MADEIRA A year removed from an undefeated season and a Division II state championship, coach Dan Brady’s Madeira girls’ soccer squad were 11-3-2 (5-2) heading into tournament.
During the season, they tied Talawanda and Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, and lost to Fenwick, Mariemont and Indian Hill.
To advance this year, they’ll have to survive games like their opening round tilt Oct. 20.
Purcell Marian came in with one win all season and battled the Amazons all night long, falling short 1-0. It’s a scenario Brady’s seen all year with his bunch.
“I think teams still think about the fact we won state last year,” Brady said. “It gives them a little incentive to knock us off.”
Madeira’s second-round game with CHCA will be Oct. 24. On Oct. 3, the two teams battled to a 2-2 tie, so another tight contest is expected.
Even though numbers dictated a Madeira drop to Division III this year, Brady still expected hard-fought games throughout their run.
“I think the region might even be tougher than it was last year because there’s so many good teams in Cincinnati and it (the talent) was a little more spread out last year,” Brady said. “Fenwick might be the hands-down favorite.”
Madeira didn’t win the Cincinnati Hills League this season, finishing second to Indian Hill. However, what began as a rebuilding effort slowly turned to optimism.
“I think there was a little bit of concern over the number of kids we graduated,” Brady said. “But, over time we had some key wins early on to give us some confidence and to think about making another run. It feels very similar to what it did last year. Maybe even more than last year.”
Regardless of the eventual outcome, Brady’s girls have followed up a magical season with a record most teams would envy.
“They really stayed the course and knew they had to improve,” Brady said. “We ended up having one of our better seasons. Now, we’re playing our best soccer.”
Caitlyn McCullough has been one of Madeira’s leaders all season long. One of the starters from last year’s championship team, McCullough had eight regular season shutouts and was third in the CHL in save percentage.
“Her role’s changed a little bit this year to kind of a centerpiece of the back line,” Brady said. “She’s had to deal with adversity, and she’s handled it pretty well. We had to deal with (the prospect) that we were going to lose a couple games and we’ve done it pretty well.”
Offensively, senior Kristin Richardson has been steady for the Amazons. Her goal against Purcell Marian Oct. 20 advanced Madeira in the postseason yet again.
(Sam Greene/The Community Press) Madeira's Kristin Richardson has been the Amazons leading scorer in her senior year.
“She’s our leading scorer and one of our most improved players,” Brady said. “She’s finished really strong. She’s filled that role that Katie Landgrebe had last year.”
The departed Landgrebe was the CHL’s top scorer in 2010. Without her and other key losses from the title team, Brady had to look to some of his underclassmen.
“That was the plan, and we knew we had to develop young kids,” Brady said.
Shannon Williamson was the team’s second-leading scorer as a freshman and the first forward off the bench. She finished just ahead in the statistics of returning senior starter Liesl Hartz.
Brady’s first couple subs off the bench are also freshmen and sophomores. His team mix is 10 underclassmen and 11 upperclassmen. He’ll lose six seniors once this season is finished.
The Amazons have been in double-digits in the win column for the last five years.
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