Jimmies to have a Blue Jay feel this fall

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The Jamestown College women’s soccer team will have a Blue Jay feel this fall.

Former Jamestown High School players Kara Wahl, Amber Hillesland and Brooke Winson will fill three spots in the midfield and defensive third for the Jimmies, who play their first official game on Sunday at Minnesota-Crookston.

First-year coach Nick Becker said all three played well in the Jimmies’ scrimmage on Thursday against Bismarck State College, but it starts for real tomorrow.

“I think we’re ready to go out and see where we are as a team,” Becker said.

Thursday’s outing against BSC was encouraging, particularly offensively.

“The girls did a really good job of going forward and putting pressure on them,” Becker said. “We have some speed that we hope to use to our advantage.”

Jolynn Warnes, a sophomore, and freshman Kirstine Adamson provide plenty of pace up top. The Jimmies need to replace the goal-scoring ability of striker Hannah Langseth, who has been the team’s leading scorer the last three seasons, but decided to focus exclusively on academics as she pursues her nursing degree.

The Jimmies didn’t get much pressure from BSC in the scrimmage, so fine-tuning the back third remains a work in progress.

They can rely on the steady play of athletic junior goalkeeper Kayla Byle, who also competes in track and field.

“It’s nice to know we have a good keeper back there like Kayla,” Becker said.

Surpassing last season’s five wins is a target. Becker has the roster to over 20 girls and continues to recruit aggressively. He also hopes to drive the team’s grade point average higher into the 3.2 range.

“We want to keep building the program and do it the right way,” Becker said. “We’re headed in the right direction.”

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at dselvig@jamestownsun.com or (701) 952-8460

Tags: sports, jays, jimmies, soccer