With 15 regional championships in the past 17 years, the Lyons Township High School girls soccer team has a lot to live up to this season. With numerous returning varsity players, many of whom are seniors, the girls show the potential to reach this standard again.

“[My expectations are] pretty high,” coach Bill Lanspeary said. “I think we have very good players, but we need to make sure that we come together as a team. ”

Many of the girls on the team play club soccer outside of school, which gives them a slight advantage. However, there can be some difficulty with the girls in learning to play with one another, center midfielder Bridget Kirby ‘16 said.

“One of my favorite parts about playing in high school is being on a team with girls from different grades and club teams,” Kirby said. “I’m hoping that everyone will come into the season ready to work hard while also trying their best to learn how others play to create a strong team and not just strong individuals.”

Looking into the season, the girls want to focus on teamwork. They think this will help pave the road for this season. The girls also want to try to advance as far as they can in their two toughest tournaments: the PepsiCo Showdown, starting on April 9 and the Naperville Invite, from April 21-23. They aim to be conference champions and play well in the playoffs, Lanspeary said.

“My goal for this season is to create a support system where everyone encourages each other to better themselves as players and individuals,” goalkeeper Emily Johnson ‘16 said. “I think that with this family-like atmosphere, there is a high percentage of seeing ourselves on the road to state and doing very well in the PepsiCo Tournament.”

The success in the boys soccer season this year has set the bar high for the girls and they want to show that they can live up to it, Kirby said.

The team has a lot of talent and experience at almost every position, Lanspeary said.

“Heading into this season, I know we have a great group of girls from all ages with a lot of talent,” Johnson said.  “I believe that we will be able to do great things together and be very successful this season.”

Tryouts for girls soccer will be on Feb. 29.  The first game of the season is on March 14 at Bennett Field against Waubonsie Valley High School.