The Cherokee Warriors enter Tuesday’s match at home against Harrison ranked No. 2 in 7A with an 11-2 record, and after starting the season missing key players to the basketball team’s Final Four run, they’re, “Hitting their groove,” as Warriors third-year coach Keith Whitaker noted.
“It took a couple of weeks,” Whitaker said. “It has been a collective effort. They work hard for each other, and while the basketball team was in the Final Four, we were able to develop depth and play together better defensively, but the players also carved out roles. Those roles shifted when the basketball season ended, but now everyone is playing a bigger role than they would have”
The Warriors were without junior midfielder and co-captain Alex Whitecliffe and senior defender Riley Simmons for the first seven games due to basketball. In Whitecliffe’s absence, senior attacker and co-captain Marissa Davis carried most of the scoring load, and as a result she leads the team with 70 goals in 13 games. Whitecliffe, in seven games, has 36 goals, 10 assists and a team-high 84 draw controls on 150 attempts.
Simmons and Whitecliffe are two of seven double-digit scorers on the team, a nod to the depth Whitaker referenced. Sophomore attacker Carlee Platko (38 goals, 25 assists, 56 ground balls) and junior midfielders/attackers Ella Jones (19 goals), Kaitlyn Lawrence (14 goals), Madison Weghorst (12 goals, 14 assists) and Kylie Grainger (10 goals) are the others.
“We run our offense through Alex, Marissa and Carlee,” Whitaker said. “We play with a lot of tempo, and we like to be in transition as much as we can. We want to score before the defense can get into position, so we emphasize rides and clears and defense. When we’re settled in, we run our offense through them. Carlee and Alex are really good passers.”
Simmons and junior Abby Snyder (a team-high 25 caused turnovers) anchor the defense, and senior keeper Alley Jones has a .548 save percentage at keeper as a first-year starter after waiting in the wings behind Hailey Darko, now playing for Cincinnati.
The Warriors lost 13-12 to unranked Creekside without Whitecliffe, and lost 14-12 to No. 3 Walton in an Area 2 match with her. On March 26, they beat 5A-6A’s No. 6 Kell for the first time in program history, and the score was 19-4.
After Harrison (4-10), the Warriors (4-1 Area 2) have a pair of ranked area matches against No. 6 Campbell (11-5, 2-3) and No. 7 North Paulding (8-6, 4-1), then close with A-4A’s No. 8 Starr’s Mill (9-5). All are at home.
“It’s tough to make the schedule because we want to play the toughest teams we can,” Whitaker said. “But sometimes you have to piece it together based on when you think everyone on your team will be there...We want to be at that Milton, Walton level (of perennial playoff runs). We almost beat Walton, and it was that game we realized we can play with anyone, that we can do this. We’re trying to go from good to elite, and it takes competing with Walton and Kell to take that next step. That was the turning point.”
The Warriors lost to eventual champions Milton in last year’s 7A quarterfinals and would like to advance further this season.
“We’re trying to take that next step,” Whitaker said. “How healthy we are and our seeding will go a long way in determining that. We want to elevate this program in a way that we are a perennial power every year. Up until about four years ago, we were a sub-.500 program. We’re trying to push the limit on what this program can become, and the Final Four would be a big deal for the seniors to leave as their legacy for the next class. Then, the expectations go higher and higher.”
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