Lady Bulldogs find unity on the pitch

By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
Dec. 4, 2003
Clarkdale girls' soccer coach Lea Castleberry may need to look at her team two or three times to realize it is her squad.
It's not that the third-year Lady Bulldogs coach has a lot of new faces on the pitch, she only lost three seniors from last season, but the squad has taken on a new shape for the 2003-04 season.
Part of the reason for the Lady Bulldogs' new found cohesiveness is the number of returning players.
Clarkdale returned Kalyn Stokes, Sabrina Woodall, Chelsea Linton, Emily Howard, Krystin Waller, Ashley Peavy, Haley Heard and Cassie Wiegand for last season's team.
The strong corps of returning starters has provided a solidifying presence on the field for the Lady Bulldogs, who are currently 2-0 for the young season.
But just because Clarkdale has so many returning starters doesn't mean the team has begun the season completely identical to last year.
The Lady Bulldogs are breaking in a new sweeper in the defensive backfield this year in sophomore Kimbo Seale.
Along with getting new players used to new roles, Castleberry said her team is still working on improving certain areas of its game.
To improve on last season's 6-5 record, the Lady Bulldogs are trying to control the flow of the game better with strong passing.
The emphasis on team work and crisp passing has paid of so far for the Lady Bulldogs, and with Woodall returning to man the net for Clarkdale, the team has seen improvement in virtually every area on the field.