GK: Mackenzie Stephens, Elmore County sophomore
After suffering an ugly start to the season, Stephens and the Panthers kept four clean sheets in their final 12 matches and allowed more than two goals just once in that span. Stephens’ biggest moment came when she stopped three consecutive penalties to earn her team a shootout victory against section rival Holtville. “She’s a perfectionist and it shows with how hard she works,” ECHS coach Angie Simmons said. “She wants to learn things that are completely foreign to her. What changed this year was her comfort and her aggressiveness in the goal and leading her defense.”
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