SET FOR THE SEASON — Members of the Fairmont Area Cardinals girls soccer team playing host to St. Peter at 7 p.m. tonight for season-opening action at Kot Soccer Complex in Fairmont include, front row (l-r): Manager Kinze Stradtman, Samantha Castro, Mackenzie Householder, Sami Lenort, Carissa Saxton, Rayah Quiring, Cadee Becker, Bailey Martinson, Ellie Schultze, Alyssa Wiederhoeft, Kalie Hanna, Alexis Newville and manager Emma Scheppmann. Second row: Assistant coach Halea Picha, assistant coach Claire Gerhardt, Madison Pluim, Isabella Schroeder, Andrea Rojo, Macy Smith, Kaitlyn Hinz, Nicole Zebedee, Charli Clow, Alex Martin, Karissa Newville, Simone Castro and head coach Matt Nielsen. Third row: Grace Simpson, Allison Janssen, Isabella Larson, Kennedy Becker, Anna Utermarck, Anna Busche, Sydney Blomster, Elayna Anderson, Alysen Lindquist, Hannah Goerndt and Alexis Rojo. Back row: Anigayle McAdams, Elsa Thompson, Mackenzie Carlson, Madi Stromberg, Selma Bleess, Shaye Dietz, Mary Bennett, Jozie Hoefker, Hope Kueker, Abby Cihoski, Jayden Smith and Kate Busche. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — Matt Nielsen put his Fairmont Area girls soccer players through their paces during the first week of practice.

While the Cardinals still literally ran through a variety of drills to increase their stamina, dribbling, passing accuracy and goal-shooting skills, the 16-year head coach added the Bonzo block challenge to the cognitive aspect of their preseason conditioning.

“I drew a ‘Bonzo’ face on a block of wood and hid it in a public setting, and gave them clues as to where to find it,” said Nielsen. “I broke them into pods and if they found it, they won a mysterious prize.

“It’s essentially a scavenger hunt used as a bonding exercise,” said a smiling Nielsen.

As the Cardinals worked in unison to find Nielsen’s wooden treasure, the long-time mentor made his own discovery.

“The interesting by-product of the exercise was the ‘all-in’ competitive vibe created by the search. They were intense and focused,” Nielsen said.

Now, Fairmont Area will put its bonding skills to the test against Big South Conference rival St. Peter in tonight’s 7 p.m. season-opener at Kot Soccer Complex in Fairmont.

Senior co-captains Mackenzie Householder and Rayah Quiring, a pair of honorable mention all-conference selections during the pandemic- condensed 2020 campaign, will guide a veteran roster onto the turf for their final prep soccer season.

Quiring topped Fairmont Area’s scoring charts with 10 points on the strength of a team-best eight goals from her striker’s position, while Householder netted one goal and two assists in helping stabilizing the midfield attack.

“This group of seniors has seen two years of irregularities, so they want so badly to finally have a normal season,” said Nielsen. “We have not really talked about the past since we’re likely to face some restrictions if our county’s Covid numbers start to continually increase as the season progresses.

“We just need to stay focused and take each game one at a time.”

Unfortunately, the Cardinals’ 2020 postseason chances ended before they started. Ironically, Fairmont Area, which netted a 4-2-1 overall record, had picked up steam down the stretch by winning its last three games by outscoring opponents by a 15-1 margin.

Cadee Becker recorded two of her three shutouts during the above three-game span last fall en route to allowing only six goals in seven games.

The sure-handed Becker returns between the pipes for her senior season this year and will be joined by all-Big South honorable mention choice Carissa Saxton in the Cardinals’ defensive zone.

“Carissa has played formidable defense for us since she was a freshman,” Nielsen said in reference to his team’s defensive MVP a year ago. “She and Cadee will look to continue to play aggressively in the back line together this season.”

Senior Bailey Martinson rejoins Saxton in the heart of the defensive zone, with seniors Alyssa Wiederhoeft and Samantha Castro covering the outside flanks of the back line.

Junior Hannah Goerndt, the Cardinals’ most improved player in 2020, and senior Alexis Newville also will return to the defensive mix, with juniors Anna Busche and Abby Cihoski figuring into the equation. Sophomore Madi Stromberg rounds out the defense as a backup to Becker in net, and also will likely get playing time in the field.

Householder and senior Ellie Schultze once again will anchor Fairmont Area’s midfield, with senior Sami Lenort bringing three goals and two assists back to the outside midfield attack.

Nielsen said the junior trio of Selma Bleess, Allison Janssen and Kate Busche will contend for the other “up for grabs” outside midfield starting spot, although all three will make contributions on the field.

Quiring, the Cardinals’ offensive MVP last season, and junior Anna Utermarck will handle the striker duties in the attack, with sophomore Elayna Anderson and junior Alexis Rojo also netting playing time as forwards. Anderson, Fairmont Area’s rookie of the year, returns after a knee injury cut short her promising varsity debut campaign.

“This is the most experienced group of players that I’ve coached in all of my time with this varsity program,” said Nielsen. “They’re really focused on the team aspect of the game and that’s good to see that team matters most.”

Claire Gerhardt returns as the Cardinals’ assistant head coach, Kelly Quiring returns as the C-squad mentor, while Halea Picha makes her debut as the junior varsity coach this fall.

Fairmont Area plays host to nonconference opponent Albert Lea at 1 p.m. Saturday at Kot Soccer Complex.