The Homer Tribune :: Homer, Alaska

The Homer Lady Mariners opened their 2008 soccer season with a 5-1 win on the road against Grace Christian on Saturday at Anchorage Football Stadium — And they got plenty of help from striker Lindsay Layland in the process.
Layland scored three goals in the Homer victory to pick up her first hat trick of the season.
Layland was quick to point out, however, that she generally doesn’t start out every season with a hat trick.
“Actually, this is my first year playing soccer in high school, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect in the first game,” Layland said. “We all had butterflies a bit with it being our first game.”
Those butterflies didn’t show.
“Lindsay is just a natural athlete,” said Homer Coach Mickey Todd. “She has a nose for the ball and knows how to score. She may even begin to rival Claire Siekaniec with her shooting strength.”
Layland also got a little help in the scoring area from teammates Gillian Beran-Maryott and Teal Laukitis also got goals for Homer — and a fair amount of backup with Morgan Stewart in goal.
“That was a pretty cool—winning our first game by four goals,” Todd said. “The score sounded like we dominated the game, but I think Grace put up some pretty good competition.”
Todd called his team “aggressive,” and touted their strength and composure on the field.
“We’ve got a strong group of girls who have been spending a lot of their time in the weight room and running to build up stamina,” Todd said. “We went up there with the idea of scoring one more goal than them — and we succeeded.
With snow still hanging around on various parts of Mariner athletic fields, the Lady M’ squad got their first feel of something other than gym flooring on their feet at Saturday’s game.
“It was nice because it was the first time we were able to spread out across the field and see what everyone could do in their position,” Layland said. “We finally got 11 players out on the field and it made a big difference.”
Todd agreed, and pointed out the strong play of Marin Lee, who stepped in to fill three different positions at different times during the game.
“Marin was a rock for us — she’s just a tough player all around,” Todd said. “And I was definitely impressed with Morgan Stewart’s work in goal.”
Stewart — who Todd said is only in her second year at goal — steps in to fill big shoes left by four-season goalie Kathryn McCarron.
Todd also said he is also looking for big things from junior Jill temple, who has stepped into the role of taking goal kicks for the team.
With a strong field of competitors across the north and south division of the Northern Lights Conference, Todd said he expects tough play from teams in Kenai and the Valley.
The Homer girls’ soccer team will take this weekend off before traveling north to play Skyview on Tuesday. Their first home game will be against the Palmer Lady Moose at 6 p.m. on May 9. All games are played at the football practice field at Homer High School.

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