Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

For the third straight season Your Prep Sports recognizes some of the top girls soccer players in the area for their performance this season.

The 2019 Your Prep Sports girls soccer teams recognizes 12 of the best players in the area and includes all-state and all-conference selections, Division 1 recruits and team leaders.

This year’s team features players from seven different schools and includes four repeat selections.

City High senior and Iowa recruit Samantha Schroder is the team captain after leading the Little Hawks in goals and assists in her final prep season.

Samantha Schroder (Captain)

Senior, City High

Schroder capped her prep career with her most impressive season leading City High in goals and assists while earning first-team Mississippi Valley Conference all-division honors.

An Iowa recruit, Schroder scored a career-high 13 goals while leading City High to a 9-6 record.

The 13 goals for Schroder ranked sixth among MVC players and was one fewer than she scored in her first three prep seasons combined.

Schroder had a team-high six assists from her midfield position accounting for nearly 60 percent of City High’s scoring while earning second-team all-state honors from the Iowa Girls Coaches Association.

Rachel Olson

Senior, West High

West High was among the most improved teams in Class 3A this season and Olson was among the biggest reasons for the turnaround.

Olson tied for the team lead with eight goals and ranked second on the team with three assists as West High went from a one-win season last year to eight victories this spring.

The senior midfielder was a first-team all-Valley Division selection in the Mississippi Valley Conference after helping West High to an 8-11 record and a spot in the regional finals.

Naomi Meurice

Senior, City High

Among the top keepers in the state over the past four seasons Meurice closed a brilliant prep career with a strong senior season in which she earned first-team all-division honors in the Mississippi Valley Conference and was a second-team all-state pick by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association.

Meurice posted five shutouts and made 52 saves this season allowing just 11 goals in 13 matches.

A four-year starter and two-time captain Meurice closes her career as one of the top goalkeepers in City High history.

Elise Hermiston

Soph., Liberty High

Hermiston established herself as a dangerous offensive threat this season during her first year in the always loaded Mississippi Valley Conference.

The sophomore midfielder was named to the Valley Division second team after leading Liberty High in assists and ranking second on the team in goals.

Hermiston had six assists and five goals as Liberty High went 7-11 in its first season of MVC play.

Lauren Riggle

Sophomore, Clear Creek Amana

Riggle followed up an impressive freshman campaign with a sophomore season that cemented her status as one of the top creators in the WAMAC conference.

A second-team Class 2A all-state selection by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association Riggle led Clear Creek Amana with 19 goals and ranked second on the team with 14 assists.

Her 52 points led the WAMAC West Division and ranked fourth among all WAMAC players.

The strong season from Riggle helped Clear Creek Amana to a 13-5 record.

Callie Menzel

Sophomore, City High

Menzel didn’t put up huge stats but her play in the midfield was a key part of the success for teammate Sam Schroder and the rest of the Little Hawks this season.

The sophomore earned first-team all-Mississippi Division honors in the Mississippi Valley Conference for the first time after helping City High to a 9-6 record.

Menzel finished with one goal and ranked second on the team with four assists.

Kenedee Showalter

Freshman, West High

Showalter burst onto the scene this season helping to turn around a West High program that won just one match in 2018.

The freshman forward tied for the team lead with eight goals including three in a regional semifinal upset of City High.

Showalter helped West High to an 8-11 record after finishing 1-16 a year ago and was a first-team all-Valley Division selection in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

Ellen Austin

Sophomore, Clear Creek Amana

Exploded onto the scene as a sophomore scoring 10 goals while leading Clear Creek Amana with 17 assists after posting four goals and three assists as a freshman.

Austin earned first-team all-state honors from the Iowa High School Soccer Coaches Association after ranking fifth in the state in assists.

Claire Gaarde

Junior, Regina

Gaarde emerged as one of the top playmakers in Class 1A this season after putting up five total goals in her first two prep seasons.

In a breakthrough junior season Gaarde led Regina in both goals and assists while scoring in 10 of the Regals’ 19 matches.

Gaarde ranked 17th in Class 1A with 21 goals, including a career-high seven goals in a win over Washington, and added a team-high seven assists this season.

Carsyn Gallagher

Junior, Clear Creek Amana

Among the most explosive players in the WAMAC Conference, Gallagher continued her scoring spree this season finishing second on the team with 16 goals.

Gallagher ranked fourth in the WAMAC West Division in goals and added five assists as Clear Creek Amana went 13-5.

The 16 goals this season give Gallagher 39 for her prep career, 33 of which have come over the past two seasons.

Sylvia Havlicek

Junior, Solon

After not scoring a goal as a freshman, Havlicek has led the Spartans in goals each of the past two seasons.

The junior forward scored a team-high seven goals this spring after leading Solon with nine goals a year ago.

Havlicek had a career-high three goals in a 4-0 win over West Delaware.

Chloe Pence

Sophomore, West Branch

Pence provided the offensive firepower for West Branch in its first season of varsity action leading the Bears in goals and assists.  

The sophomore standout scored three or more goals three times including a career-high five goals in an 8-2 win over Anamosa.

Pence finished with 15 goals and five assists directing accounting for 20 of 23 West Branch goals this season.

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