There has been plenty of turnover for Greenwood’s girls’ soccer program since last year’s run to the KHSAA state tournament quarterfinals.

A sizable senior class that included the likes of Rachel Heltsley (8 goals, 7 assists last year) and Alexa Ketcham (8 goals) – nine in all – must be replaced after helping the Lady Gators to a 17-3-3 record last year.

Greenwood also got a new head coach in Zac Lechler after Zach Salchli led the program to last season’s Region 4 championship.

That all might be enough to contemplate a rebuilding year for the Lady Gators, but not with Anna Haddock around for another season.

Haddock, an Auburn commit who won a slew of postseason honors including Gatorade Kentucky Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year and United Soccer Coaches Association High School All-American accolades, is back after missing the final five games last season after fracturing her foot during practice.

Haddock, now a senior, piled up 42 goals and 19 assists at midfielder last season for Greenwood, which opened the 2019 campaign Tuesday night with a 6-1 win over visiting Madisonville-North Hopkins.

The Lady Gators also return other proven scoring options including seniors Anne Logan Perkins (5 goals, 8 assists), Ellie Belcher (5 goals), Annabel Justice (5 goals, 3 assists) and Autumn Wiles (4 goals, 3 assists).

Senior goalkeeper Elizabeth DeMarse also returns after starting all last season for Greenwood.

Bowling Green, which won the regular-season and District 14 Tournament matchups against Greenwood last year before falling 1-0 to the Lady Gators in a penalty-kick shootout in the Region 4 Tournament final, also took some hits due to graduation.

Among them was Caroline Buchanan (12 goals, 23 assists last year). But the Lady Purples are also without her younger sister Whitaker Buchanan (43 goals, 8 assists), a junior Ole Miss commit who has elected to sit out this season.

Bowling Green opened its season Tuesday with a 2-1 home loss to Central Hardin. Sophomore Ella Farley got the Lady Purples’ lone goal.

Farley (7 goals, 3 assists last year) and sophomore Catherine Walker (7 goals) are the top returning scorers for Bowling Green. Seniors Riley Thompson, Reagan Fields and Emma Kate Widener offer production and leadership, while sophomore Caroline Miller resumes her starting duties at goalkeeper after tallying 61 saves last year.

“(The) team is working hard to get better,” BGHS coach Lisa Correa said. “We have been improving and look to continue to work hard.”

Warren Central also welcomes a new head coach this season as Angelia Miller takes over for Alex Tungate. The Lady Dragons, who finished with a stellar 16-4-1 record last season, must replace top scorer Adelisa Becirovic (39 goals) and standout goalkeeper Eriona Shabani (134 saves, 12 shutouts last year).

Warren Central does return some scoring punch with sophomore Itzel Falcon-Perez (13 goals) and Beatrice Malenga (7 goals), along with senior Jaylynn Diaz-Monge (4 goals) and sophomore Kelsey Lazo (3 goals).

“Itzel and Bea, both of them can score,” Miller said. “We’re wanting more to spread the wealth. We want to have more girls involved this year.”

Seniors Stacy Edgar and Thalia Ruiz will look to replace Shabani in goal.

South Warren picked up a 1-0 win over Hopkinsville to open its season Tuesday. It marked the first match in years that the Spartans couldn’t lean on the Hasani sisters – older sibling Laura Hasani (23 goals, 11 assists last year) graduated, leaving senior midfielder Sofia Hasani (27 goals, 8 assists) to carry on.

Senior forward Kailee Nobles (8 goals, 8 assists) likely gets an even bigger role in the offense this year, while Augustina Pinilla (4 goals) could also boost her scoring.

Junior goalkeeper Therese Bohnlein, who missed a significant chunk of last season with an injury, is back for a full-time starting role.

“She’ll be our primary keeper this year,” South Warren coach Andrew Hutto said. “She has such a high ceiling. I think if she had been able to play the whole year, she would have been right up there with the top keepers in the region.”

Warren East also got its season off to a solid start Monday with a 5-1 win over visiting Hart County.

The Lady Raiders return good production from last season’s team, including junior Lucy Patterson (18 goals, 7 assists), senior Shelby Trent (12 goals), junior Sydney Moutardier (10 goals) and junior Connor Mann (5 goals).

Whether that will be enough to help the Lady Raiders move up in the District 14 standings remains to be seen.

“Most of the time we really don’t set that as a goal for us,” Warren East coach Will Eller said. “Just the years of experience the other teams have is a little tough for us to overcome in a short time. but if we stay healthy, we could make some noise this year.”{&end}