Junior midfielder Brooke Honeycutt tries to elude a Woodhaven defender in a game last month. (Dave Chapman photo)
BY SAMANTHA ELLIOTT
The Trenton girls’ soccer team may be young this year, but they are still experienced.
Spring 2019 brought a small team with just two seniors on the roster — the youngest team Trenton has ever had — but the Trojans returned 11 players from a year ago who all bring regional final experience from 2018.
The Trojans fell to eventual state champ Bloomfield Hills Marian in the regional final, but tallied up an impressive 21-5-1 record along the way.
At graduation, Trenton said goodbye to 63-goal scorer McKenna Mahoney and three-year centerback starter Kate Olszewski.
This year, Coach Mike Hatfield’s team brings back quite a few veteran attacking players, but a new back line. Returning to the lineup this season is Captain Makenna Mascaro, a four-year letter winner who finished last year second all-time in assists per season. The senior finished the year with 24 goals and 38 assists.
The Trojans traveled to the Grand Valley Scrimmage in mid-March where they fell to Gull Lake but knocked off Big Rapids and Hatfield said his team looked good.
“I always have confidence coming into the season and say here’s the things I have to fix and the players show up and they’re just good players,” Hatfield said. “I always have confidence in my players; it’s just how far they can develop. My focus will be on getting those players not to learn how to play, because they know how to play, but playing with each other.”
With an almost brand new backline, this year will be about how quickly the team could form together, but Hatfield does not seem concerned.
“I’m so impressed with where they’re at as players and the core that’s returning,” he said.
Along with Mascaro, who is committed to Adrian College, the Trojans return Brooke Honeycutt who is already committed to Oakland as a junior, along with big players Zoe Hornauer, Kelsie Montroy and Sydney Anderson.
A year ago as a freshman, Anderson scored game-winning goals against Regina and Downriver League rival Woodhaven.
While the Trojans did suffer their first league loss in five years to Woodhaven in April, Hatfield was proud of the game and effort against arguably the biggest opponent of league play.
“It was a good, Woodhaven-Trenton game,” he said. “It’s always a great game. It’s a good caliber for where both teams are at and the kids are great there.”
Hatfield is thrilled with the efforts from all of his players, most notably the younger players.
“The most important thing is seeing them gain individual confidence throughout the year; that’s very important to me,” he said. “They want to show their value to the upperclassmen and now they’re really starting to put it together because they’re getting their confidence up.”
The older players have been right there in support.
“The upperclassmen have been fantastic with them as far as patience and helping them … the player tutoring system has been fantastic,” Hatfield said. “I’ve got great leaders.
“They’re all like what’s it going to take to get where we want to be as a team.”