Jr. Lady Aces Rout Fairfield

Josie L’s Big Day Propels Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 Past Fairfield

Jr. lady Aces 15 Fairfield 0

Josie L drove in four runs on two hits to lead Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 past Fairfield 15-0 on Tuesday. Josie singled in the first inning, scoring three runs, and singled in the second inning, scoring one.

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 won thanks in part to 11 runs in the first inning.  an error scored one run, an error scored one run, Olivia W singled, scoring one run, Jennah L singled, scoring two runs, Chloe M singled, scoring one run, Josie singled, scoring three runs, Aveah M singled, scoring one run, and Olivia doubled, scoring one run.

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 added to their early lead in the bottom of the second inning after Lexi S singled down the right field line, Josie singled down the right field line, and Aveah walked, each scoring one run.

A single by Jennah extended the Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 lead to 15-0 in the bottom of the third inning.

Josie began the game for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26. The righty surrendered one hit and zero runs over two innings, striking out four and walking one. #6 stepped in the circle first for Fairfield. The starting pitcher allowed 11 hits and 14 runs (four earned) over two innings, striking out none and walking four. Chloe threw one inning of shutout ball for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 in relief. The reliever gave up zero hits, striking out one and walking none.

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 collected 13 hits in the game. Leadoff hitter Lexi led Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 with three hits in three at bats. Jennah, Chloe, and Olivia each collected multiple hits for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26. Aveah stole three bases. Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 didn't commit a single error in the field. Alyvia T had the most chances in the field with five.

#12 went 1-for-1 at the plate to lead Fairfield in hits.

Next up for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 is a game at CMS Softball 2026 on Wednesday.

Soccer Aces Drop Home Opener To Robinson

From Coach Ed Berberich: The Soccer Aces played their first home match of the season against the Robinson Maroons, falling behind 0-3 at the half before eventually losing 1-9. Robinson took the lead with their 1st goal in the 5th minute of play. The score remained 0-1 until Robinson scored 2 goals late in the half for an 0-3 deficit. The Maroons scored 5 minutes into the 2nd half, and added their 5th goal 8 minutes later. They then scored 2 quick goals in the 60th and 62nd minutes before the Aces responded with a goal of their own on an Eli Wilcox finish off a pass from Andrew Hagerty, who had beaten the defense down the left wing. Robinson would add 2 late goals for the final score. For the match, the Aces took 4 shots on goal, with 3 on frame, had 3 chances created and 4 interceptions. Eli Baker played 52 minutes in goal and had 14 saves. Ezio Bisogni played 18 minutes in goal and had 4 saves. Robinson took 22 shots for the game.

 Robinson is a team that has continued to get better the last few years and are a solid opponent. We hung in there and kept the game close for a good period of time, but we wore down in the 2nd half and had a few periods of play where we just made too many mistakes that Robinson was able to capitalize on. It’s a disappointing result any time you lose, but the guys did show improvement in this game that the scoreboard doesn’t necessarily reflect. We had more success with some of our attacks and we held up better defensively for portions of the game. That said, we’re still struggling with playing our positions properly, with guys kind of floating around the field at times rather than being disciplined about where to be. I still believe that’s something that we’ll improve on as we work out who belongs where on the field, and as we get more game reps in. We also came out rather flat during the pregame warmup and that’s usually not a good sign for the game to come, so we need to get better with our preparation. Again, that’s something that young teams often struggle with and we expect that to improve as well. We just need to keep our heads up and keep working through this tough patch. There aren’t any easy teams on the schedule so it’s important for us to keep the right attitude so that we can learn from these matches and use them to improve ourselves as we continue on.

The Aces next match is also at home, against Mt Vernon Illinois, on Thursday 9/10 at 6pm.


Lawrenceville HS XC Meet Recap

Both races at Lawrenceville were 3 miles, and the Aces had some strong performances!

Girls Race

Fr. Ava Alka led the way for Mt. Carmel, finishing 3rd out of 11 runners with a time of 23:45.

Fr. Arianna Glick and Jr. Zoie Randall also had solid races, finishing 5th and 6th, respectively.

