- January 22, 2025
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Braden River High girls varsity soccer Head Coach Don Engelberger exudes a calm energy.
Dressed in a tie-dyed T-shirt and blacked-out Ray-Ban sunglasses, Engelberger laughs readily with his team during a practice Dec. 2., For Engelberger, all is right in the world as his team is 3-0-4 and starting to jell.
Despite his placid demeanor, however, Engelberger is not afraid to turn up the heat.
“I hear a lot of chatter out there,” Engelberger tells his players. “I know that you’re all excited to be back after fall break, but if you keep it up, some wind sprints will cut out that talking real quick.”
Ten minutes later, his players were running wind sprints.
For Engelberger, maintaining that balance between levity and discipline is key, he said.
Last season, the Pirates went 11-3-5 before losing to Parrish Community High twice in the playoffs — first in the 5A District 10 championship game and again in the regional quarterfinal of the 5A state championship tournament. This season, Engelberger said Braden River has a more complete roster as it attempts to avenge those losses.
Engleberger said Braden River, which started out its season with four straight draws (including a 2-2 tie against Parrish Community Nov. 14, is more complete because of its talent in goal.
In seven games, the Pirates have allowed just seven goals, Senior Lorelai Lis, 5-foot-6, started for the Pirates as a sophomore and junior, had nine shutouts last season.
Joining Lis in the net is 6-foot Kaele Smith, a transfer this year from IMG Academy. Smith, who has 28 saves in four games played this season, is long and lithe and Engleberger said she has unbelievable instincts. Together, Smith and Lis have formed a rock solid foundation for the Pirates defense.
Although the two are competing for playing time, there is no rift between them. At practice, the two are in sync, swapping places for equal repetitions in team drills and working together when separated from the team.
“They’re both competitive and they both want to play, but they’re also supportive of each other,” Engelberger said. “I haven’t had the conflict that some teams might have in regards to bringing in someone to compete with an established starter. When one of them makes a save, the other is right there cheering them on.”
Braden River’s success, however, will depend on more than just the strong play of its goalkeepers.
Gone from last season are the Pirates two leading scorers, senior strikers Niley Molina and Carly Stella. Molina and Stella, who scored 14 and 11 goals, respectively, were not able to play this season because of off-the-field work commitments. Replacing that scoring, Engelberger stated, will have to come from a number of different sources, not just one player.
Many of the Pirates’ key players have been moved around the field, switching positions on the fly based on offensive scheme and the momentum of the game. Junior midfielder Maddie Baehr, who has three goals as of Dec. 4 and sophomore midfielder Cameron Kolbe, who’s scored twice, have shifted back and forth between striker and midfield.
Controlling the midfield, which Engelberger called the “heartbeat” of the team, is senior captain Abbey Jackson. Although Jackson, who shares the title of captain with senior defender Samantha Baker and senior outside wing Maddie Epperson, has yet to score a goal this season, her impact is made in other ways.
Jackson leads by example, said Engelberger, modeling for the younger players how to not only perform on the field, but in the classroom as well. For Jackson, the transition into a leadership role has been seamless thanks to the strong chemistry within the team.
“We set a certain standard here every year, Coach Engelberger sets the expectation for his captains to earn the respect of their teammates,” said Jackson. “I feel like all of the returning players still respect that and the new players have meshed really well with everybody else.”
Coming into the fold this season for Braden River are newcomers Madilyn Tumolo, Jorydnn Roberts and Victoria Caiazzo. Tumulo, a freshman defender, caught the eye of the coaching staff during tryouts.
“We kept tabs on who is going to make varsity and all three of us had her there,” said Engerlberger. “I thought that she was a sophomore when I put her on the roster. She doesn’t play like a freshman. She doesn’t carry herself like a freshman, if she has a bad game, she learns from it.”
Roberts, a midfielder who is a 2028 graduate and is homeschooled yet still plays for Braden River, has three goals on the season and plays with “an air” about her, said Engelberger. The most impactful newcomer, however, has been Caiazzo, a sophomore striker who moved to the area from New York this fall. Armed with a combination of speed, strength and technical ability, Caiazzo has scored a team-high six goals in seven games.
It’s a squad that Engelberger feels good about. For within Braden River’s youth, within the roster filled with players taking on different roles, is a willingness to win. A desire to be great. Engelberger has seen in practice how special his team can be.
“When it all comes together, it’s poetry in motion,” said Engelberger. “There are frustrating moments when it doesn’t, but the trick is getting the girls to know that it’s OK to make a mistake. Let’s progress from that. I think they’re starting to buy into it.”
