It’s not often that a small school wins a district title and is able to reload, but that is the scenario University Heights Academy’s girls’ soccer program may be enjoying this year.
The Lady Blazers went 16-4-1 last year and notched their first district title with a 3-1 win over rival Hopkinsville in the Eighth District championship game. UHA beat Madisonville in the region opener before falling to Henderson County 3-0 in the semifinals, giving the Lady Colonels their closest game of the tournament.
UHA lost three starters to graduation and another to transfer, but veteran Head Coach Michael Parker thinks this year’s team could be better with the addition of several freshmen and the return of an injured starter.
No team in the region has a better one-two scoring punch than All-Region players junior Lily Strader and senior Alli Cundiff. Strader scored 53 goals and assisted on 16 others, while Cundiff tallied 33 goals and led the Lady Blazers with 20 assists.
Cailey Burman and her 25 goals were lost to graduation, but the Lady Blazers are expecting a large and talented freshman class to make up for the loss of four starters. Parker says Kate Cansler, Emily Hancock, Sarah Covington, and Grace Pape saw extensive action at the Bluegrass State Games in July and should crack the starting lineup.
Junior Maddie Bennett will fill a void left by the departed seniors, and the Lady Blazers will get a boost from the return of senior Sheldon Covington, who missed most of last season due to injury but scored 12 goals as a sophomore.
Senior Taylor Rogers is an all-district defender who will help anchor the back line for UHA.
Parker is hoping a beefed up schedule will help prepare the Lady Blazers for the rigors of the postseason, including another likely matchup with Henderson County at some point.
With 42 wins over the past three seasons, UHA is enjoying one of their best runs in program history. If the team is able to develop chemistry with the mixing of productive upperclassmen and talented newcomers, UHA could bring home some serious soccer hardware this year.