Boys Race

Mt. Carmel had all four runners finish inside the top 10 out of 26 competitors! 🔥

  • 🥇 Jr. Wyatt Rooney led the Aces with a time of 18:45.

  • 🥈 Fr. Eli Wilcox finished 2nd for Mt. Carmel with a time of 18:52.

  • 🥉 So. Zane Swinson earned a 3rd-place finish with a time of 19:36.

  • Fr. Jayce Weiss rounded out the top 10, finishing 9th with a time of 21:32.

📅 Next HS Race: September 17th at NCOE

Lady Aces Volleyball Olney Tourney Report

Comments by assistant coach Bonnie Keepes

The Lady Aces traveled to Olney on Saturday for a 12 team tournament. Starting the day we faced St. Anthony. Our team came out and played some very scrappy defense and we looked good against a very polished St. Anthony only dropping the set 18-25, but they ran away with the second set 11-25. 

Next we faced a team from up by Chicago Hinsdale South. We won in 3 sets 19-25, 25-23, 15-11. They had a big block but we found holes in their defense and worked that angle to win. 

Our team was then sent to the silver bracket where we played 3 more games. 

The first matchup Mt. Zion had a multiple strong attackers hitting from all across the net. We played defense but our offence couldn’t catch up. We lost in 2 sets 13-25, 19-25.

Next we faced the Olney Tigers the girls came out strong and got an 8 point lead early, but followed by too many errors. Olney came back with strong serving beating us 23-25, 13-25 the second set. Olney had the momentum and ran with it. We lost one of our setters Gabby Schnider during the match to a rolled ankle but hope for a quick recovery. 

The final match of the day was against Edwards County. We played 3 sets 14-25, 28-26, 8-15. Attacking errors played into this game as well, to get more wins we have to begin cutting out errors at the net. 

A high note Lyla Keepes was selected for the all tournament team. She led the Aces in kills with 38 for the day. 

Stat totals Lyla Keepes 2 aces, 38 kills, 27 digs, 3 blocks,  Avery Coston 13 kills, 4 block, 3 digs, Gabby Schneider 4 aces, 4 digs, 1 kill, 3 blocks, 24 assists, Kyleigh Smith 6 kills, 1 dig, 6 blocks, 4 assists, Mylee Farmer 2 aces, 31 digs, 5 assists, Leah Lewis 2 digs, 2 kills,1 block, Quincy Keepes 44 assists, 2 dig, Mercedes Dillard 6 aces, 19 digs, 4 assists,  Cate Pyatt 2 digs, 17 kills, 6 blocks, 2 digs, 1 assist,  Presley Stevens 1 block, Caroline Blake 1 dig, 1 kill. The Aces will be back at home to face Marshall on Thursday at 6. 

Photos by Hayley Sapp

Newton Bests Lady Aces Tennis, 7-2

Mt. Carmel - 2, Newton - 7,

Singles:
No. 1 - Olivia Sornberger, Newton def. Hazel Earnest, Mt. Carmel, 8-1 , -, -;
No. 2 - Beth Brocious, Newton def. Alivia Peach, Mt. Carmel, 8-6 , -, -;
No. 3 - Scarlett Collins, Newton def. Hadlie Scott, Mt. Carmel, 8-2 , -, -;
No. 4 - Jenna Hall, Newton def. Kate Andrews, Mt. Carmel, 8-5 , -, -;
No. 5 - Jordyn Kocher, Newton def. Bayley Andrews, Mt. Carmel, 8-1 , -, -;
No. 6 - Adrienne Lawrence, Mt. Carmel def. Emma Walker, Newton, 9-8 , 7-4 , -;

Doubles:
No. 1 - Hazel Earnest, Mt. Carmel - Alivia Peach, Mt. Carmel def. Scarlett Collins, Newton - Beth Brocious, Newton, 8-0 , -, -;
No. 2 - Olivia Sornberger, Newton - Jenna Hall, Newton def. Madi Riggs, Mt. Carmel - Kate Andrews, Mt. Carmel, 8-1 , -, -;
No. 3 - Lexi Ochs, Newton - Riley Rauch, Newton def. Addison Tennis, Mt. Carmel - Bayley Andrews, Mt. Carmel, 8-4 , -, -;

Aces Coach Michael Brewer Previews Robinson

Mt. Carmel opens LIC play tonight in Robinson. Aces coach Michael Brewer joined us this morning to preview the matchup with the Maroons.

