Siloam Springs senior girls soccer players Bri Anderson, Macie Herrel and Jaleigh Harp are making the most of their final season as Lady Panthers.
The three seniors have played all over the field at times for the Lady Panthers, but now each of them is entrenched in specific positions to help the team succeed: Anderson up top at forward, Herrel in the midfield and Harp helping anchor down the Lady Panthers' back line at defender.
Anderson may be the biggest surprise of the three. Heading into Tuesday night's game at Vilonia, Anderson leads the team with 21 goals in her first season playing at forward.
"I feel like forward is definitely where I belong," said Anderson, who has played on the varsity since 2019 after transferring from Colcord, Okla. "I feel more comfortable up there."
When Anderson joined the team for the 2019 season as a sophomore, she initially played on defense.
She moved into the midfield in a covid-19 shortened 2020 season.
After a strong offseason, in which she worked on her speed, she has become a scoring force with four hat tricks, including a four-goal game at Van Buren. She also has four assists.
"The funny thing with Bri is the number one thing I've told her to work on since her sophomore year is speed," said Siloam Springs coach Abby Ray. "That's what you need to do to be better is get faster, and now all of the sudden she's one of our fastest players. Constantly in practice I mention her speed, and it's shocking to me that it's coming out of my mouth that Bri's one of our fastest players."
Ray said the reason Anderson moved from defender to midfield between her sophomore and junior years was because of a lack of speed. It's not an issue anymore.
"Now she's at forward because she's one of our fastest players," Ray said. "She's put in the work to develop that athleticism."
Herrel and Harp, along with fellow seniors Madi Race and Sydney Moorman, were key contributors on the last Lady Panthers team to win a state title in 2018.
Herrel and Harp were just freshmen then, but are wanting to get their teammates back to the top of the mountain.
"In 2018 I felt like we worked really, really hard," Herrel said. "It also helped that we had a really, really good group to start off with our freshman year to set the pace for the next three years. And I really think we've been trying to get back on that pace."
Herrel has scored nine goals and registered four assists in her four-year career, mainly playing a holding midfielder position, where she plays from one end of the field to the other.
Her coach said she plays with a lot of energy and emotion.
"Macie brings a lot of fire," Ray said. "She just plays with a lot of passion. There's times where she can almost get a little out of control on the field because she's sprinting to every single ball. That's been a cool evolution to see of her since she was a freshman, seeing her develop and becoming a starter. I think she always knew that she would be there. It just takes some time. It's definitely her passion that's landed her in that starting position."
Harp, meanwhile, has been a steady force all over the field for the Lady Panthers since her freshman year. She's played forward, midfield and defender, but this year she's almost exclusively played in the defensive backfield. For her career she's scored four goals with two assists.
"She's put me everywhere, but mostly the past two years have been in the back," Harp said. "Last year I started at midfield. She realized that I'm more of a defensive player and she put me back there. I don't really get moved from that position."
Harp is the younger sister of former Lady Panther standout Khenli Harp, who helped the Lady Panthers win three of five straight state titles, including the first in 2014.
Jaleigh Harp was just a youngster when that run began, but she remembers it.
"I remember watching them when she played," Jaleigh Harp said. "I thought they were so big and, wow, they're really good when I was young. I remember being really excited to come up and play when it was my turn. I guess I've just watched them play all along and it just gave me more excitement to keep playing. Once I got here, it's relief that I finally made it to high school soccer, and it's been really fun."
Ray coached both of the Harp girls and was part of the five straight state title teams as an assistant.
"Jaleigh has the Panther blood in her," Ray said. "Their family has been around as long as I have and they're just as much a part of this program. It's been neat to see Jaleigh come on because as a freshman she was just Khenli's little sister and at this point she has solidified her spot in Siloam Springs soccer history."
Ray said Jaleigh Harp is dependable on the back line along with Moorman and junior center back Bethany Markovich. As a team, the Lady Panthers (11-3-1, 9-1-1) have allowed nine goals all season, including only five in conference play.
"For her size, she's extremely strong," Ray said of Harp. "We make fun of her because she can't do a pushup, but she can throw the ball 40 yards. She's played every position for us. She's played forward, outside back, center mid, she's done it all. But this year, playing three in the back, I knew I needed her back there. I needed her strength as a player."
