Two cornerstones of Republic’s young soccer program will continue their careers in different places. Sierra Casagrand and Sara Marcotte have both signed to play college soccer — Casagrand at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, and Marcotte at Chicago State University. They signed their letters of intent the same way they’ve done most things during their high school soccer careers: together.
“I tell a lot of coaches, even if they’re not a soccer fan, come out and watch these girls play,” says head coach Mike Hines, who has depended on Casagrand and Marcotte since the program began. “It’s a very special time to be a part of Republic soccer.”
The two have led Republic to two district championships, and will aim for a third during their upcoming senior season. But they’ll continue to lead the Lady Tigers with very different styles.
Marcotte is the team’s vocal leader. Casagrand leads quietly by example.
Marcotte scores the bulk of the team’s goals. Casagrand scores her share, but is content to set up Marcotte within the framework of the offense.
Marcotte’s game is about speed and finesse. Casagrand’s powerful leg is responsible for a goal from more than 30 yards against Willard that’s still talked about a year later.
“I think we complement each other,” Casagrand says. “We think the same, but we do everything differently. But we still know where the other is on the field.”
This spring, Marcotte will also continue her climb up the state record book for goal-scoring. She’s become one of the state’s most prolific scorers without padding her stats against weak competition.
“It drives Sara crazy that if you score three goals, that’s the cap. We’re not going to go out and play a team here you can score six, seven, eight goals,” Hines says. Despite that limit on her scoring, if Marcotte scores 40 goals this season (which she has done the past two years), she will jump to 5th on Missouri’s all-time scoring list.
Marcotte says she’s looking forward to taking her game to Division One Chicago State, where the competition will be even better.
“It’s really exciting because it’s a new step. Coming into Republic was a new step as a freshman, and going to D-1 and a soccer program will be another step in my soccer career,” Marcotte says. “At D-1, the whole team is a challenge. You don’t really have any weak spots in a team.”
Casagrand says moving to Coffeyville and playing without Marcotte will be an adjustment.
“It’s really sad because we’ve played together for four years. It’s weird not playing with her,” she says. “Playing without her for the next couple of years will be hard at first, because I’ll miss her a lot.”
Before they go their separate ways, though, Casagrand and Marcotte have unfinished business on the field at Republic. They’ll try to improve on their finish in 2012 and 2013, when the Lady Tigers advanced to the sectionals before losing. Last year, Carl Junction scored in the final minute to pull out a 3-2 victory.
Get every story delivered.
Tiger Wire — Republic sports news, free every morning.