‘Something special is going to happen’: Circle girls soccer off to record 13-0 start
The Circle girls soccer program in Towanda is not exactly known as a traditional powerhouse in the Kansas high school soccer scene.
That’s what has made this season so special, as a group of six seniors have transformed Circle into a Class 4-1A championship contender. The Thunderbirds are 13-0 entering Thursday’s North Cup semifinals against Liberal, as they have outscored teams 76-4 this season.
“The girls have not let it get to their heads. They’ve been real humble about it,” Circle coach Andrew Stauffer said. “But you can feel it around the school. People are starting to pay attention to them. They know something special is going to happen.”
This season has already been special for Circle, which has already broken five school records, including most wins in school history — with three regular-season games and the postseason still to play.
And the Thunderbirds aren’t just padding their stats against the low-level teams. Their best win of the season came in the opener, a 1-0 defeat of Maize South, which is now 10-3-1, while Circle also has victories over Class 6A’s Garden City and Class 5A’s Valley Center and Emporia.
“We just have a special group of senior girls who have played together in the club system for a long time,” Stauffer said. “They bring a certain level of play to our team and then they push all of the other girls to that level. If someone is lagging behind, they’re right there to encourage them and pick them right back up. They’re a special bunch.”
The star in the middle is senior Brooklyn Hunter, who has 17 goals and 30 assists this season. Another senior, Carsyn Soto, has been on the other of most of those passes, as she has claimed 30 goals at forward. Both players are committed to Butler Community College.
“Brooklyn is our best technical player that we have on the field,” Stauffer said. “On the scouting report, other teams know that they have to man mark her or try to knock her off the ball. She’s the heart and soul of the team on the field. We pretty much play everything through her.”
Circle not only has an explosive offensive attack, it has a stellar back line as well. Seniors Kenzi Gillispie, a Kansas State signee, and Lanna Chase are the team’s centerback duo that has helped goalkeeper Hannah Stipp only allow four goals this season.
They are also dangerous on set pieces, as Gillispie has 12 goals and six assists and Chase has seven goals and three assists.
“Both of those girls always come up on set pieces and they’re so dangerous,” Stauffer said. “Almost all of their goals are on set pieces. If we have a corner kick, I would say we’re likely going to score because of those two. We give them a lot of freedom to become another attacker and they’re skilled enough to do it.”
The seniors, which also includes Lauren Mandina and Bridget Lindberg, never discussed their ultimate goal before the season started. Stauffer said a deep postseason run goes unspoken around the team.
With regionals starting in a little less than two weeks, Circle will be a team to watch from the Wichita area.
“After last year happened, we don’t know what the future will bring us,” Stauffer said. “That’s something our seniors have really focused on. We never set a goal because we looked at every game as our potential last game. So I guess our goal is to treat every game like our last game.”
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