Girls soccer team hopes for a 2024 state bid

Coach: Josh Kopp

Last season: 7-4-4 overall, 3-3-2 in M8 Conference play, Section 7AA runner-up

Players to watch: Drew Moryn, Sharleen Garcia-Velazquez, Sharis Garcia-Velazquez

Outlook: The North Branch girls soccer team looks to improve off of last year’s success, where the Vikings ultimately reached the Section 7AA title game before falling to Cloquet. This year, the squad has a number of talented players who are now upperclassmen and have experienced what it takes to be competitive at a high level, according to head coach Josh Kopp.

“Our strengths are our well-established program, the style of play we live by, and most importantly, our experience and competitiveness,” Kopp stated.

After losing seven valuable seniors to graduation from last year, the team now consists of just two seniors in Drew Moryn and Annika Stertz.

“A challenge for us in that aspect is just going to be the depth we have from game to game, and the rigors of a compact regular season schedule. The experience at the varsity level may be lacking from year’s past, as many transition into new roles and fill a large class that graduated,” Kopp said.

However, Kopp is optimistic, as he fully expects the team to be relentless in Mississippi 8 Conference and Section 7AA play.

“Our girls have set the standard that we expect to be competitive day in and day out. Our most important key is our program standard of play, while maintaining the fun atmosphere of the program and playing soccer,” he said. “All of our players continually learn and understand that to be successful, we have to be there for each other. We have to push our program teammates, as well as showing a lot of love for one another to grow.”

“We expect to play well every time we step on the pitch. We know that if we do those certain things, we will compete in the tough Mississippi 8 Conference and make a run in our Section 7AA in the postseason.”

Kopp notes that the key players to keep an eye on for this season are made up of the senior in Moryn, and a family pairing of Sharleen and Sharis Garcia-Velazquez.

“[Moryn] is a tactically gifted player with exceptional technical skills. She’s a leader who has an awesome attitude and has many years of experience in the program at the varsity level,” Kopp said, regarding the midfielder.

“Sharleen, she’s a very special talent and also plays midfield for us. She has the ability to make everyone around her better. She can make highlight type plays, and she is a threat to opponents no matter where she is on the field,” Kopp noted.

Kopp made sure to also give credit to Sharis, who is returning for her fourth year as the varsity goalkeeper.

“She’s a junior and has been the starter since she was an eighth-grader. She is the most experienced and talented goalkeeper the program has ever had. She has tremendous ability to lead her team from the back and provide the support to elevate our entire team when out of possession.”

With a mix of returning firepower and new faces, the Vikings will aim to contend as a dangerous team moving forward this year.