Matt Levins- The Hawk Eye / John Gaines Photography
After the Notre Dame-West Burlington/Danville high school girls soccer team won just three matches last year, first-year coach Nick Jeffries was just hoping the Nikes could win four matches this spring.
The Nikes far exceeded their new coach’s expectations.
ND-WB/Danville went 8-7-1 and won its first SEI Super Conference championship with a 4-0 record against conference foes.
The Nikes’ notable improvement on the pitch did not go unnoticed.
ND-WB/Danville led the way on the All-SEI Super Conference team, landing four players on the first team.
Junior Daisy Hazell had a breakthrough year, scoring 20 goals and assisting on eight others for 48 points, earning her Player of the Year honors.
Jeffries, who helped the Nikes to a five-win improvement, was named Coach of the Year.
Also garnering first team accolades for the Nikes are freshman Avery Jeffries, senior Makyla Marsden and junior Enna Weber.
Jeffries scored 17 goals and had 15 assists for 49 points. She also had 87 saves and allowed 19 goals, saving 82.1 percent of the shots she faced.
Marsden scored eight goals and had three assists for 19 points, while Weber had one goal and five assists for seven points.
Freshman Nora Beckman and senior Emma Harris earned honorable mention for the Nikes.
Wapello landed four players on the first team after having by far its best season in the program’s eight years of existence.
The Arrows went 3-10, including 1-3 in the conference. The Arrows were a combined 2-67-3 in the previous seven seasons combined.
Senior Kallie Kemper and juniors Kambrie Miller and Oyuki Reyes-Chiang were named to the first team, along with freshman goalkeeper Reese Connolly.
Kemper scored three goals and had two assists for eight points. Miller scored nine goals and had one assist for 19 points. Reyes was one of the top defenders in the conference and played a key role in the Arrows’ rapid improvement.
Connolly made 180 saves and allowed 52 goals, saving 77.6 percent of the shots she faced.
Senior Alexis Brown and junior Giselle Camarena received honorable mention.
Mediapolis, which advanced to a Class 1A regional semifinal before falling to eventual state qualifier Davenport Assumption, landed three players on the first team after a 10-5-1 record, including 3-1 in the conference,
Leading the way for the Bullettes is senior forward Camryn Bailey, who scored 24 goals and had four assists for a team-leading 52 points. Senior Amelia Grier scored nine goals and had seven assists for 25 points. Senior defender Clara Box was a stalwart on the backline, teaming with fellow senior Mia Steiner to form one of the best defensive tandems in the area. Box scored two goals on the season.
Seniors Maycie Thornburg and Ellah Wagenbach earned honorable mention.
Columbus/Winfield-Mount Union went 4-8 overall, 2-2 in the conference and had two players named to the first team.
Senior Naveiah Garza scored five goals and had one assist for 11 points. Senior Dahlia Valdez had one goal and one assist for three points.
Central Lee sophomore Aubree Bunnell was named to the first team as a goalkeeper. She made 218 saves and allowed 96 goals, stopping 69.4 percent of the shots she faced.