MICHAEL BREWER 9 4 26

Jr. Lady Aces Beat Flora, 18-3

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 Surge Past Flora Thanks To Big Second Inning

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 defeated Flora 18-3 on Wednesday thanks in part to 10 runs in the second inning.  Lexi S singled, scoring one run, Aveah M drew a walk, scoring one run, Olivia W grounded out, scoring one run, Willow G doubled, scoring one run, Alyvia T homered to center field, scoring two runs, Lexi drew a walk, scoring one run, Josie L singled, scoring two runs, and Olivia grounded out, scoring one run.

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 jumped out to the lead in the bottom of the first inning after Aveah tripled, scoring one run, Olivia homered to center field, scoring two runs, and Jennah L doubled, scoring one run.

#25 homered to left field, scoring three runs in the top of the second for the Flora.

A double by Jennah, a single by Josie, and a single by Aveah helped Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 extend their early lead in the third.

Aveah earned the win for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26. The pitcher surrendered one hit and three runs over two innings, striking out four and walking four. #30 started the game for Flora. The starter allowed eight hits and 10 runs over one and one-third innings, striking out one and walking three. Chloe M pitched one inning of zero-run ball for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 in relief. The hurler gave up zero hits, striking out two and walking none.

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 amassed 15 hits in the game. Willow led Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 with three hits in three at bats. Jennah and Josie each drove in three runs for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26. Aveah, Lexi, and Alyvia each collected multiple hits for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26. Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 had a strong eye at the plate, accumulating eight walks for the game. Lexi and Chloe led the team with two bases on balls each.

#25 led Flora with three runs batted in. The leadoff hitter went 1-for-2 on the day.

Next up for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 is a game against Fairfield on Tuesday.

Lady Aces Sweep Oblong

The Lady Aced traveled to Oblong on Tuesday night and took both sets 25-19, 25-23. The Aces tried a new lineup and seemed to settle into it well. Avery Coston had a season high 10 kills for the night.

Stat totals Lyla Keepes 4 kills, 1 dig, Avery Coston 10 kills, 2 blocks, 1 dig, Gabby Schneider 2 aces, 10 assists, 1 dig, 1 kill, Kyleigh Smith 3 kills, 2 digs, Mylee Farmer 5 digs, Quincy Keepes 11 assists, 1 dig, Mercedes Dillard 2 digs, Cate Pyatt 3 kills, Leah Lewis 1 kill, 3 digs, Leila Sweeney 1 ace, 1 dig.

The JV team also won in 2 sets 25-22, 26-24.

Stats Caroline Blake 8 digs, 4 kills, 1 block, Quinn Rooney, 2 aces, 5 digs, 2 kills, Mia Dickerson 4 kills, 3 blocks, Josie James 2 kills, Kennedy Krajac 2 digs, Ryleigh Gill 1 ace, 6 digs, 1 assist, Harper Warnken 1 dig, 1 kill, 10 assists, Presley Stevens 3 digs, 2 kills, 1 block, Destiny Dongu 2 kills.

The Varsity Lady Aces will travel to Olney Saturday facing St. Anthony at 9:00am in a 12 team tournament.

Soccer Aces Blanked By Olney

From Coach Ed Berberich: The Soccer Aces traveled to Olney Thursday night to face off against the Tigers, losing 0-9.  

The Tigers are a good team, having just won a tourney recently, and were playing in their 6th game of the season. We're really needing to get some more games under our belts as this was just our 2nd match so far.

Our positioning on the field is something we're still learning & struggling with, but it was better from the 1st game to this one. It's going to take some time for us to get there, but we'll keep working on that & I believe we'll make strides. We saw some more good stuff in this match but it's still inconsistent. Olney has a talented team & they pressured us all game but a lot of the goals were at least partly because of us making small mistakes. We still seem to be overthinking a bit out there, and it's causing us to be a step behind in our decision making. I think the game will start to slow down a bit for us & that's when we'll start to see some of the things we can do. I'll say again that the guys are working hard in practice and showing potential. We just need to keep our chins up, keep working at it, and we'll start to see more in the games.

