By Michael Letendre

The Bristol Eastern girls soccer squad is ready for action and a boatload of returning players should help the Lancers be more than competitive in 2021.

Head coach Scott Redman has several experienced upperclassmen in the mix and scoring goals should not be a problem for this crew.

And defensively, there’s some good talent on this squad as well.

Here’s how the 2021 campaign should shape up for the Kingstreeters this season:

Head coach: Scott ‘Redeye’ Redman

Bristol Eastern Girls Soccer Line-up

Ciara Collins (sr. Captain), Midfield/Forward

Emily Nelson (junior), Forward

Audra Porowski (sr. Captain), Defense

Cecelia Gilbert (jr.), Defense

Grace D’Amato (sr. Captain), Keeper

Emma Stavens (so.), Midfield

Leah Roy (fr.), Midfield

Maura Cyr (sr. Captain), Defense

Mikayla Gonzalez (so.), Defense

Taigan Parent (jr.), Midfield

Breanna Venturo Nelson (jr.), Forward

Megan Krok (so.), Forward

Emilia Perrone (jr.), Forward

Isabella Sanchez (so.), Forward

Sarah Hartley (jr.), Defense

Julia Armington (jr.), Defense

What to expect from the program: The season begins today for the Lancers and the team – like every other program in the Central Connecticut Conference – will have a full slate of games unlike the pandemic shortened campaign of 2020.

Eastern opens at home today (6 p.m.) against CCC South power Lewis Mills which will be one of many tough matchups for the Lancers this season.

Once again, Eastern is aligned with Mills, Plainville, and rival Bristol Central and the locals hope to improve on its .500 ledger from one short year ago (5-5-1).

“[We’re] returning a good core of players with varsity experience,” said Redman. “The challenge will be playing at a high level consistently against a very challenging schedule of CCC foes. It has been a very strong preseason in terms of growth and learning to play together so if that continues throughout the season, we will continue to get better and battle against everyone. I expect to fight for a tourney berth and .500 season.” 

And the squad’s two leading scorers from last season are back for another go.

Senior Ciara Collins (midfield/forward) is Eastern’s best athlete and can dominate on the field with smart, heady, and skillful play.

She notched five goals to go along with three assists in 2020 and will vastly improve on those numbers as a senior.

Ditto with junior Emily Nelson (forward) as she was also a five-goal scorer from Eastern’s 11-match season last year.

And then there’s an outstanding defensive unit headlined by senior captains Audra Porowski, Maura Cyr and more than capable keeper Grace D’Amato.

That back line has experience, athletic ability and will make stops against all the top opponents the CCC has to offer.

And they’ll be plenty of other athletes that will step up for the Eastern program from starters to reserves.

Offensively, Emma Stavens (so.), Leah Roy (fr.) and veteran Taigan Parent (jr.) will help in the midfield while Breanna Venturo Nelson (jr.), Megan Krok (so.), Emilia Perrone (jr.), and Isabella Sanchez (so.) make up a strong forward rotation.

Defensively, Cecelia Gilbert (jr.), Mikayla Gonzalez (so.), Sarah Hartley (jr.), and Julia Armington (jr.) should be in line for playing time as well.

If Eastern can put everything together, the program is going to have another successful campaign.

CCC South Patriot outlook: Redman sees Lewis Mills as the class of the division with the Bristol schools, along with Plainville, making chase.

“Lewis Mills is the class [of the league] and Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern will try to take them down,” said Redman. “They will be replacing loads of talent (mainly Abby Mills) but they generally reload quite well. Central will be tough as well and the Bell City games should be very exciting.”

Those Central/Eastern contests are going to be epic as Redman said with matches and battles that a regulation game might not be able to contain (I didn’t say overtime. I implied it).

In the overall CCC South scheme of things, a couple other contenders will come to the forefront.

“Berlin has another solid team and should contend with Mills,” said Redman. “Watch out for Maloney who is up and coming with loads of experience.”

Schedule highlights

Eastern tangles with Berlin on September 13 while the Maloney clash is the Lancers’ final match of the month (September 28).

The contest versus Maloney starts a four-game road trip with Central (October 5) in the mix.

From there, Eastern ends the regular season with four of its last six matches from Alumni Field in Bristol.

The final city series confrontation commences on November 2.