North Montgomery has had four-straight winning seasons.
But that’s not enough.
The Chargers are still looking for their first 10-win season in program history, an above .500 record in the Sagamore Conference and sectional success.
And they hope it’s this season.
“Obviously, we always have a goal to win county,” longtime North Montgomery coach Julie Hodges said. “We are still seeking that 10-win mark. We have started to get competitive with the top 3 in the conference, but we would like to knock some of them off and finish in the top half. They are in our sectional too, so we know we have the opportunity to do great things if we can execute.”
The key will be the Chargers’ returning experience. Despite losing Sidney Campbell, who scored 18 goals and dished out seven assists — North Montgomery returns its top scorer in junior Teegan Bacon — who scored 22 goals as a sophomore last season.
“Our strength would be our experience,” Hodges said. “We have nine players that has been starters either full time or at some point last year. We have a large senior class that has experienced the success we have seen the last 3 years.”
Returning starters include Caitlin Burns, Courtney Engles, Lydia Dugard, Sydnee Turner, Maggie Michael, Rachel Smith, and Gracen Schwabe. The Chargers also welcome Paityn Church, who missed her freshman season due to injury and sophomore Paige Hudson.
Hodges says one weakness is moving some players around to new positions. The Chargers also have the tough hill to climb in order to overcome the Danville, Lebanon, and Tri-West’s of their schedule.
Overall the Chargers aren’t dwelling on the loss of Campbell — yet using her success as a building block.
“You can’t replace a player like Sidney,” Hodges said. “What we can do is learn and grow from what she and players like her left behind. The effort, leadership, and even the skills on the field we were able to accomplish last year with her has made us a better team. We have a huge group of core players returning, and the expectation is still as high and we are looking to continue to improve on everything we have built the last several years.”
