By Tim Wester
Sports Correspondent
Despite having just three upperclassmen on his roster, Union Grove girls soccer coach Sean Jung is as optimistic as ever for his team’s prospects this season.
Jung’s team had eight freshmen on the roster last sea-son that accounted for more than half of the Broncos’ goals and helped lead the way to a school record 15 wins. This year Jung has another bumper crop of freshman that could rival the successes of last years’ group.
“We have just two seniors and one junior on our roster, and yet we’re as good as we’ve ever been,” Jung said. “Of the seven freshmen on the varsity roster, four are starters.”
Leading the way for the freshmen is Megan Barber, who will run the central midfield for the Broncos. Freshman goalkeeper Mia Guyton will use her impressive athleticism to guard the net.
“Megan (Barber) is the most talented of this freshman group, and Guyton is by far the most athletic player we have,” Jung said.
Not to be outdone are the talented sophomores who look to build off a successful freshman campaign that saw the Broncos finish third in the Southern Lakes Conference.
Sophomore Alexa Panyk, who was second-team all-conference last year and team’s leading scorer with 15 goals, leads the Bronco 10th graders, while twin sister and honorable mention all-conference centerback Carlista Panyk also returns. Forward Natalie Oatsvall also looks to improve upon her 11-goal freshman campaign.
While the underclassmen make their mark this year, senior forward Mya Peterson will provide valuable leadership. Peterson, who is just two goals shy of setting the school all-time scoring mark, was a first-team all-conference performer as a junior.
“Couple the freshman and sophomores with our seniors Peterson and Oatsvall and we’re going to be dangerous,” Jung said.
As dangerous as the Broncos may be, the question remains if they finally have enough to challenge conference linchpin Burlington for the Southern Lakes Conference title. Elkhorn is also expected to be a contender, making conference play quite difficult for the Broncos.
“We’d sure like to challenge Burlington and Elk-horn for the top two spots in the Lakes,” Jung said. “We’ll only get better as the season goes, but we just have to stay together and grow as a family. If that happens, we’ll be really good.”
The Broncos have already exhibited their talent thus far, with a 3-1-1 record. Union Grove has knocked off Waukesha South (5-1), Kenosha Indian Trails (6-1), and conference foe Wilmot (3-0). The Broncos dropped a 1-0 non-conference game against Kenosha Tremper and battled to a scoreless tie against Mukwonago.
Alexa Panyk has a team-high four goals and nine points through five games, while freshman Peyton Killberg and Oatsvall have six and five points respectively. Meanwhile, Guyton has allowed just two goals in net this season.
The Broncos look to continue their early-season success tomorrow when they host South Milwaukee in a game that was rescheduled due to inclement weather on March 30. The Grove will then play three of its next four games against non-conference teams before heading into conference play at Westosha Central May 2 and then at home against Elkhorn on May 4. Union Grove then wraps up its regular season with three of its final four games on the road, with its last regular home game taken place May 11 against Burlington.
Regardless of the opponent, the Broncos will cer-tainly be a fun team to watch this spring.
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