By Rick Cassano
HARRISON - The foundation has been established within Harrison High School's girls soccer program. Now it's time to reload.
The Wildcats lost some key seniors after going 14-2-4 last season, but nobody was talking about rebuilding Tuesday night after Harrison kicked off the 2026 campaign with a 1-1 tie against visiting Oak Hills.
"It's always good to set the bar high no matter what kids you have in the program," seventh-year HHS coach Kelli Bill said. "You've got to push them to their limit and see what you can do. All of them are playing at a very high level. We're young and hungry. I feel like we can compete against anybody."
Harrison is loaded with experience on defense, yet has to replace 32 goals scored by their six seniors last year. The Wildcats have advanced to the Division II regional semifinals the last two seasons and possess a 71-29-10 record in the Bill era.
"Since we're not in a league, we're shooting to get better throughout the regular season," Bill said. "We may be young, but it's a really talented group and a great group of girls, and we've got a really good coaching staff where everybody gets along. We have so many pieces and people bringing different strengths to the table."
Senior midfielder Evie Freel had Harrison's lone goal against Oak Hills (1-0-1) and said the Wildcats are still in the meshing stage as a team.
"I think we need to learn to play better with each other and build some chemistry," Freel said. "But I love this team. Once we get in the flow, we're definitely going to be a pretty good team and we're going to be hard to stop."
Freel provided an offensive jolt in the first minute Tuesday after sophomore Grace Rogers launched a corner kick toward the goal. Some pinball action ensued, followed by Freel booting the ball past Highlanders goalkeeper Layla Steinriede.
"Grace took the corner and it hit off my shoulder because it wasn't high enough for my head," Freel said. "Then it hit off Emma (Smith) and it came back to me and I kicked it in. It hit off the goalie a little bit, but it went in."
Oak Hills coach Kevin Spraul said his team wasn't on top of its game in the first half, but looked strong thereafter. Taylor Spille scored off an Angelena Murphy assist with 36:35 remaining.
The Highlanders rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to beat West Clermont 5-2 in their season opener last Friday.
"We started out slow in the Clermont game, but stormed back and answered well there. Tonight was the same thing," Spraul said. "We're setting up the camera and the next thing you know we're down 1-0 on a corner. That was a punch in the gut. I took us until about halftime to figure out, 'Hey, let's start playing.'
"I thought we played well in the second half. We left some good opportunities on the table and didn't finish those, but this is always a difficult game with Harrison. It's a nice backyard rivalry. The kids know each other, the coaches know each other. It's a fun game. We're not overly thrilled with the draw, but I thought it was a pretty fair game and that result was pretty even."
The Highlanders are a consistently strong program in their own right and haven't finished outside the top half of the Greater Miami Conference since 2017.
Spraul said he's got a nice mix of young players and veterans, so he's hoping to remain in the GMC championship conversation this year.
"It's just a matter of executing, and unfortunately in the GMC, you've almost got to be perfect to win it," Spraul said. "We're still working out the kinks. We've got to be mentally focused and ready to play when we hit the field."
Bill said she wasn't surprised by Oak Hills' resilience and second-half surge.
"They're quick, they're physical, and we knew that coming in," Bill said. "I knew one goal wasn't going to win the game. Our young girls were a little nervous and had some first-game jitters, so it's good to get it over with and under our belts.
"We've got some things to work on and that's natural at the beginning of a season. We're moving some girls around and filling some roles, and they're going a great job. Even when we're subbing, we're not really missing a beat.
"We're working on the physicality part, but they all have great skills. It's nice to see them out there pinging the ball around to each other and looking to play it to feet and keeping it on the ground."
The Wildcats have four captains: Freel, Smith and fellow senior Olivia Fleckenstein, along with junior goalie Mallory Oliver, who had a .900 save percentage last season.
The veterans in the back line are juniors Samantha Dunn and Mya Cosby, and sophomores Adeline Matheny and Cora Smith. Freel and sophomore forward Olivia Neal are returning offensive standouts after combining for 52 points in 2025.
Newcomers up top are freshman Autumn Hoch and junior Anabelle Wiesemann, a transfer from Franklin County (Ind.). Junior midfielder Megan Wesling had four goals as a sophomore.
Bill said Wiesemann is "very talented, very physical and plays at a very high level. She brings something different up top. She's very quick and can finish the ball."
Harrison and Oak Hills will both return to action Thursday. The Wildcats host Colerain, while the Highlanders travel to Walnut Hills.
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