West Ottawa soccer riding strong senior squad toward big finish after Purple Power win
PARK TWP. - Walking up to the West Ottawa soccer complex, posters of the players line the fence leading to the gate.
At first glance, it looks like the entire team, but it is in fact just the seniors.
The Panthers have a colossal 14 seniors on their roster, something that they hope will be a huge advantage as the team gets closer to the postseason.
"Fourteen is a lot. Way more than normal," West Ottawa coach Brent Wyckoff said. "A lot of it is they are consistent with their hard work and energy. We have a lot of athletes. I have a lot of three-sport athletes and two-sport athletes. They are good representations of what high school sports should be. They compete."
On and off the field.
This week, the players competed to raise money for the Van Andel Institute for their annual Purple Power Game. The Panthers raised more than $8,000 for cancer research.
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On the field, they defeated East Kentwood 2-0 behind a shutout from goalie Rogen McLean.
"It just means the world. These girls work so hard to make this event happen every year and the work to get a win," McLean said.
Meanwhile, Samantha Bolt and Kayden Panse each scored for the Panthers (5-4-2).
"The entire first half, our energy was really high. We did a good job of keeping the ball our of our half. Most of it was work and energy. We did a good job of kicking wide and getting the ball in front of the box. We didn't always finish, but it kept pressure on them," Wyckoff said.
Those are the kinds of trends that a senior-laden team brings to the table on a regular basis.
"It helps with chemistry. There is definitely a family connection. They are so familiar with everyone's skillset and have a good understanding of each other as athletes," Wyckoff said.
But they understand each other as people, too. After all, many of them have been playing together for a decade.
"We are basically like a family. We play for each other, to see each other do well. I have been playing with these girls for so long, they are my best friends. I love playing with them - there is nothing I would rather do," McLean said. "We take it very seriously and we want the best possible outcome for our season. We want to play for each other."
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Ottawa soccer riding strong senior squad toward big finish
