Lady Indians’ Coach John Reese has been named Big 10 Coach of the Year and the Tribe’s Rory Marple earned Goalkeeper of the Year accolades. Big 10 honors also went to midfielders Kaitlin Smith and Lacy Bryant.

 

In separate post-season listings, Class AA/A Region 2 honors went to Bryant, Marple and defender Catie Wilson. The Tribe also landed three on the girls’ team selected by the West Virginia High School Soccer Coaches Association. Wilson and Marple secured first-team honors, while Bryant nabbed a spot on the second team. Reese said the girls definitely deserve the nods and that if coaches could nominate more than five per team, there would likely be additional members of his team on the list.

 

“Teams, like ours, which have a lot of good players are limited because you can only nominate five athletes,” said Reese, adding that he looks at his upperclassmen first because the recognition could help secure the spots in the upcoming North-South game, among other reasons.

 

“Our top three seniors are Catie, Lacy and Kaitlin (Smith),” he said. “And (junior) Rory is an exceptional goalkeeper, so I wanted to get her involved, and (junior) Kirsten George is a very good player. Those were our five.”

 

Wilson has been the Lady Indians’ go-to defender for a long time and does an exceptional job. Marple has not only the skills to be a standout keeper, but has a calm demeanor, as well. The fact that she’s six feet tall and can dive for the ball, reaching rebounds others cannot, is not another plus, the coach said. Reese refers to Bryant and Smith as his dynamic midfield duo. They complement each other and play well together, he said.

 

Several underclassmen are exceptional as well, Reese said, offering a shout-out to freshman Braelynne Sandreth, who was the Tribe’s lead scorer for the 2017 season.

 

Reese wasn’t as vocal about his own accolade, but said having such good athletes and staff members makes his job easier. He thanks Valerie Barlow, former player for Grafton High School, Alderson-Broaddus College and West Virginia Wesleyan College, as well as Ben Moses, youth pastor at Simpson Creek Baptist Church, for being assistants that instill good skills and values. It has been a pleasure to work with them and with members of the Tribe this season, Reese said.