(she said she was mistaken for elizabeth perkins last season in our paper. Gomez is no. 18, taller, blonde hair. Perkins no. 10, has darker hair and is shorter.
John Raffel
Sports Scene
Kristy Gomez and the Lansing Christian soccer team came close to a state title last season but weren’t able to enjoy a championship celebration. They went 20-0 before losing 2-1 to Bishop Foley Catholic in the state title game.
As a freshman, Gomez scored 42 goals last season, and she’s definitely picked up where she left off. As a sophomore, Gomez has led LC to a 5-0 record and has scored 13 goals.
“We’re doing really well this year,” she said. “I have better hopes for us this year. We seem like a better, stronger team. We lost one starter [from last season.] We gained a lot of good players.”
As well as she played last season as a rookie, Gomez might even be a more dangerous performer this spring.
“I always try to be better,” she said. “But this year, we’re playing a lot of better teams. I’ll try to do it again as long as I can.”
Gomez figures that she’s a smarter player. “I feel like I know more of what to do and when,” she said. “I’m trying to lead more by my actions and show others how to do it and set an example.”
She noted that she has drawn more attention because of her scoring record last year.
Gomez, who also played volleyball last fall, is busy with off-season soccer.
Miah Hagy, a senior for Lansing Christian, is a fourth-year varsity player. She plays defensive center-mid.
“I try to control the middle of the field and I make passes on the side and drop back in defense to help,” she said. “It’s offense and defense. I run all over the place. I enjoy running, so that helps.”
Hagy is excited over her team’s prospects. “I think we’ll be just as strong and probably stronger,” she said. “It will be a good year. We focus a lot and encourage each other. It’s fun to win, but it’s about honoring God, being Christ-centered and encouraging each other. We have a lot of good chemistry.”
In her four years of soccer, Hagy said this is most likely the best team she’s played on.
“We have good defense and offense,” she said. “We’re strong all the way around, which helps.”
Winning a state title is obviously on her team’s mind.
“We definitely have to play our hardest,” she said. “Because we got there last year, all of us really want to win this year. We have to work very hard. That’s definitely our goal. We want to try as hard as we can since we did it last year. Hopefully we can do it again and win this year.”
“If we all work hard and work as a team, that’s how we win games. We’re all focusing on each other. We work really well together and have a lot of fun.”
With a standout like Gomez, Lansing Christian has to be considered among the teams to beat for the state title
“She’s fast and tall and has really good ball-handling skills,” Hagy said. “If she has the ball and there’s lot of girls on her, we don’t have to worry about her getting past them. She’s very skilled. She has good ball-handling skills. She’s awesome.”