Mt. Carmel-Robinson Football Game Pushed Back Due to Extreme Heat

Friday night’s Mt. Carmel Golden Aces varsity football game at Robinson will start later than originally scheduled due to the extreme heat.

The game between Mt. Carmel and Robinson on Friday, September 4th, has been pushed back to an 8 p.m. kickoff because of the extreme heat warning.

WSJD’s coverage will still begin at 7 p.m. with the one-hour pregame show. Kyle Peach and Rick Johnston will have the call of the game.

Again, Friday night’s Mt. Carmel at Robinson varsity football game will now kick off at 8 p.m.

Coverage begins at 7 p.m. on WSJD-FM 100.5 and wsjd.fm.

Jr. Lady Aces Fall To Robinson, 8-7

Aveah M collected three hits in five at bats, but Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 lost to NMS Softball 26 8-7 on Tuesday. Aveah doubled in the first inning, doubled in the third inning, and singled in the seventh inning.

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 lost despite out-hitting NMS Softball 26 nine to seven. Aveah led Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 with three hits.

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 got on the board in the first inning after Aveah doubled, scoring one run.

NMS Softball 26 took the lead in the bottom of the third inning after Avery B flew out, and Harper A grounded out, each scoring one run.

Willow G doubled to right field, which helped Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 tie the game at two in the top of the fourth.

NMS Softball 26 jumped back into the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning after Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 committed an error, Scout M grounded out, and Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 committed an error, each scoring one run.

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 captured the lead, 7-5, in the top of the seventh when Aveah singled, scoring one run, Olivia W doubled, scoring two runs, and an error scored one run.

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 committed an error, which helped NMS Softball 26 tie the game at seven in the bottom of the seventh.

Josie L led things off in the circle for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26. The starter surrendered six hits and five runs (one earned) over five innings, striking out one and walking four. Ali M began the game for NMS Softball 26. The hurler gave up four hits and two runs (one earned) over four innings, striking out two and walking two.

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 collected nine hits in the game.

Scout led NMS Softball 26 with two runs batted in.  Avery went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead NMS Softball 26 in hits. Nala H collected two hits for NMS Softball 26 in four at bats.

Next up for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces ‘26 is a game against Flora on Wednesday.

Lady Aces Volleyball Report At Fairfield Tourney

The Lady Aces traveled to Fairfield on Saturday for tournament play.


They had some very close sets to start the day that didn’t fall their way. Losing to Norris City 22-25, 24-26, and then Carbondale in 3 sets 20-25, 25-13, and lost final 7-15. This took the girls to the bronze bracket where they were able to beat Woodlawn 25-21, 25-19, and Cisne 25-18, 28-26.

The team played together well today, and grew from the tournament. The second set against Cisne they fell into serve received trouble and got down 18 to 24, but didn’t shy away were able to come back for an exciting 28-26 win.

Stat totals for all 4 matches Lyla Keepes 2 aces, 33 kills, 35 digs, 2 assists, 1 block, Avery Coston 19 kills, 7 digs, 1 assist, 2 blocks, Gabby Schneider 7 aces, 42 assists, 4 digs, Kyleigh Smith 1 ace, 14 kills,1 block, 2 assists, 13 digs, Mylee Farmer 6 assist, 22 digs, Quincy Keepes 1 ace, 1 kill, 36 assists, 6 digs, Mercedes Dillard 3 aces, 9 digs, 3 assists, Cate Pyatt 5 aces, 25 kills, 3 blocks, 6  digs, Leah Lewis 4 kills, 6 digs, Ryleigh Gill 2 aces, 10 digs, Caroline Blake 5 kills, 2 digs, 1 block, Presley Stevens 6 kills, 1 dig, 3 blocks.

The girls will travel to Oblong on Tuesday for JV and Varsity play.

Comments by Assistant coach Bonnie Keepes

Photos by the team

Jr. Aces Advance To Conference Championship Game

It was a battle of unbeaten squads in the 7th/8th grade contest at Lawrenceville on
Saturday night, with the Jr. Aces pulling away in the 4th quarter for a 36-22 victory. The
win secures the South division and a spot in the conference championship for the 7th/8th
graders. The 6th grade team fell in their game 42-0.


