Leland Comets girls soccer are on a path of revival as the 2024 spring season kicks off with a local match-up between Suttons Bay and the Comets, yesterday as of press time.
Leland has plenty of firepower returning to the pitch to make a run in the Northwest Conference and hopefully, far beyond.
“A lot of the girls thought we left a little on the table last year and we want to go and take it and you know, we hopefully get some trophies this year,” Leland soccer coach Joe Burda said.
Leland soccer started the 2023 season 3-0 before earning the Comets first win over Glen Lake since 2015. Leland ran into a tough Harbor Springs team in the district semifinal to finish 2023.
The Comets will have to replace the production of graduates Flora Mitchell, Sutton Leiter, and Ariana Rodriguez to remain dominant.
Leland will be welcoming an eager group of freshmen to replenish numbers with 21 total girls competing for varsity and junior varsity.
“Hopefully we just start meshing hopefully they start playing well together right away,” Burda said.
Most local girls soccer teams have only practiced a couple times outside with the rest indoors.
Cameron Flees, Olive Ryder, and Mallory Lowe will be the senior leaders for the Comets.
“I’m excited being a senior and I’m ready to communicate and be a part of the team and kick-butt,” Flees said and Ryder added. “Everyone’s here working hard. We all have the same goal. I don’t think there’s anybody that’s not on the same page, which is really exciting, especially as a senior because it’s our last year ... this is it.”
Flees, Lowe, and Ryder will be patrolling the pitch as midfielders and defenders. The seniors recognize how important it is to guide the underclassmen, especially the freshman.
“It’s really helpful because honestly I feel like I’m friends with every single one of these people. Even the freshmen. We see them in the halls and we have such a small school that we’ve been building these relationships for a long time,” Ryder said.
Flees says its all about being a part of a team, “I feel like we’re all leaders for each other. I feel like we all can critique each other and still have fun and be a part of a team and do our job that we need to do,” she said. “I feel like our skills are even gonna get better as our games go on and I feel confident in every single one of us.”
Leland sophomore Willa Murray will be expected to contribute in a big way as she held a spot on the Dream Team last year with 13 goals. Leland’s Addi Waskiewicz had a season to remember in 2023 as she scored a critical goal against Glen Lake to capture the first win over the Lakers in nearly a decade. Waskiewicz had nine goals during her freshman campaign and earned half of her goals from free kicks.
Leland sophomore Emerie Burda will be relied upon for all-around production as well. In preseason, coach Burda has recognized the back-line defenders as the best unit on this Comet squad so far.
The field at Hancock Park is in good condition after the mild winter, according to coach Burda.
