I think this group has a really good work ethic, and they just come ready to push themselves.”

Lady Champs Head Coach Wendy Williams

BELL BUCKLE, Tenn. – As the 2010s moved into the 2020s, the Cascade Lady Champions soccer program annually attempted to bust down the door of the TSSAA State Tournament for the first time, continuously coming up one game short in the state sectional round. Now, under head coach Wendy Williams, the Lady Champs are coming off their second-consecutive state tournament berth, solidifying themselves as a premier force to be reckoned with in Class A. Despite this assertion, Williams is approaching this season as she would any other.

“I think we’re approaching the season the same way we did last year: no expectation. We want to be strong in our season, and then see where the season takes us,” Williams explained. “We don’t talk about state, we don’t set that as our goal. Of course, it’s always the end goal, but we are not putting that pressure on the new players. We labeled last year as a rebuilding year because we lost seven seniors the year before, and then we were able to be successful last year. I think we’re gonna see some success this year too, but it’s way too early for me to contemplate on if we will make it. We play for each game and take it one step at a time. I don’t feel like there’s pressure because each year is a new year.” 

Over the past two seasons, Cascade has gone 23-6-1 overall with a pair of D9-A and R5-A Championships to go along with a pair of State Tournament appearances. This season, Williams says the team has welcomed 10 new players to the fold, including six freshmen. Two sophomores – twins Makayla and Makenzie Fisher – are first-year players, and both are working out at goalkeeper.

“They’ve never played soccer before, but I’m proud of where they are,” Williams said. The Fisher twins play basketball and softball, but are giving soccer a go this season.

One of the biggest question marks coming into the 2025 campaign has been how will Cascade replace three seniors along the backline, along with Sophie Ray who cleaned everything up right in front of the defense? After graduating Kelsey Shatley, Ella Thompson, and Dallas Bird out of the back-four, a freshman, a sophomore, and a junior have stepped up to fill in those positions for the Lady Champs.

“We actually feel pretty good about our backline again this year,” Williams emphasized. “It’s a freshman, a sophomore, and a junior, but none of them have played defense before. However, they have looked really good in the preseason so far and have come out strong. We didn’t lose anything defensively by putting them back there, and they’ve proven themselves already.”

One key returner, Claire Smithson – has taken over the No. 6 position right in front of the defense, much like Sophie Ray from the past two seasons. 

“Of course, Claire [Smithson] is in that holding mid position, and she’s just steady and consistent and right in front of the backline. I think that gives them confidence because she’s always everywhere too…she’s kind of taken over Sophie’s position. She can read the field well,” Williams said.

With Smithson in the midfield is junior Brinlee Collett, and then sophomore Olivia Winnett assumes the attacking midfield duties. Winnett bagged nine goals and two assists in her freshman season despite missing some time in the postseason, and Williams has high praise of her star No. 10.

Sophomore Olivia Winnett (15) is the second-highest returning goal scorer from a year ago after finding the back of the net nine times to go along with a pair of assists in her No. 10 position.

David Smith

“Olivia Winnett is irreplaceable in that attacking midfield position. She makes great passes, she has great movement, and she has an incredible understanding of the field,” said Williams. “Our box-to-box midfielders we do have to rotate because they do a lot of running, but Brinlee Collett has stepped up as a junior this year. She has played very well within the triangle in the middle. We used a freshman against Riverdale some – Alayna Ormiston – in the middle…we have several that are strong enough in the middle that can feed the ball out that are going to contribute to our success this year.”

“The good thing is that we have a great middle school program. Michael Martin runs it in a very similar format to what we expect, so a lot of times, it’s not a seamless transition because there is a gap between the physicality and speed from middle school to high school, but he does look for possession and tries to instill those things so when they come to us, they’re used to that. I think we have seen that out of our freshmen, like they understand what kind of ball we play and what our gameplan is. We worked on getting adjusted to the speed of the game all summer. It’s one thing to tell them that, it’s another for them to get in a game and be like ‘oh, there they go,’ so it’s hard before you actually do it.” 

In the attack, senior Ella McGeary is on the wing along with sophomore Kaylee Martin, and of course fellow sophomore and leading returning goalscorer, Lexi Comstock, spearheads the attack up top. Comstock found the back of the net 11 times in her freshman season, none more exhilarating than her 75th minute winner in the District 9-A Championship game against Huntland last October.

Sophomore Lexi Comstock (8) carries the ball in the Region 5-A Championship game against Huntland last season. Comstock led the team in scoring last year with 11 goals and one assist, and she returns to lead an extremely dangerous attack in Bell Buckle.

David Smith

Martin was no slouch herself, finishing third on the team with eight goals last year to go along with a pair of assists. Her biggest weapon is her low crosses with whip from the wing. McGeary also returns with three goals and one assist from a season ago. 

Sophomore Kaylee Martin (9) returns as the third-leading goal scorer from a year ago, finishing with eight goals and two assists in her freshman campaign.

David Smith

Overall, Williams has just two seniors on the roster in McGeary and Kaydence Bynum, meaning that leadership is having to come from younger players organically. 

“I’ve been proud of the sophomores’ leadership already,” said Williams. “They came out strong last year on the field, and they’ve really come out strong as leaders this year. They want to have success and they want to work hard. We’re seeing them step into a new role; they’re not the youngest, so they can set the tone for practice and guide things.”

To go along with that theme of youth production, Williams also has a few freshmen that could show out and have an impact akin to some of the freshmen from a year ago.

“We have several freshmen who will step up and do great things, but I would say one standout in particular we had in the Riverdale scrimmage was Kenzie Bledsoe,” Williams said. “She stepped into the centerback position and killed it. This was asking her to step outside her comfort zone a bit because she played up top all through middle school and she has really taken it and run with it. She’s fast, she’s physical, I think we’re going to see great things out of her.”

Despite all the class realignment going on in so many sports around the state, the Lady Champions’ district and region remained unchanged for 2025. District 9-A still contains Cascade, Chapel Hill, Huntland, Community, and Fayetteville, while Region 5-A is once again comprised of Richland, Culleoka, Loretto, and Battle Creek.

With the program now in less uncharted waters than the beginning of the previous two campaigns, Williams says that both trips to the State Tournament have taught her and her team valuable information.

“I think it’s so interesting how you gain something from every one of them. The first year against Kingston we learned. We had not been there before and experienced that, so we learned from it and moved forward. Being at that point in the season with a small roster, you’re also worn down from the long season when we don’t have the numbers that some of these other schools have, so it’s hard to stay at that same high level once you get to that point,” she said.

Because of how last season ended against CSAS, it’s pretty clear that Williams intends to work more players into the fold and onto the field throughout the season. Not only to build up the team’s depth, but also to preserve the main contributors from the inevitable wear and tear that comes from a long and physically demanding season. 

On top of that, Williams has also scheduled Cascade to participate in September’s Smoky Mountain Cup in East Tennessee in an attempt to play more quality competition farther into the season and closer to when a potential state tournament run might occur.

Williams also feels that the returning players who managed to get a taste of success from a season ago have used that taste as fuel to try and make it back to maybe even win the whole thing this year.

“I feel like they all came in with the mentality of being ready to work,” Williams concluded. “I think this group has a really good work ethic, and they just come ready to push themselves. That’s what we ask for them every day. Our motto has been ‘get comfortable with being uncomfortable’ because we want them to push themselves outside of their comfort zone, and I think they’ve stepped up to it.”

Cascade opens its regular season on August 19th at Cannon County.