The Jr. Aces got on the board in the first quarter with an 11 yard touchdown run by
James Brewer (Brewer two point conversion run). After a Lawrenceville score, Mt.
Carmel’s Tucker Buss punched in a 4 yard touchdown run to put the Jr. Aces ahead 14-
6.


Brewer rumbled in for a 6 yard score and added the conversion run in the second
quarter. A late first half interception by Bennett Witsman stopped the Jr. Indians in the
red zone and led to a halftime score of 22-6.


After a Jr. Indians touchdown run early in the 3rd quarter, Mt. Carmel responded with an 86 yard burst from Brewer for a 28-14 lead (2pt conversion pass failed). Lawrenceville
closed the gap with another touchdown run and the Jr. Aces held onto a 28-22 lead
heading to the 4th quarter.


The final Jr. Aces score was produced after a seven play drive, capped by Brewer’s
fourth rushing touchdown of the game (Brewer conversion run).


A swarming defensive effort limited Lawrenceville to 146 total yards. The Jr. Aces were
led on defense by team captain Wade Duckworth’s 4 tackles for loss.


Offensive Stats


Rushing – James Brewer 19 attempts for 252 yards (4TDs), Jaxson McCleave 4
attempts for 40 yards, DeSean Knowles 2 attempts for 26 yards, Tucker Buss 4
attempts for 12 yards (1TD)


Passing – James Brewer, 4 completions in 5 attempts for 44 yards


Receiving – Dion Cirunay 2 catches for 21 yards, Cade Wilcox 1 catch for 21 yards,
Bentley Andrews 1 catch for 2 yards


The 6th grade team was led in rushing by Drake Pinnick with 60 yards. Stryker Pearson
ran for 30 yards and Tyson Gourley added 20 yards on the ground.


After an off week for Labor Day, the Jr. Aces teams will host Paris on September 12.

Mt. Carmel Cross Country Report From Coach Matt McCarty

🏃‍♀️💨 ACES CROSS COUNTRY KICKS OFF THE SEASON! 💨🏃‍♂️

The HS and JH Cross Country teams opened their season Saturday at the Tom Wickman Invitational in Fairfield, and the Aces got off to a great start with several strong individual performances!

🏆 HIGH SCHOOL VARSITY

Girls — 2.75 Miles
Freshman Ava Alka led the Lady Aces in her first-ever high school meet, turning in an impressive performance by finishing 6th out of 40 runners with a time of 20:41! 

Boys — 2.75 Miles
Sophomore Zane Swinson paced the Aces boys, finishing 6th out of 59 runners with a strong time of 17:08! 

🏆 JUNIOR HIGH VARSITY

Girls — 2 Miles
7th grader Chloe Alka led the Jr. Lady Aces across the finish line, placing an impressive 5th out of 42 runners with a time of 13:37! 

Boys — 2 Miles
8th grader Cade Wilcox was the top runner for the Jr. Aces, finishing 7th out of 52 runners with a time of 12:21! 

🏆 JUNIOR HIGH JV

Girls — 1 Mile
5th grader Laikley Bolden led the Jr. Lady Aces, finishing 24th out of 37 runners with a time of 8:32!

Boys — 1 Mile
In the final race of the day, 5th grader Tysen Gourley closed things out with a fantastic 4th-place finish out of 45 runners, crossing the finish line in 6:54! 🔥

Congratulations to all of our Aces runners on a great opening meet!

