Two sign in soccer for Bob Jones, season starts tonight
Hannah Snoddy (left) and Julianna Coburn flank soccer coach Tony Schroeder
(RECORD PHOTO/LINDSAY VAUGHT)
MADISON- It is a big day at Bob Jones all the way around for soccer as two senior girls signed scholarships to continue playing in college this morning and tonight they get their season underway as the girls host Grissom.
Juliana Coburn signed with the University of West Alabama and Hannah Snoddy inked with Birmingham-Southern.
Coburn overcame foot surgery that sidelined her for part of her club season.
“I’m excited for my senior year playing with all my friends and then get to play college soccer,” Coburn said. “We have a good team and we can go far. Just to make it to the final four would be exciting.”
Bob Jones girls got eliminated in the playoffs last year by Huntsville. The girls are long overdue for a run through the state tournament. Bob Jones girls have not made the state tournament since 2006.
Coburn plays defense and controls the middle of the field.
High scoring Hannah Snoddy is one of the top returning seniors on the team. She led the team in goals as a sophomore and was among the leaders on the team last year.
“We have a bunch of great players that work well together and we have played together for a long time. Our goal is to win state. To get to John Hunt Park would be awesome,” Snoddy said.
Birmingham-Southern had the academics that Snoddy was looking for. She will study chemistry and then go on to pharmacy school.
“They are a small school but I have gone to their soccer camps for years. I thought I wanted to go to a big school like LSU but I realized I liked the small school and the atmosphere there,” Snoddy said.
Coburn and Snoddy are a part of a group of experienced seniors to play for second-year coach Tony Schroeder.
The group is led by keeper Cassie Russell, Snoddy and Coburn at midfield, Chandler Austin on defense, Kayla Cleveland on offense and Lauren Steil backup keeper.
Junior Anna Gierow is one of the top returning players. She plays offense and is one of the fastest players on the team. She also runs track.
“She is our center forward, very smart, very fast, very high energy and she is the player we are running our offense through,” Schroeder said of Gierow.
BJ girls soccer players (l to r) Anna Gierow, Hannah Snoddy, Chandler Austin, Juliana Coburn
RECORD PHOTO/LINDSAY VAUGHT)
One key player the team will be without this season is Avery Batson.
Batson has played on the U.S. National Team and is one of the top players in her age group in the country. She is playing in a showcase this weekend in front of college coaches with her club team thus making her ineligible to play for Bob Jones all season. She is a sophomore and is expected to choose from some of the top soccer programs such as Duke, North Carolina, or an Ivy League school.
“We are going to miss Avery but this is something she has to do to get seen by college coaches and get the kind of offers she wants to play in college,” Schroeder said. “We have known about this all preseason and have been working other girls in that position so we are going to be strong again this year.”
Schroeder said he expects Batson to be playing for Bob Jones next season after she gets offers and commits to a college.
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