Cheney girls' soccer well stocked for 2023

CHENEY – Graduation left Cheney girls soccer stripped of some notable players, Coach Nels Radke said in a recent interview.

But it hardly left an empty bench and Radke approaches 2023 with optimism that flows freely when discussing his team.

Moving on were Emersyn Heuett, a defender, forward Kaiti Low, Ellie Barden at center mid and forward Kensie Roller. "We lost some key positions, but we were bringing back a lot of strength," Radke said. "I'm really excited for what I think we're going to be able to do this season," he added.

This comes even with the news that starting keeper from last year, Kiah Klauss, had knee surgery in May. "She was supposed to be cleared at the end of October, but I think she is ahead of schedule."

The Blackhawks do, however, have a capable backup in Clara Browne. "She stepped up and she's been playing really well so far," Radke said.

Grace Grumbly is going to be anchoring the defense as a senior and one of the players, along with Ellie Fisk who attend Liberty High School. "Because they don't have soccer, they are coming to us," Radke explained.

"In the midfield, we have Paige Evans," Radke said. "I called her our marathon girl last year because she hardly ever came out and playing at center-mid that's quite a feat because you're running all over the place."

Kayelee Kohlman was the other center mid last year and a key player. "She'll be a junior and I think she's definitely playing at her highest level so far."

And then there's sophomore Ally Deutsch. She was the first one off the bench in the midfield last season as just a freshman. "Right now, she's going to be the third starter at center mid," Radke said.

Another key player is Alex Miller at center forward who as a sophomore was first team All-GSL as a forward and second team in 2022. She took the spring off from playing club, according to Radke who suggested, "I think that was the best decision she's ever made because she's having so much fun right now."

Megan Collins is a returning defender who had "A really good year last year," Radke said.

Addy Butikofer is going to step in for the graduated Emersyn Heuett and will be the other center back with Grumbly. "She and Grace, they work really well together and so having two center backs who are on the same page and communicate well together and are able to support each other, it's huge," Radke said.

Cheney finished 4-5 in GSL play, 8-9 overall. They qualified for the playoffs but were ousted in the first round.

"I think we won all the games that we were supposed to win, and we had opportunities to win games that could have gone either way," said Radke who over the summer moved from Sunset Elementary to Westwood Middle School where he still teaches P.E.

This season with a combination of personnel and a favorable schedule, Radke thinks Cheney has the ability to fare better in postseason.

"I like our schedule this year because we play some really important games at home, University, Mead, Mount Spokane and Ridgeline," Radke said of those opponents, all upper echelon GSL teams in 2022. "Getting wins out of those games, especially being at home will be huge for us."

Cheney will be playing at least its first three home matches on Tom Oswald Field as their adjacent soccer pitch suffered from a malfunction of the irrigation system during the hottest part of summer.

"And nobody knew," Radke said. Normally the field is dry in late July early August and usually bounces back. "It's definately a lot greener now, but it's still pretty patchy. We're still not ready to play on it."