Seven Area High School Soccer Teams Ranked to Start 2023 Season

It could be a big year for many teams in southeastern Indiana.

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INDIANAPOLIS – Seven area high school soccer teams are ranked to start the 2023 season.

This week, the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association released their 2023 Pre-Season Boys & Girls Soccer Rankings across the three classifications.

Switzerland County is ranked 8th and Oldenburg Academy is 14th in the Class 1A ISCA High School Boys Pre-Season Soccer Poll.

The Pacers are coming off a 19-1 season that included an ORVC conference title. Their only loss came to Christian Academy (3-1) in the postseason. Last season, Switzerland Country outscored their opponents 96-10.

Returning this season for the Pacers is leading scorer Cooper Todd. As a sophomore, Todd tallied 34 goals and 14 assists. Ashton Purvis is another key returner after collecting 10 goals and eight assists as a sophomore. Aiden Furnish returns as goalkeeper. He made 118 saves in 1,547 minutes of play.

Oldenburg Academy returns all but four players from last season’s team that went 11-8-1. Thomas Lohmueller, Hayden Blair, Jacob Hilbert, and Jacob Cornelius are among the top returning players.

In girls’ soccer, East Central starts the season ranked 12th in Class 4A. They went 15-4-1 a season ago, capturing the EIAC championship and a sectional title. The Lady Trojans are returning their top two scores and top distributor from a season ago in Olivia Hopper (24 G, 11 A), Ellie Hill (18 G, 9 A), and Lexi Watkins (9 G, 22 A).

In 2A, Lawrenceburg and Batesville are ranked to start the season. The Lady Tigers rank 10th while the Lady Bulldogs are 18th.

Lawrenceburg went 12-6-2 and finished third in the EIAC last season. They were dominate in the sectional, outscoring three opponents 19-0 on their way to claiming the trophy. The Lady Tigers run ended at the regional against Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (1-0). This year, they return three of their top four scorers from a year ago. They are Kamryn Ferreira (15), Preslee Rugg (13), and Kyra Abbott (8).

Batesville (10-5 in 2022) is led by Elaina Kuisel. She tallied 18 goals and three assists as a junior.

In 1A, Switzerland County is ranked 11th, followed by Oldenburg Academy at 12th.

The Lady Pacers had an excellent 2022, going 16-1-2 and capturing an ORVC and sectional title. Switzerland County totaled 95 goals and only allowed six all of last season.

A bigger season could be in store for the Lady Pacers in 2023. They return all but one player from last year’s team. Switzerland County is led by Halle Archer (29 G, 16 A), Emma Parsons (18 G, 5 A), Mackenzie Taylor (11 G, 6 A), Courtney Higgins (9 G, 6 A), Claire Rogers (7 G, 10 A), Lauren Smith (6 G, 2 A) and Ava Burkholder (6 G, 3 A), among others.

For Oldenburg Academy, they went 11-4-1 in 2022. Addisyn Lambert returns as their top attacking option with eight goals and six assists.

See the full ISCA Pre-Season Polls at http://www.indianasca.com/state-rankings.