakin and Grace White, while first-year White Station coach Tom Scott has received great early-season play from twins Caroline and Grace Duncan. Munford could surprise; Dylan Burnett’s Cougars went 13-4-3 a year ago and have added some good freshmen to go with talented veterans like midfielders Erin Detter and Madi Ping, defender Emily Montgomery and forward Erika Lambert. Germantown and Brighton could also make a push, although both squads lost a good bit of talent.

The D2-AA race behind Briarcrest will be a battle. St. Agnes was a very un-St. Agnes-like 6-10-3 in 2014, but longtime coach Bobby Ireland will be happy for the return of talented senior forward Cora Turner. Amanda Lammey, Rachel Siano and Taylor Burford form a quality midfield trio, and veteran Ellie Nobert leads the defense.

Hutchison could overtake the Stars; coach Candice Spinolas welcomes back several key players, including sophomore midfielder Lydia Herring, a pair of top senior defenders in Alli Herring and Katie Hussey and sophomore goalkeeper Kelley Waggoner. St. Benedict has a first-year coach in Mary-Kate Cooke and high expectations despite losing some good talent. Keep an eye on junior forwardmidfielder Olivia Hall and junior defender Emily Sosnowski.

Two teams that always have state-title aspirations, St.

George’s and ECS, will lead the local contingent in D2-A. Tony Whicker’s Gryphons reached the state semifinals and should have a fine back four led by fouryear starters Karina Jensen, Sydney Spadafora and Isabel Cantu and three-year veteran Olivia Whitehead.

Jordan Thompson’s Eagles have a good mix of veteran and young talent. The best of the bunch is attacking midfielder Molly Martin, with speedy winger Jordan Ricketts and center-midfielder Kate Geisewhite also playing big roles.

Elsewhere, St. Mary’s has started strong behind the potent scoring of Mary Kay Williams and Ellie McGhee. Harding also has a potent duo in Molly Warren and Jamie Ezell.