Katie MacDowell steadying Olentangy girls soccer team through injury issues
When senior Katie MacDowell stepped on the field in the Olentangy girls soccer team's season opener, she was surrounded by new faces in the defensive backfield.
With the new crew, which includes junior Audrey Williams, sophomore Kareena Wardlow and freshmen Caiya Clemons and Macy Boysel, the Braves have allowed 11 goals and are 8-2-2 overall entering an OCC-Cardinal Division game Sept. 29 against visiting Hilliard Darby.
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“We had to start from a completely new slate,” said MacDowell, whose team went 17-2-2 last season, losing to Watterson 2-1 in overtime in a Division I district final. “I’ve had to take leadership and step up in order for our defense to be strong. I’m always the quiet one and (injured senior) Erin (McElroy) was the louder one. I had to (become louder) because if I didn’t take leadership, it would lead to goals.”
Almost half of those goals came in a 5-4 loss at Olentangy Berlin in OCC-Cardinal play Sept. 13. Olentangy moved to 1-1 in the league with a 3-0 win over Thomas Worthington on Sept. 20.
The defense has had success despite a few injuries. Williams (back), Wardlow (foot fracture) and Boysel (ribs) each recently missed games. Wardlow is working her way back and could return by the end of the week, according to coach Matt Evans.
McElroy was supposed to be a big part of the defense as a center back, but she’s out for the season with a torn ACL. Instead, MacDowell and Clemons have played the middle.
Seniors Lucy Alteri and Caroline Hennegan played the outside back positions last year before moving to the midfield this season. However, they stepped in to fill the voids created by the injuries to Williams and Wardlow.
“Kareena and Audrey had never played outside back before,” MacDowell said. “I think their speed has definitely helped us. They’re both fast players that can control (opposing players) on the outside. I think Lucy, Caiya and Caroline have all stepped up. (Clemons) has done really well of handling the stress of being a center back since you’re the last line of defense.”
In goal, Boysel has 18 saves and classmate Pavitra Karnati has six.
“Katie, on the defensive side of things, has really held it down,” Evans said. “Our defense has really morphed into something we did not expect. (MacDowell) is such a good leader and she does track as well, so she has speed, which has saved us a lot of times. This is her third year starting at that position, so she’s seen it all at this point.”
Olentangy has remained a prolific scoring team with 48 goals, led by Olivia Heskett (12 goals, 9 assists), Reagan Ross (12 goals, 5 assists), Lexi White (7 goals, 5 assists) and Audrey Oliver (3 goals, 3 assists).
All four were top scorers on last year’s team that produced 92 goals.
But injuries have been a problem on that side of the field as well. Oliver was out five games with a hip/lower back injury, White missed three games with a similar injury and Ross has been playing through a quad strain. Oliver returned against Thomas and White could return this week, Evans said.
“We have 16 players on varsity and all of them had to start at least once this year,” Evans said. “We were playing at Sacred Heart in Louisville (Kentucky, a 2-1 win Sept. 17) and we had 11 healthy varsity players. So, everyone on our bench was (junior varsity) that we had to call up so we (could have) subs. We’ve had people play different positions and people play more minutes than they’re used to, but now we’re starting to get everybody back.”
With the injuries, sophomore Taylor Novak (7 goals, 5 assists) has made the most of her opportunity on offense.
“Taylor (went) in for Lexi and they’re different players,” Evans said. “Taylor has a lot of (one-on-one) quickness, but she also has a lot of power. She’s good in the air as well – she scored a couple of goals on corner kicks. Lexi is more of a (center forward) where we can play the ball into. We’ve moved Reagan into Lexi’s position and moved Taylor out wide.”
Olentangy’s loss to Berlin was the Bears’ first win against its sister schools. It also snapped the Braves’ 12-game league winning streak.
MacDowell believes the losses will help the Braves in the long run. In 2020, when they lost to Strongsville 3-1 in the Division I state final, they dropped back-to-back regular-season games to Watterson (1-0) and Pickerington North (4-2).
“We lost games (on our way) to get into the state title game,” MacDowell said. “It just shows that those losses can help you see your weaknesses. You can learn from your mistakes and try not to let them happen again. I think losses are almost necessary before tournament season just so you know how to handle different situations.”
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: MacDowell steadying Olentangy girls soccer through injuries
