News Photo by James Andersen The Alpena girls soccer team includes: athletic trainer Jordon Weise, head coach Tim Storch, Elizabeth Thompson, Kylie Roznowski, Alysa Sommerfield, Maren Winter, Madyson Girard, Anna Young, Leslie Roland, Emma Kelly, Mollie Girard, Kennedy Kaiser, Kourtney Jones, Chloe Lacombe, Alexis Pilarski, Christy Leeck, Erin Bailey and Macy Dickinson. Not pictured is Taylor Tolsdorf.

When he took over the Alpena High girls soccer program in 2012, Tim Storch was optimistic that if his team worked hard, eventually good results would follow.

“They know what needs to be done and if they keep doing hard, we’re going to see some benefits from that,” Storch said in 2012.

Fast forward five seasons and Storch’s prediction could come true in 2017. After steadily building up the program for the last several seasons, the Wildcats are hoping to make some headway in the Big North Conference and improve upon last year’s 6-16 record.

“For the first time since I’ve been here, I have the confidence to say that our girls team could be pretty good this year,” Storch said. “This is the first time that I can say we’ve had girls soccer players here that have played travel soccer. Our core of junior, sophomores and freshmen have all played on the same travel team for a number of years and that should pay dividends.”

Seventeen players will suit up for the Wildcats and 11 of those are returning players, giving Storch one of his most experienced squads since he took over the program. Alpena has just three seniors, but many of Alpena’s younger players have already seen significant playing time.

Up front, freshman Anna Young will be tasked with leading an Alpena offense that’s looking for a reboot offensively. Alpena netted just 21 goals last season and Young could be the sort of game-changer Alpena needs. She’ll be joined in the midfield by juniors Kourtney Jones and Madyson Girard and sophomore Mollie Girard.

The Wildcats have already shown their offensive potential early this season, netting eight goals against Oscoda earlier this week; a win which included a hat track from Young.

“Mollie Girard is a real goal-to-goal player and I think teams are going to find that Anna Young is going to be a handful to defend with her size, speed, quickness and skill,” Storch said.

At outside midfielder, Storch expects junior Alysa Sommerfield, sophomore Alexis Pilarski and freshmen Kennedy Kaiser and Macy Dickinson to share playing time.

On defense, sophomores Taylor Tolsdorf and Emma Kelly return for their second years and they’ll be joined Erin Bailey and Chloe Lacombe.

In net senior Maren Winter returns, giving the Wildcats an experienced presence between the posts at a position, where in years previous, Alpena’s goalies have often been forced to learn on the fly.

She’ll be backed up by senior Christy Leeck.

“Maren never played goal until a couple of years ago, so she learned from ground zero. I’m confident now that she’s got a pretty good grasp of the position and she keeps getting better from a technical standpoint,” Storch said. “Maren’s the type of goalie who can make huge saves and the big thing we’re looking for her from her this year is consistency.”

With Alpena’s competitive profile on the rise, Storch is hoping his team can improve its standing in the Big North against a challenging slate of teams.

“It’s a great conference. Traverse City West and Traverse City Central, they have great youth programs and their teams have been competitive for a number of years. Cadillac has won the league consistency and Gaylord has had a number of really talented players come through their program,” Storch said. “It’s a tough league and I would say very confidently as athletic director that girls soccer may be if not the top sport in the Big North Conference, certainly one of them.”