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On October 10, 2023, the girls' soccer team fell 1-0 in a home match against West Clermont. Over 700 days and 17 matches later, Anderson has fallen just once more in regular-season conference play.
Anderson is rolling again this season, posting a 4-1-4 record in Eastern Cincinnati Conference play en route to a fourth-place finish. The program has high expectations after finishing 18-1-0 (as well as a perfect 9-0-0 in the ECC) and winning a District Final last year.
“There's only 15 of us on a team, so we're all pretty tight and we have a good connection. And we don't have unreasonable standards for ourselves, but we still plan on showing up and doing our best every game,” Leah Peter (11), starting varsity goalkeeper, said.
“We have the goal to make it all the way [to State],” Kennedy Hill (10), Raptor defender, said.
That’s not to say this season has come easily to the Raptors; the departures of leading goalscorer Lauren Flax (who posted 31 goals and 83 points in her career at Anderson) and goalkeeper Gianna Mlynek (one of just five players in the history of the ECC to total 10 shutouts in a single season and the only such girl from Anderson) created significant holes for the team to address in the offseason. All in all, nine players, who accounted for 45.8% of the team’s total goals scored last year, graduated last spring. Even more, 4 out of their 5 defenders graduated, leaving the defense with large roles to fill.
“I think that we have made some arrangements in the defense where we're [better], so I think we'll be okay,” Izzy Rosiello (12), captain defender, said.
Fortunately, the Raptors have filled the holes with some emerging juniors: midfielder Nina Brandon paces the ECC in goals (26) and points (60) by a wide margin, forward Ava Bergman is seventh in both of those categories (10 and 32, respectively) as well as first in assists (12), Peter ranks second in saves (97) and third in shutouts (6.0), and forward and defender Maddie Boggess sits in the top 30 in the ECC in goals, points, and assists.
The team as a whole is also much younger this year than last. 10 of Anderson’s 21 rostered varsity players are freshmen or sophomores, and 42 of the team’s 44 goals this season have been scored by non-seniors. The team’s youth presents a promising future for the program.
“We…lost a lot of seniors, and it's changed the team dynamic a lot. But I think overall we adjusted really well and it's looking good for our future…because of the younger players that we have,” Peter (11) said.
True to their mascot, the Raptors have had to claw back to win and draw some close conference games. Notable moments on the 2025 season include erasing a two-goal deficit against Lebanon on August 26 and rallying from down two goals twice to draw Walnut Hills 4-4 at Marx Stadium on September 23.
“I don't think we panic because we know that we can do it. I think we're a very confident team,” Rosiello (12) said.
Head Coach Andy Boyd is serving his 10th season in that role for the Raptors. Boyd, who notched his 100th win late last year, has maintained a sparkling .704 win-loss percentage at Anderson. He has also won the ECC Coach of the Year Award three times, including in both 2023 and 2024.
“[He] likes to reflect and try to improve a lot. After every game [and] before practice, he talks about what we can improve on and what we need to get better at. I think that's helped our team,” Rosiello (12) said.
The Raptors, after being seeded #1 in Division ll for Southwest Ohio,had a demanding victory over Edgewood, posting a score of 8-0, in the District Quarterfinals on October 16th. After facing a forfeit from their opponents of Withrow High School, the Raptors next game will take on Miamisburg High School on October 23rd in hopes of winning their second-straight District title.
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