On the hardwood this past winter, Brooke Teter was the COC’s best defensive player, although the COC coaches didn’t name her to what amounted to their consolation prize All-Defensive Team.
Seeing the tenacity she plays with along the perimeter or in the paint, it seems natural a soccer coach would put her at defender.
That indeed is the case in the summer, but not in the spring.
Teter has confirmed over two seasons Nixa coach Evan Palmer’s belief in her as a forward and proved him correct again Monday. She scored and assisted in the Lady Eagles’ 2-0 triumph versus Ozark.
"For a lot of club ball, she’s played defender. But I've hardly ever played her at defender. She played a little in the back for me her freshman year,” Palmer said. “She goes to the goal well, is hard-nosed and usually finishes. And, she's always finding her teammates. She does a great job scoring and getting assists.”
“Ever since my freshman year, he's always had confidence in me as a forward,” Teter said. “We had a scrimmage that summer and I immediately scored. He told me that was my position.”
Teter appreciates the chance to have the ball at her feet at the offensive end.
“I honestly like forward better,” she said. “I love playing forward and having the opportunity to score and assist.”
Teter values her time as a defender in club ball, feeling the experience helps her offensively.
“I'm used to watching (forwards) make runs. Learning from the people I go against in club, as a forward I can use their runs to get around defenders,” she said. “Also, I know the ball that’s hard to defend and I try to play those balls to Shaelee (Franck)."
Teter and Franck helped Nixa hoist the Christian County Cup for the first time in the Cup’s three-year existence.
“Maybe we'll do like the Stanley Cup and send it home with the girls,” Palmer joked.
Like Teter, Franck also scored and assisted on Nixa’s goals.
Teter, a junior, and Franck, a sophomore, are developing into as potent a forward combo as one will find.
“They're starting to click and work well together,” Palmer said. “It's tough for teams to defend them. When we’re making runs and our midfielders are feeding them the ball, we're very tough to beat.”
“I love working with Brooke and we work well together,” Franck said. “She’s amazing. I find her on through balls. She's always in the right space. And, I can count on her to get me the ball.”
“We're a pretty good duo,” Teter said.
Nixa netted both of its goals in the first half and was in offensive mode the great majority of the match.
Ozark (5-6) had one shot hit the top of the goalpost and another hit the crossbar of the football goalpost. But the Lady Tigers’ shots on goals were kept to a minimum.
“The best defense is a good offense, we always say,” Palmer said. “Even when you’re on (the offensive) side of the ball, you're still playing defense.”
The Lady Eagles (8-1) have six shutouts and allowed only five goals. Of those five scores, three came against undefeated Park Hill South.
A year ago while playing many of the same teams as this season, Nixa was 3-5 after losing to Ozark.
Over an eight-day span, the Lady Eagles swept matches against Glendale, Kickapoo and Ozark for the first time since 2021.
“We lost to Glendale, Kickapoo and Ozark in the regular season last year," Franck said. "To bounce back and beat them this season makes us more confident. With the wins we’ve had, we have a lot of momentum.”
“It's been a big stretch of games against our rivals and great teams,” Palmer said. “We’ve been able to get by them. Moving forward when we see these teams again, we will be confident. But we can't let down. Momentum is hard to pick back up.”
