Senior Colleen “Jelly” Swift fights to win the final ECC game
“Start the Mission”
Loveland, Ohio – Loveland High School Varsity women’s soccer sits undefeated in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference (ECC), and will continue to, as the team is calling it, “start the mission” as they begin the tournament season. Currently, the team is 7-0-0 win-loss-tie in conference and 15-1-0 overall. In 2015, Loveland advanced all the way to the state championship, where they fell to Walsh Jesuit. This year, they aim to return.
The team has defeated all conference challengers– many by an objectively wide margin. The team currently holds a better conference record than they did in the 2015 season when they traveled to Columbus. Loveland women’s Varsity soccer is near the top of the state and nation polls. The team set a school record for the least goals given up in a regular season, having only lost three goals. Goalie and senior Lauren Parker claimed the third place all time state record for OHSAA shutouts, performing 45 career shutouts.
“We all believe that we can do something incredible with this season, and we will always have each other’s back’s no matter what happens,” goalie Lauren Parker explained.
| AUG. 2017 | OPPONENT | RESULT | RECORD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat. 19 | Fairfield | W 3 – 0 | 1 – 0 – 0 (0 – 0 – 0) |
| Tue. 22 | at Lakota West | W 2 – 1 | 2 – 0 – 0 (0 – 0 – 0) |
| Sat. 26 | Campbell County | W 8 – 0 | 3 – 0 – 0 (0 – 0 – 0) |
| Tue. 29 | at Kings | W 4 – 0 | 4 – 0 – 0 (1 – 0 – 0) |
| SEP. 2017 | OPPONENT | RESULT | RECORD |
| Sat. 2 | Ryle | W 4 – 0 | 5 – 0 – 0 (1 – 0 – 0) |
| Tue. 5 | at Turpin | W 1 – 0 | 6 – 0 – 0 (2 – 0 – 0) |
| Sat. 9 | Mason | W 5 – 0 | 7 – 0 – 0 (2 – 0 – 0) |
| Tue. 12 | Walnut Hills | W 6 – 0 | 8 – 0 – 0 (3 – 0 – 0) |
| Sat. 16 | at Mount Notre Dame | W 2 – 0 | 9 – 0 – 0 (3 – 0 – 0) |
| Wed. 20 | at Anderson | W 3 – 0 | 10 – 0 – 0 (4 – 0 – 0) |
| Sat. 23 | Ross | W 7 – 0 | 11 – 0 – 0 (4 – 0 – 0) |
| Tue. 26 | Withrow | W 7 – 0 | 12 – 0 – 0 (5 – 0 – 0) |
| OCT. 2017 | OPPONENT | RESULT | RECORD |
| Tue. 3 | West Clermont | W 3 – 0 | 13 – 0 – 0 (6 – 0 – 0) |
| Sat. 7 | at Sycamore | L 1 – 0 | 13 – 1 – 0 (6 – 0 – 0) |
| Tue. 10 | at Milford | W 2 – 0 | 14 – 1 – 0 (7 – 0 – 0) |
| Sat. 14 | at Lebanon | W 5 – 1 | 15 – 1 – 0 (7 – 0 – 0) |
Last year, the team ended the conference season 6-0-0 and 19-1-1 overall. The team’s postseason competition ended after falling to Springboro 3-2. However, players claim that this year’s team holds different strengths than past years.
“For me, this season is very different from last year. Last year everyone was really experienced and had played with each other for a while. This year our team relies a lot on hard work and is essentially a new team, so we have had to adjust to playing together. It has taken a lot of hard work and communication but it has made all of us closer and we have to work for each other on and off the field. It has made me appreciate my coaches and my teammates even more than I did last season,” senior Riley Massey explained.
Record holding goalie Lauren Parker corroborated the claim that the team has shown exceptional effort this season.
“The work ethic of the team is incredible. Everyone works like there is no tomorrow, and I believe that’s our strongest weapon by far. Everyone works hard no matter what,” Parker told Loveland Magazine.
As the team advances into the tournament, they aim to go back to the state tournament. Players hope they can shine above the competition.
