As the old saying goes, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

That’s the line of thinking for the Waterloo High School girls soccer team entering the 2024 season. 

The Bulldogs lost their top scorer and a standout goalkeeper as part of eight graduating seniors from a 2023 squad that went 17-5-2 and advanced to a sectional final for a third straight season. 

Waterloo still returns plenty of experience, however, and those players are hungry to keep the school’s successful soccer tradition alive.

“With such a new team, expectations are hard to predict but we feel we do have a competitive team and look forward to getting the season going,” longtime Waterloo head coach Chad Holden said. 

The Bulldogs have gotten off to a 3-0-1 start this spring, including wins over Collinsville and Althoff.

Among the scoring threats for the Bulldogs are junior Grace Pohl, senior Liv Colson and sophomore Aubrey Heck. 

Pohl recorded nine goals and 18 assists last season. Colson, a University of Evansville commit, had nine goals and six assists in 2023. Heck recorded four goals and four assists as a freshman. 

Others who saw varsity minutes last year include seniors Chloe Wagneknecht, Liv Gardner and Taylor Lance in addition to sophomore Megan Young. She had two goals and eight assists as a freshman.

Starting in net this season for the Bulldogs is senior Larkin Nottmeier, who has a 0.77 goals against average and .842 save percentage in the early going.

Helping these players out in 2024 will be sophomores Maddie Prather and Megan Huebner, junior Taylor Thorsten, and freshmen Kate Pohl and Paige Lindhorst.  

The usual nemesis – Mississippi Valley Conference foe Triad – is always a hurdle to overcome. The Knights have ended Waterloo’s past three seasons in the sectional final.

The Bulldogs look forward to that challenge – they played Tuesday at Triad and host the Knights on April 25. 

Other key games on the 2024 schedule for Waterloo are April 8 at home against Columbia and April 15 at Gibault.