Sidney, Lehman Catholic and Anna’s girls soccer teams have all had multiple extremely successful seasons in the last decade, won league titles and have advanced to district finals and beyond in tournament play.

But no matter how deep in tournament they advanced, all have eventually been upended in postseason play many times by schools with significantly larger enrollments, despite being in the same division.

The disparity in enrollments within the same division is far smaller this year. The OHSAA has expanded the number of postseason divisions in all team sports, and in soccer has increased the number of divisions from three to five.

All four area teams are down two divisions from where they were a year ago. Sidney has dropped from Division I to Div. III, while Anna, Botkins and Lehman have dropped from D-III to D-V.

All squads many returnees this year and are hoping to make deep runs.

Here’s a look at all area teams:

Sidney

With the expansion of postseason play, a veteran Sidney squad is looking to compete for a district title. The Yellow Jackets are also looking to contend for their first overall Miami Valley League title since 2021; they have finished as MVL Valley Division champions each year since the league formed in 2019.

Sidney has nine letterwinners back from a 13-3-3 campaign, which included a 6-1-2 record in MVL play. Eight of the returnees are starters.

“We have a lot of experienced varsity players, are expecting another winning season and are hoping to win a district title and make it far in the state tournament,” Sidney coach Kevin Veroneau, who is entering his ninth season, said.

Among the returnees is senior forward Larkyn Vordemark, who was a first team all-state selection in Div. I a year ago. Vordemark, who gave a verbal commitment to the University of Southern Indiana over the summer, ranks second on the program’s all-time scorers list and could become the leader this season. She has 72 goals, 21 short of the program record.

Vordemark scored 36 goals and had nine assists year.

Also back is senior defender Kendall Dickman, junior defenders Jada Shroyer, Hayden McVety, Riley Randolph and Kaylee Morgan, junior forwards Kenzi Koester and Katie McKinney and junior goalkeeper Madison Piatt. Along with Vordemark, Koester was a first team all-MVL selection and McKinney was a second team selection.

Key newcomers include junior midfielder Briana Lewis, sophomore forward Tessa Curl and freshman midfielder Anara Shroyer.

Veroneau said he looks for Sidney to compete with Tippecanoe and Vandalia-Butler for the overall MVL title.

Anna

The Anna Rockets are entering their second season with coach Greg VanGorden. Last year they finished with a 13-5-2 overall record and a 5-0 record in Western Ohio Soccer League play to win another league title. They advanced to a district final.

Returning letterwinners for the Rockets are seniors Abby Stroh (goalkeeper), Victoria Heitkamp (midfield), Iris Canan (midfield), Chelsea McEldowney (forward) and Reagan Schloss (defender), juniors Taylor Van Gorden (forward), Peyton Carey (defender), Maddy Seitz (forward), Vanessa Platfoot (defender) and Kaelin Steward (defender) and sophomores Tori Osborn (forward) and Willow Canan (midfield).

“I feel this year we will be very competitive in our league as well as our district,” VanGordon said. “I am very excited to get this season started. The returners are very talented and our newcomers are eager and ready to play.”

Newcomers to the squad this season are sophomores Emerson Myers (midfield), Ciara Meyer (forward), Khloe Walker (defender), Tessa Berner (midfield), Adelynn McVety (midfield) and Makenzie Mumaw (midfield).

Lehman Catholic

Lehman Catholic is coached by Oshae Peart, who is entering his second year with the team. In 2023 Lehman had a 12-6 overall record and 5-1 record in Three Rivers Conference play, good for first-place finish. The Cavaliers advanced to a district final.

The Cavaliers’ returning letterwinners this season are seniors Callie Giguere (goalkeeper) and Anya Kolb (attacker), juniors Melanie Karn (defender) and Zoe Zimmerman (defender), and sophomores Eliyah Barnhorst (attacker), Erin Higgins (defender), Cathy Hudson (defender), Veronica Pannapara (midfield), Margaret Schmeising (attacker) and Emi Wray (attacker).

“This will be a year of rebuilding and restructuring as we graduated five seniors who were starters and were extremely crucial in goal contributions and defensive solitude,” Peart said. “This year will call for more players to step-up in attack, midfield and defender, but will allow every player on the team to ride to the occasion.”

Newcomers for Lehman this year are freshmen Jillian Black (midfield), Emma Chen (midfield), Sophie Ratermann (defender), Kaetlynn Walker (attacker) and Abbey Williams (midfield), sophomore Madelyn Nelson (midfield) and junior Jenna Baker (attacker).

“Each (newcomer) brings a mix of experience and athleticism that is crucial to the growth of Lehman’s soccer program,” Peart said. “Some have played club soccer, while others bring strong athletic backgrounds that will contribute significantly to our team’s competitive edge.

“The TRC is a tough league, it is extremely hard to beat a team twice. Winning the league for the third year will be easier said than done, but the Cavaliers will not give up the trophy without fighting to the very end.”

Botkins

Botkins is coached by Lil Carson, who takes over the program from Padraig Murphy. She in her 14th season as a head coach, but first season with Botkins.

In 2023, the squad finished with a 10-6-2 record and 4-1 record in WOSL play, finishing second. It lost to the Rockets in a sectional tournament game.

Returning letterwinners this season are senior Deedee Pitts, juniors Lilly Bayliss, Addison Blindauer, Norah Homan, Taylor Huelskamp, Delaney Manger and Aliyah Monnin and sophomores Sofia Brown and Melena Monnin.

Some key newcomers highlighted by Carson are juniors Addyson Klima and Emma Roberts, sophomores Brianna Egbert and Kriston Wendel and freshmen Brylie Greve, Sophia Lotz and Kherington Wolke.

“We’ve made quite a few changes within the team this year, including running a different formation than the past few years,” Carson said. “The girls have been responding to it well though we still have some kinks to work out. It’s a good group of girls and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish this year.”

Sidney Daily News editor Bryant Billing contributed to this article. Billing can be reached at [email protected].