Lady Braves find early season success

By Lionel Capers
Staff Writer

The early season success of the Lady Braves soccer team can be explained with two words: team work.

The well-known wish of coaches worldwide is for athletes on their squad to unselfishly come together and perform altruistically as a unit. With the team off to a 4–3 record thus far this season, it appears that third year Lady Braves Head Coach Lars Andersson has transformed the squad from a startup athletic program to a competitive member of the Peach Belt Athletic Conference.

“One game at a time,” Andersson said of the season expectations for the team.

Juniors Tamara Marshburn and Crystal Lanoza said that the freshmen are playing as expected and everyone is just “jelling together.”

Assisting this year’s squad includes the important addition of freshmen Lefke Boysen from Bremen, Germany, Kelly Jones from Maple Hill and Jamie Clarke from Jacksonville.

Junior Simonae Taylor, the former 2001 Peach Belt Freshman of the Year, also returns to the team for the 2003 season.

The Lady Braves routed North Carolina Wesleyan Sept. 16 on the road 12-0, with sophomore Katie Stokes contributing a hat trick and freshmen Allie Black, Boysen and Jones each tallying two goals apiece. Three other athletes each contributed individual goals, assisting the team to victory.

The squad lost 5-1 to Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Ga. on Sept. 20, and will play at Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C. on Sept. 24.

Sports Editor Chris Nicolini contributed to this article.