By Eric Lusk
Sports Editor
elusk@elkintribune.com

Elkin High restarted its girls soccer program four years ago, and it’s amazing to see how far the Lady Elks have come since the spring of 2006.

Last year’s team finished third in the Northwest 1A Conference and won a state playoff game over South Stokes before bowing out in a 4-3 heartbreaker at Jordan-Matthews in the second round.

Armed with a lineup of 21 strong and special pink jerseys for home games, Elkin looks poised for even bigger things this season. The Lady Elks earned a No. 12 state ranking in a preseason coaches poll and lived up to that early recognition with a pair of wins against 2A opponents last week.

Coach Joe McCulloch’s team beat West Stokes 2-1 on Thursday night to open the 2009 schedule, then blanked North Surry — which is just restarting its program — by a 7-0 score the next night.

Already, six different Elkin players have scored goals, including three freshmen who represent the next wave for the budding program.

“We are really excited this year,” McCulloch said. “Making it to the second round of the state playoffs last year really sparked the girls.”

During the first couple of seasons, Elkin relied on a handful of players to carry the offensive and defensive loads. This year’s squad appears much stronger from top to bottom. There are multiple scoring threats as well as multiple options in the middle and on the defensive back line, including a pair of veteran goal-keepers.

“We’ve got a great situation in terms of quality players,” McCulloch said. “We’ve just got a good mix this year. We can move them around as needed to fill some spots if we have injuries or if players need a breather.

“It’s a great situation to have but it makes it tough as a coach. You may have a good quality player sitting on the bench.”

Freshman Emma White notched the first goal of the season against West Stokes in the first half. She’s one of six ninth-graders on the roster, joining Catherine Shumack, Mary Tayloe, Rebekah Howard, Esther Neumark, Allison Dalrymple and Sandra Rendon.

Tayloe scored the first goal for the Elks against North Surry. Howard added two more scores in the first half, helping give Elkin a 4-0 lead at intermission. White assisted one of Howard’s scores.

Junior Kasi Womeldorf added the second goal against West Stokes, which turned out to be the game-clincher after the Wildcats scored late to pull within one.

“That was exciting there at the end,” McCulloch said of the West Stokes opener. “Time was running down and they kept hammering the ball and we kept clearing it out, clearing it out.”

Elkin’s top scorers from last season, senior Kali Brooks and sophomore Madi Spagnoletti, each had two goals in the North Surry win.

Brooks scored once in each half, the first goal coming on a penalty kick. Spagnoletti’s scores came less than two minutes apart early in the second half. Spagnoletti also had an assist on Friday.

McCulloch said he’s pushing his squad to get goals early and late in each half. He has incentives for his players when they score goals in the first five minutes or last five minutes of each period. They were successful three times in that department Friday, though West Stokes’ score came in the last five minutes on Thursday.

“Those are key, pivotal times in terms of momentum,” McCulloch said.

The Buckin’ Elks have their largest class of seniors since the program restarted — seven in all. Brooks, a starter for four years, is joined by 12th-graders Lilly Woodward, Carrie Jones, Caroline Rice, Hannah Gilmore, Rhiannon Childress and Gladys Hernandez.

Gilmore and Childress are the team’s starting keepers. Childress was a welcome sight on the field Friday night, coming off a knee injury that cost her most of last season and a second knee injury that kept her out of practices during this preseason.

Rice, Hernandez and Woodward have been defensive standouts during their Buckin’ Elk careers.

Elkin lost a couple of tough defenders from last year’s team in Laura Meade and Cortney Moser. Junior Diana McCulloch may help fill one of those roles this season.

Other juniors on the roster include Amanda Scherer and Elizabeth Thornburg. Hannah Bertke and Erin Steiner are the Elks’ other sophomores. Both played extensively last season.

Many of the Elks have grown up playing year-round soccer, which should make the team that much more competitive in the Northwest 1A again this year. McCulloch believes his group is in better shape, fitness-wise, than they’ve ever been coming into a new season.

Even the West Stokes coach commented on that fact after Thursday’s game.

“I felt like we stepped our intensity up in the second half (at West), which made me feel good,” McCulloch said. “They worked really hard in the winter, in the weight room and running the track. They are in real good shape right now.”

Elkin’s schedule for the next couple of weeks will test that fitness level. McCulloch’s group will play four games in seven days — all against 2A opponents — beginning Tuesday night at Surry Central. Conference games begin March 20 at Mount Airy.

Bishop McGuinness is the reigning girls champion in the Northwest 1A. The Villains lost to Polk County in last year’s state semifinals.

The Elks should get a good gauge on Bishop’s strength this season by looking at how the Villains fare against Forbush tonight (Monday). Forbush finished second in the state at the 2A level a year ago.

Elkin tied Bishop last year 4-4 at home and lost 3-1 on the road. The Elks lost twice to second-place South Stokes a year ago in the regular season before beating them in the playoffs.

Though Elkin’s school colors are royal blue and Vegas gold, the team will wear pink jerseys for home games this season. The team wants to raise awareness for the fight against cancer and hopes to donate some of the proceeds from the season to that effort.

In May, the soccer team will participate together in the annual Relay For Life event at the Elkin park. The next home game for the Elks is March 17 when Surry Central visits for a rematch.

“The pink jerseys are another thing to get excited about,” McCulloch said. “They’re taking great pride in it. We had a great crowd (Friday) and we’re hoping to continue to get great crowds.”