By Pete Conrad for the JournalNews

HAMILTON — Badin’s girls soccer team enjoyed an outstanding year in 2004, posting a 13-3-2 record and winning the Girls Greater Cincinnati League Grey Division, and the Rams show no signs of slowing down this year.

"We lost a lot of seniors so we’re a lot younger, but we have a strong team,” said Keith Harring, who will begin his fourth season as Badin head coach tonight when the Rams open the season at home against Fenwick.

Badin has a mixture of talent and speed coursing throughout its roster, starting at the top with the two senior captains, striker Heather Rains and midfielder Kellie Beadle.

Rains, the team’s leading scorer the last two seasons with a total of 20 goals, was a second-team all-state pick as a junior. Beadle scored eight goals last fall.

The Rams boast one of the top junior classes in Southwest Ohio, a group that includes third-year striker Sammi Burton.

“She has great speed,” Harring said of Burton, “and she has developed many more moves, which makes her even more dangerous. She can attack from anyplace on the field, and is becoming a really good defensive striker.”

Other talented juniors are: Kristina Anderson, who moves from halfback to defense and who has “a very strong left and right foot,” Harring said; center defender Ashley Roberto, an all-GGCL first teamer last year “who is good at marking players and now is becoming more comfortable with taking the ball up the field” on offense; goalie Jenny Rosen, who recorded three shutouts in 2004 while filling in for the injured Heather Maus; and center defender Janie Jeffcoat, who is coming back from an ACL injury.

“I’ve never seen a young lady work so hard to come back so strong,” Harring said of Jeffcoat. “She’s sort of like our quarterback back there (on defense), our key communicator.”

Three experienced sophomores are striker Abby Milillo, “a very dangerous player at center-mid as a freshman,” Harring said; outside defender Tori Mathews, “a solid tackler and very dangerous attacker” who also can play center midfield; and wing defender and midfielder Emily Flum.

“Boy, what a tackler,” Harring said of Flum.

The Badin coach also has a strong group of four first-year sophomores in striker/midfielder Erin Golden and midfielders Megan Reimer, Jessica Hammond and Courtney Gray.

Senior striker/midfielder Kelsey Fontaine, a first-year varsity player, “knows how to fit into a role and will be an important role player,” Harring said.

Also playing important roles as outside midfielders will be junior Emily Lawall and sophomores Emily Andes and Emily Leisge.

View Article at HJN