Lady Aces Volleyball Report

The Lady Aces faced Edwards County at the hilltop on Thursday night. The Varsity Aces had a big run in the first set but strung together a run of errors losing 20-25, and 20-25 the second set. They have to forget errors and go to the next ball, but instead just continued to play tight Thursday night.
Stat totals Lyla Keepes 1 ace, 6 kills, 2 digs, Avery Coston 3 kills, 1 dig, Gabby Schneider 1 ace, 5 assists, 2 digs, Mylee Farmer 1 assist, 5 digs, Quincy Keepes 3 assists, 4 digs, Mercedes Dillard 1 ace 1 dig, Cate Pyatt 1 ace, 2 kills, 2 blocks, 2  digs.  Leila Sweeney 4 digs, Presley Stevens 1 kills.
The JV team played much more confident  tonight, but Edwards County put up a strong defense and won both sets 23-25, 20-25, but I look to see great things from this group.
JV stats Caroline Blake 3 aces, 3 kills, 3 digs, Quinn Rooney 4 aces, 1 kill, 5 digs, Mia Dickerson 1 kill, 2 digs, 1 block, Kennedy Krajac 1 ace, Ryleigh Gill 1 aces, 9 digs, 1 assist, Harper Warnken 1 dig, 5 assists, Macy Glenn 1 dig, Destiny Dongu 1 dig.
The Frosh lost the first set 20-25, and the second set won 18-11. They ran out of time to finish but played with good momentum.
The Aces will be in Fairfield Saturday for tournament play starting with NCOE at 9:30.
Comments by Coach Bonnie Keepes
Photo credit Nichole Loudermilk

Lady Aces Tennis Opens At Olney

Mt. Carmel - 3, Olney (Richland County) - 6,

Singles:
No. 1 - Hazel Earnest, Mt. Carmel def. Petra Zerkle, Olney (Richland County), 7-6 (4), 6-2 , -;
No. 2 - Piper Berger, Olney (Richland County) def. Alivia Peach, Mt. Carmel, 7-6 (3), 6-3 , -;
No. 3 - Adrienne Weidner, Olney (Richland County) def. Hadlie Scott, Mt. Carmel, 6-0 , 6-0 , -;
No. 4 - Claire Steele, Olney (Richland County) def. Kate Andrews, Mt. Carmel, 7-6 (2), 6-3 , -;
No. 5 - Ryen Gray, Olney (Richland County) def. Bayley Andrews, Mt. Carmel, 4-6 , 6-1 , 12-10 ;
No. 6 - Ezha Biyok, Olney (Richland County) def. Adrienne Lawrence, Mt. Carmel, 6-0 , 6-2 , -;

Doubles:
No. 1 - Hazel Earnest, Mt. Carmel - Alivia Peach, Mt. Carmel def. Adrienne Weidner, Olney (Richland County) - Ezha Biyok, Olney (Richland County), 6-4 , 6-4 , -;
No. 2 - Piper Berger, Olney (Richland County) - Ryen Gray, Olney (Richland County) def. Kate Andrews, Mt. Carmel - Madi Riggs, Mt. Carmel, 6-0 , 6-3 , -;
No. 3 - Bayley Andrews, Mt. Carmel - Addison Tennis, Mt. Carmel def. Claire Steele, Olney (Richland County) - Taliyah Troyer, Olney (Richland County), 6-2 , 7-5 , -;

Soccer Aces Fall In Season Opener

From Coach Ed Berberich:

The Soccer Aces kicked off their season by traveling to Princeton Wednesday night to take on their old Big 8 rival, losing 1-01. Princeton scored 9 first half goals & added 2 in the 2nd.  

The Tigers are a good team, they're well coached & they have an experienced group this year. We're kind of on the far end of the spectrum in terms of experience this season as we have more freshmen than any other class, and most of our upperclassmen are new to the game within the past year or 2. A lot of these guys worked hard all summer and we've improved skill-wise over the past year, but we still have a lot to learn in terms of our positioning & knowing where to be on the field at all times. A team like Princeton is going to be pretty ruthless in taking advantage of that, and being our 1st game, we knew we were going to struggle with those types of things. The learning goes for us coaches as well in terms of who fits best where positionally, especially with so many new players. We have a couple positions that we're pretty sure of but need to figure out the rest, which will take some time & some experimentation. 

There's talent on this team, so we'll continue to improve and learn together. We showed some good stuff in pockets during the match but couldn't sustain it consistently or for long. But this result doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for our group at all, it just reinforces the need for some patience. There aren't any shortcuts to gaining the experience needed to compete at the level we want to be at so we'll just have to continue working and taking those steps all season.

The Aces next travel to Olney on Thursday 9/3 to take on Richland County at 6 pm.