ST. CHARLES – Kayla Floyd knew she was more capable than her three-goal output from last season perhaps would indicate.
Floyd, St. Charles North’s sophomore midfielder, is now a third of the way to last season’s total after she scored one of eight North Stars goals in their 8-0 win over Burlington Central to open the St. Charles Tournament on March 28.
“I was really disappointed with how many goals I scored last season because I know I can score more,” Floyd said. “This season, definitely one of my goals is to score more and find the back of the net.”
Floyd “tries to find space to be open” and tries to find open teammates for passes, but her poise on the field evidently has grown from last season.
“Once you really are focused, it’s pretty easy to move around and know your pass before you pass it,” Floyd said.
The North Stars (3-0) took a commanding 6-0 lead at the half. Sydney Timms got them rolling with a header into the back of the net on a corner kick barely two minutes into the contest.
Bella Najera added two goals before Floyd’s goal made it 4-0 with 10:37 remaining in the first half. Lauren Balster and Sophie Sutherland knocked in the other goals before halftime.
Julianna Park and Leah Bellock added second-half goals.
North Stars coach Brian Harks thinks Floyd is an example of a North Stars athlete showing maturity “between the ears” and with their feet.
“[Floyd] is a player that is stronger than she was last year. Faster [and] her vision on the field is a lot more quality this year,” Harks said. “[Floyd] is also a player that has always been really physical, but now she picks and chooses and she plays really smart. The overall confidence and composure that she has this season has been a really nice addition.”
Junior Abby Vichich, a North Stars defender, is a teammate who has helped Floyd progress on the varsity level.
“[Vichich has been] very helpful with helping me know the program more and having more confidence on the field,” Floyd said. “That’s also something I struggled with last year, so helping me get ready and focus more on my play [as opposed to the opposite].”
Burlington Central (0-2) is a program looking to settle roles and playing time. It graduated six from the varsity roster last year. Early tests against Naperville Central and St. Charles North are serving as a good metric to where the Rockets are and where they can grow.
“We set up a schedule that’s really tough,” Rockets coach Jess Arneson said. “Obviously that’s on purpose so it exposes a lot of things. It exposes some of the stuff that we really need to work on. And for us today, it was a little frustrating because a lot of the stuff that they struggled with are things we have worked on. I think now it’s just going to get down to being more disciplined and communicating better.”
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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