No seniors, but plenty of experience.

That’s the situation Marshalltown High School girls’ soccer coach Stacy Galema is in as the Bobcats prepare for the 2023 season, their first as members of the Iowa Alliance Conference.

While there are no varsity seniors on the initial squad, there is a group of sophomores and juniors who saw more than enough playing time in the 2022 season to know what to expect in the upcoming season. It’s a boost for Galema as she hopes to see an athletic group of freshmen fight for playing time as well.

“For the most part our sophomores and juniors are returners, we return 14 I think from the past,” Galema said. “It’s definitely key, something we have focused on from the beginning.

“They’ve got that experience, they’ve gone against those tougher teams and tougher talent.”

Carroll Lopez Reyes and Kenya Lopez Reyes are two of the most important players on the pitch for the Bobcats after earning big minutes on the 1-16 team last year, with Kenya playing in wide areas and Carroll making her mark on the backline as a defender.

Sara Huffman, who played a big role as a freshman in all areas of the pitch, will also contribute early in the season before she has to undergo surgery for an injury she’s been carrying since basketball season.

Alongside those three, Aubrie Tejada, Yuri Ramirez and Alexia Garcia have a wealth of knowledge from varsity experience — with Garcia leading the line and playing as a striker for much of her two years as a Bobcat and only heading into her junior year. Galema said she’s also looking to Esmeralda Chavez to be solid in goal for the Bobcats.

As the group steps into the IAC for the first time, there are still plenty of familiar opponents on the schedule for MHS like Ames, Fort Dodge and Mason City. But not seeing the star-studded suburban teams in the CIML every week will be a help, and she added that this week has been partly focused on trying to get the group more comfortable on the front foot and possessing the ball.

“We’ll still have plenty of talented teams that we see, but it’s not going to be every single game,” Galema said. “We’ve been really focused on improving our speed of play and improving our energy with the ball and obviously that comes from our communication on the field, but it’s also how fast we move the ball.

“We’re also changing our formation a little bit so we can become more offensive.”

Marshalltown hosts Newton on Monday at 7 p.m.