By BUTCH HARMON
Led by one of the premier soccer players in the state, the Okemos girls soccer team is setting the stage for another deep state tournament run.
In senior Ashton Miller, the Chieftains have a nationally-ranked player. One of the most highly recruited players in the country, she eventually signed with Duke University.
“Ashton is as mature a player as I have ever been fortunate to coach,” said Okemos coach Brian Guggemos. “She loves to train, and she trains at a high level. We have a young team this year, and she is great with young players. She does a good job of bringing them along. Ashton is a captain for us this year, and she has done a great job.”
Miller is a midfielder who is also a member of the prestigious Michigan Hawks travel team and the Under 17 United States Women’s National Team.
“Ashton is an incredibly talented player,” Guggemos said. “She is a top-20 national recruit and is going to Duke, which is a top 10 national soccer team. She is doing great this year and is a great teammate.”
Miller is not the only Division 1 player on this year’s team. Senior Kristelle Yewah has committed to playing soccer at Michigan State University next year.
“Kristelle is also a captain and is great at involving the younger players,” Guggemos said. “She is a great player to have on any team. She can score a goal on her own out of nothing. She has done a lot of heavy lifting for the team, and that is always a challenge, as opposing teams focus on her and always mark her. She still has been able to score 15 goals for us this year.”
The Chieftains also have a talented junior, Erin Doster, who has the attention of college recruiters. “Erin is a junior who is going to be a Division 1 player,” Guggemos said. “She is a sparkplug for our team. Her work rate is very high, and she has a knack for scoring goals. She scored 10 goals as a freshman and has been in double-digits in goals every year. It is great for a coach knowing you have a player that talented that is always giving great effort, and I look forward to coaching her for the next year and a half.”
Okemos has also been receiving solid play from Vanessa Nigg, who fills a variety of roles for the team. “Vanessa plays pretty much every minute of every game,” Guggemos said. “She plays goalkeeper for us and also forward. She could be a full-time goaltender and a full-time field player, but we need her for both. She is outstanding in both settings.”
The veteran core of Okemos has been having another solid season. The Chieftains tied for the CAAC Blue championship with Grand Ledge and Holt. “We’ve had a little bit of a hit and miss this season due to the weather,” Guggemos said. “I think the weather has hurt us as much as anyone, because we have a lot of new players to the varsity. It has been difficult to get some consistency due to the weather.”
While the weather has posed problems, the team has come together as a unit. “I really like the personality of this year’s team,” Guggemos said. “The girls really enjoy being around each other. There are no cliques, and everyone gets along great with each other.”
The team has also improved as the season has progressed. “Obviously, getting a share of the league championship has been a highlight,” Guggemos said. “We were very fortunate, and the girls are happy with it. We’ve also had some good wins. We beat Williamston and played well in some other games, as well. We played Grand Blanc to a 2-2 tie. They are a great team, and we were a little short-handed. We were also a little short-handed against East Lansing, and we earned a 2-0 win.”
With the season winding down, Okemos has its sights set on a strong tournament showing. Two years ago, Okemos won the Division 1 state title.
Last season, the Chieftains traveled to the Grand Rapids district, a district heavily loaded with talented teams. “We beat Forest Hills Central that was ranked one or two in the state in the first round,” Guggemos said. “In our next game, we lost 1-0 to Caledonia, and they were also ranked in the top ten. That was one of the most difficult districts in the state, with four of five teams ranked in the top ten in Division 1.”
This year the Chieftains play closer to home in the Holt district. “We open with Battle Creek Lakeview, and then we play the winner of the Jackson/Lansing Everett game,” Guggemos said. “I think we have a chance to win a couple of games and make some noise in the tournament. We just have to keep improving. We didn’t get as far as we hoped last year, and this year we are hoping to change that.”