Having already won consecutive first-team honors as Juanita High’s starting goalkeeper, senior Nataya Bauer isn’t really shooting for a third selection.
She just wants to win.
“I just want to take this team as far as we can go,” she said. “We haven’t had many winning seasons. We won two or three games last year that, with the players we have, we should have destroyed. Then we lost some games we should have won.”
The flamboyant goalie has been a force for the Rebels since her sophomore season, transforming into a vocal leader and a standout athlete between the posts. Bauer is a threat to win a state shot put or discus title during track season and plays in the post for the Rebel girls’ basketball team in the winter.
Her sport in college? Rugby — a sport she admits she hasn’t tried, but that hasn’t stopped her from earning a place on Washington State University’s club team, which competes at the Division-I level.
Translation: Bauer is an athlete. With mitts.
Juanita senior goalkeeper Nataya Bauer made all-league first-team the last two years, and it's easy to see why. pic.twitter.com/jznIG8U3Ss
— John William Howard (@JowardHoward) September 1, 2016
“I expect her to be in the same spot she was last year, and competing for that first-team role,” said coach John Mach, entering his eighth season as head coach and 15th season with the program. “She’s the top-rated in this league, so I expect her to be there. I don’t expect anyone to beat her out for that.”
In front of Bauer, though, there are a handful of question marks. Juanita struggled to close out close games last season, going 5-4-1 in games decided by a goal or less.
More importantly, the Rebels struggled to score in tight games. Opponents handed Juanita seven shutouts, all losses, four of which were 1-0 games.
“I think this year we have a lot of players that are very attacking minded, and this year we have been more focused on attacking,” said senior midfielder Brooklyn Brace. “We have switched up our formation a little bit to try to get more players forward. With all that, I think it will help bring in more offense.”
The main shift in response is a tactical one, though not easily spotted from the stands. The team will likely play in a familiar 4-5-1, but the Rebels hope to push the outside backs and outside midfielders forward in the attack more often.
“We’re hoping to build the attack from the midfield because we don’t have that top-level attacking player we’ve had in the past,” Mach said. “We’ve got a lot of strong midfielders and hopefully we get some transition goals.”
Mach expects Kennedy Jones, a junior attacking midfielder, to contribute offensively alongside fellow junior Olivia Morris. Kyra Bethune, a sophomore who saw time on the varsity team last fall, should be a threat. Sophomore Ellison Eason and junior Allyson Ingersoll, both moving up from the JV squad, will play a role offensively as well.
Junior centerback Colleen O’Neal, a second-team all-league selection last fall, anchors the back four. Sheer Shalom, who saw varsity minutes as a freshman, will take the other centerback position and junior Taylor Byrne is expected to reprise her role as an outside back.
The other outside back and a handful of positions in the midfield remain unsolved for Mach, who said the team will miss Paige McKenna through the first several games while the senior attacking midfielder returns from an injury.
Mach has been with the program since 2001, taking the reigns in 2009 and coaching the program to its first state tournament experience in 2010. The Rebels made the KingCo playoffs last year, but lost to Lake Washington.
The Rebels are scheduled to begin the season against Inglemoor at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. League play begins at Redmond High School on Sept. 13.
