Liberty girls’ soccer moving up and ready to ‘bring it’ again

The Lightning know the road won’t be easy, but they’re ready for it.

After a historic season marked by the program’s first state tournament appearance, a single-season record for wins and a conference title, the Iowa City Liberty girls’ soccer team faces a new test.

A leap in classification.

Liberty bolts from Class 2A to 3A this spring. Along with the bump, the Lightning shift from the Mississippi Valley Conference Mississippi Division to the MVC Valley.

“In a way, we kind of envision ourselves as underdogs,” second-team all-state midfielder Rilyn Breinholt said. “But we want to compete. There are a bunch of 3A teams we’ve always had on our schedule, and we haven’t always gotten the results we wanted.

“That’s going to be a big focus this year — when we play 3A teams, we’ve got to beat them, and we’ve got to bring it.”

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Last season, the Bolts went 5-4 against 3A opponents.

“This year we’re paired up with some of the tougher teams in the conference,” Liberty Coach Frank Fiordellisi said. “We’ve got Linn-Mar, Iowa City West, (Cedar Rapids) Kennedy and (Cedar Rapids) Xavier, so it’ll be a challenge. At the same time, we’ve played all these teams before, so we have experience.”

Speaking of experience, Liberty returns plenty of it.

In addition to Breinholt, the Lightning get back fellow second-team all-state selection Callie Stanley.

The team’s leading goal scorer in 2023, Stanley battled an early season injury that limited her mobility and forced a shift to defense.

“It kind of hurt to run at fast speeds, so it was hard to play offense,” Stanley said. “We needed more help in the back, and I was willing to step up and take that role. Scoring goals is fun, but I’m willing to play wherever the team needs me.”

Stanley, now a junior, is a Minnesota State-Mankato commit.

“At any given time, she's the best player on the field for either team,” Fiordellisi said. “She was a huge reason we made that run to state.”

The Lightning also return steady goalkeeper Ava Tague, who recorded 79 saves and an 84 save percentage last season.

“She was phenomenal for us,” Fiordellisi said. “It’s great when you have a player like that as your last line of defense and can shut the opponent down.”

Senior defender Mimi Marquardt, a four-year varsity veteran, will again help anchor the back line.

“Mimi doesn’t get a lot of spotlight because she doesn’t have a lot of stats, but she’s one of those players that takes great command of the team,” Fiordellisi said

Another player to watch is sophomore Morgan Bennett, who scored one of Liberty’s two goals at state last year as a freshman.

“Morgan has always been a go-to player whenever everyone else isn’t feeling it,” Breinholt said. “She had some pretty impactful moments and assists last year. I think she’s going to have to step into a big role and help us in goal scoring.”

Liberty opens its season Tuesday at home against Central DeWitt.

“Whenever you set records for wins, win a conference title and make it to state, it’s tough to repeat that,” Fiordellisi said. “It puts expectations on you, but I feel like we know what it takes now.

“After going to state last year, the standard has been set. I’m excited about the future of this program.”