Goal-scoring duo of Riemer, Seltzer ready for Farragut challenge

Soccer tends to be a low scoring sport, but Bearden forwards Ashley Seltzer and Casey Riemer are doing their best to disprove that.

They have combined to average almost three goals a game this season.

Seltzer, who is a junior, and Riemer, who is a sophomore, have scored a total of 33 goals for the Lady Soccer Dogs so far this season – and this is only their second year playing on varsity.

“We just work really well together,” Seltzer said. “And this season we’ve really connected and the spark is there so we’ve just been playing off of each other and getting goals.”

Added Riemer: “It’s a lot of fun and I mean it’s all because of [Coach Eric] Turner. He’s really helped us, and I just feel like we’re getting better each game and it’s gonna be a good season.”

Bearden will need that duo performing at its best on Thursday night when the Lady Soccer Dogs (11-1-1) travel to face bitter rival Farragut at 7.

“They’ve been a huge asset because they’re so young, and last year they were kind of getting their feet wet,” Coach Turner said. “But this year with scoring as much as it is… we’re still a young team but it takes a lot of pressure off our defense.

“We don’t have to commit as many people to the offensive end, which allows us to tighten up our defense a little bit.”

Seltzer and Riemer are known for their speed and ability to attack the goal hard especially when they are put into one-on-one positions.

“What they’re great at, which a lot of players at this level really aren’t, is that they’re just great one-on-one players…they’ve got a great attitude,” Coach Turner said. “They go at it hard.

“A lot of kids don’t like to [go one-on-one].”

Coach Turner says that it helps when forwards can limit their memory or their focus to just attacking the goal as fast and as many times as possible, and that is exactly what Seltzer and Riemer have done every game.

“They play off of each other so well too, so their speed helps them a lot as well,” Coach Turner said.

Added Seltzer: “We’re really good friends, so that helps a lot. Because we just understand everything … We understand how one another plays on the field; so I know if I cross it in, then she’ll be there on the backside, and if she crosses it in, then I’ll be there on the backside, and we just know.”

Riemer certainly appreciates the high quality service.

“She has assisted me multiple times,” she said. “She’s a perfect player.”

Having a strike partnership will come in handy against a deep Farragut team.

“That [depth] is the kind of thing that has been biting us in the butt,” Coach Turner said. “But this year we think that we’ve got a pretty good chance of beating them, and we [have] a pretty good team that’s gonna be able to go at them and hopefully get the victory for us.”

Coach Turner said that last year his Lady Bulldogs did a great job pressuring the Admirals and taking them out of their small-ball based game, but Bearden didn’t have enough depth to last the full game.

“Last year, we did a great job of [pressuring them],” Coach Turner said. “You know, we got to halftime 0-0, but then we only had like two or three subs and our depth kind of caught us there, and as we got tired a little space started opening up and that’s where they took advantage of us.

“So that’s gonna be our key this year… Take them out of their game, take them out of their passing game and just try to limit them from getting into the spaces because they love to run and they love to get into the space and we just gotta keep that tight and not let them do that.”

Coach Turner plans to run Seltzer and Riemer up high and to get them the ball as much as they can because that is the place where Farragut’s defense is most susceptible.

“With Ashley and Casey having a year under their belt and getting that confidence, we think that if they can get us a goal or two that it’ll kind of change the dynamic of the game and put the pressure on Farragut a little bit,” Coach Turner said.

Bearden hasn’t beaten Farragut within the past few years, and this would be a huge win for the Lady Soccer Dogs. Both Seltzer and Riemer are more than ready to end the Admirals winning streak at Farragut on Thursday.

“I am super pumped because I know we can do it this year and we have everything we need,” Seltzer said. “We just have to come out ready because we know that it’s going to be a really hard game, but we know that we can finish them off.”