Greenbrier East girls soccer head coach Mike Dotson has made it clear that he wants to see the Spartans return to their pre-Covid dominance.
Prior to 2020 Greenbrier East was the standard bearer in Class AAA Region 3, Section 2 play.
Since a Covid restriction prevented the Spartans from defending their sectional crown that year, the championship title had eluded the ladies from Fairlea.
That was until last year.
The elusive sectional plaque returned to Greenbrier County thanks to a 1-0 win over Oak Hill in the sectional championship.
‘We have instilled that in the girls,” Mike Dotson said about returning to the championship circle. “The group that returns from last year understands that they want to make the next step too.”
The game-winner came on a penalty kick from the Dotson’s daughter Caroline who was playing on a severely injured knee.
“I always feel pretty comfortable taking PK’s. I seem to stay calm during them,” Caroline Dotson said. “I am not sure he would have let me take it if he knew my ACL was torn.”
The severity of the knee injury was not fully known until after the end of the season last year.
“It was a lot worse than what we knew at the time,” Caroline said. “I think it was best that I didn’t know that it was torn. That helped me mentally still be able to play. If I had know, I think I may have been more scared to play, but after the fact, it shocked me that my body was able to do what it did.”
The road to another sectional title for the defending champions, and a possible state tournament berth, will hinge on filling some key positions lost to graduation.
“We have positions to replace from last year that are really important, but I feel once we mesh into October, we should be hitting our stride,” coach Dotson said. ” We lost one striker and three out of the four defenders that we had.”
The best news for the Spartans is the fact that Caroline Dotson is back from her knee surgery in January and excited for her senior season.
“I feel pretty good actually. I am still in the coming out of the return to play process, but so far I feel great,” Caroline said. “I am hoping to get faster, stronger and more comfortable throughout the season. Hopefully by the end of the season I will be back to normal.”
Filling those back line positions has been a priority, but Dotson is convinced he has some strong defenders to fill the gaps.
” (Sophomore) Avery (Thompson) is the returning defender and I expect her to take a big step this year,” coach Dotson said. “We will probably be a little faster than last year, but it will be more about experience than anything else. (Sophomore) Tianna (Brigman) and Avery will bring a lot of speed to it. Trinity (Perkins) has a lot of confidence on that side as well. I think those three coming in and taking those spots will be big.”
Senior Grace Boettner is back for her second year in goal which Dotson sees as another plus for his club.
“Last season was Grace’s first year as our goalie,” coach Dotson said. “Her confidence level is much better going into her second year and she will help our defense a lot.”
The midfield for the Spartans is stellar with senior Ryan White and junior basketball all-stater Kennedy Stewart flanking Caroline Dotson.
“I think Ryan is a first team all-stater and hopefully Caroline can be also and stay healthy,” coach Dotson said. “Kennedy has made a big jump for basketball and freshman Riley Wickline will help out a lot in the midfield.”
After first-round exits her first two years, White is confident her team will be strong once again this year.
“I am confident about this year. I feel like we can compete,” White said. “I was a little worried at first, but we have some new freshman that have worked hard and are doing really well.”
Even though Greenbrier East lost one striker to graduation, the Spartans have plenty of punch in the scoring third.
“Up front, Ava Workman, another basketball player, helps us a lot,” coach Dotson said. “Kiana McClung and Ella Lewis gives us more speed on the attack. We have the possibility of having a really good striking force up front.”
Greenbrier East is off to a red-hot start going 3-0 to open the season. Wins include Shady Spring (8-0), Pocahontas County (3-2) and a sectional victory over Beckley (3-0) last Thursday.
Caroline Dotson has scored in all three contest and has four total goals to go along with five assists. White has netted three goals, while Workman and McClung have had two winners each.
Single goals have been scored by Myeshia White, Kaelyn “KK” Long and Ella Lewis.
This week the Spartans have two big sectional clashes that will go a long way in determining sectional seeding and home field advantage in the sectional tournament in October.
Greenbrier East travels to Princeton Tuesday before a sectional championship rematch with Oak Hill in Fairlea on Thursday.
“Oak Hill will come ready to play. (Head) coach (Gerald) Wilburn will have them ready,” coach Dotson said. “They play physical, fast and play hard to the last minute.”
