MILLBURY — After 11 seasons coaching girls soccer at Eastwood, Megan Rutherford begins a new coaching chapter, taking over at Lake.
At Eastwood, Rutherford’s teams were 152-45-16, winning four Northern Buckeye Conference and four regional tournament appearances.
She was the Division III Ohio Coach of the Year and United Soccer Coaches Ohio Small School Division Coach of the Year in 2019. She also earned D-III Northwest Ohio District Coach of the Year honors in 2018 and 2019.
In 2020, Rutherford and the Eastwood team earned the Team Ethics Award of Merit Gold Certificate and also the Northwest Ohio District Team Sportsmanship Award by the Northwest Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association.
Add to that the NWOSOA’s “Juergen Mudrow Cup” Team Excellence and Sportsmanship Award for all high school girls divisions in 2021.
Rutherford comes to Lake after the Flyers finished 9-6-3 overall and 5-3-2 in the NBC last year. She was nine returnees, but also six freshmen and one junior new to soccer.
“We have a very small roster, so we need everyone to be able to come into a game and make an impact,” Rutherford said.
“We are extremely young and inexperienced. This year is a building year for us. Lake lost a lot of experienced players to graduation.
“We’ve got some core talent that’s going to help us quite a bit and we hope to get the younger players up to the task quickly,” Rutherford continued.
“Our goal is to improve daily and possibly play the role of spoiler this season. This group is fun to work with and has responded well to the changes we’ve made.”
Leading the team is the lone senior, Brianna Braatz. In Lake’s only game so far, she scored both goals unassisted, but the Flyers lost 4-2 to visiting Northwood on Wednesday. Braatz led the team with 61 points on 27 goals and seven assists last year.
“She is known for her speed, athleticism, and scoring goals,” Rutherford said. “She is our captain this season and is leading the team well.
“She expects a lot from her teammates and has high expectations from herself. She is willing to do whatever it takes to help this young team be successful and we hope to make her final season a success.”
Returning in goal is junior Lauren Tobias, who had seven saves in the loss to Northwood. Last year, Tobias led the team to eight shutouts she had 37 saves.
Rutherford joins Lake at the same time the NBC gets revamped with newcomers Oak Harbor and Maumee, which the coach says should make winning a championship even more challenging.
“The NBC is typically a strong league. I think we made some great additions with Maumee and Oak Harbor, but I will miss competing against Woodmore for a title. They were always athletic and well coached,” Rutherford said.
“Eastwood is still strong and consistently reloads talent. Coach Julie Cross is an intelligent coach and an amazing person, so I’m sure she’ll have them ready to defend their title.”
