photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior defenseman Erin Derby presses defensively on a Shawnee Heights player on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at Lawrence High School.

The Lawrence girls soccer team has relied heavily on young players for the last few seasons. With that came the usual growing pains of learning to play against varsity Sunflower League teams.

This year, the Lions have a lot of experience and many upperclassmen who have played extensive minutes. They understand the pace of the game around them, and they can match that this season.

Speed is one of the strengths of the Lions, particularly on their front line. It’s something that excites coach Joe Comparato, even if the team might need some time to learn how to play together.

“It’s just going to take a little bit of time getting our timing right on those through balls,” Comparato said. “We had several through balls (in the Lions’ season-opening win over Shawnee Heights) where the angle was just a little off — the speed was just a little off. The girls are starting to get used to each others’ speed.”

The Lions showed how it can look in the second half of their season opener with three goals, one of which came on a through ball with similar setups compared to the through balls in the first half. Comparato said the team is starting to figure it out and was encouraged by the results of the second half.

The Lions have four seniors and eight juniors on the roster. They outnumber the five sophomores and four freshmen on varsity, showing the level of developed talent the Lions have had in the last few seasons. They won’t be overly reliant upon young players learning the pace of varsity soccer. Comparato said the team is already “in the zone” this year, knowing what it takes to compete in the Sunflower League.

“It’s an asset that we have,” Comparato said. “We took a chance a few years back. This senior class were freshmen when I took over the head coaching job, and we made an effort to really bring these girls along, and I think we did.”

For the young players that will play a significant role on the varsity team, they’ve shown exciting capabilities in practices and the season opener. Comparato was complimentary of freshman Rylee Williams, who he said “doesn’t back down from anything.”

Juniors Stella Comparato and Erin Derby have spent a lot of time playing varsity. They, along with the other juniors and seniors, can feel the difference this year as older players who can physically match the speed of play of the Sunflower League.

“We’ve come a long way from our freshman year to now because we’re used to the high level, and it helps us in every game now,” Stella Comparato said. “I feel better matched against the other players. (Derby and I) were both freshmen playing against top-level seniors who had been playing varsity for four years. It was a lot, but now I feel we’re at that level playing against those seniors. I feel like we’ve gotten a lot better.”

The two juniors had almost the same team in their freshman and sophomore seasons. This year, a good number of new players are being incorporated into the team. The Lions can be even stronger as the team learns how to play together.

“We’re in somewhat of a building year,” Derby said, “but I feel like we’re building in a positive direction.”

That experience is also helpful for the younger girls. Joe Comparato said that freshmen might come from high-level clubs, but they’ve always competed with girls within their age group. Once they get to high school, they might play a team that has all seniors in the starting lineup.

Having experienced veterans can help the team grow together and reach its goals at the end of the season.

Stella Comparato and Derby said the team dynamic is excellent this year and is one of the team’s strengths. Relationships will be important for the team, which will be bringing along its young players who have the talent but not the experience of playing varsity.

The season opener generated a lot of excitement, which they can build on throughout the season. Once the team figures itself out more and jells as a group, the Lions can be a tough team in a good league.

“(High school) teams are a lot like international teams,” Joe Comparato said. “They come together, and this is the only season this group of girls will play together. So you’ve got one shot — 16 games. You’ve got to get them in the right headspace, and then they’ve got to get that collective bond to play together. I think we’re getting there.”

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior forward Stella Comparato kicks a corner kick in a 3-2 win over Shawnee Heights on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at Lawrence High School.