Published: October 04, 2008 09:50 pm            

Reid leads undefeated Navarro

It did not take long for Venicia Reid to make her impact felt on the Navarro soccer team.

A native of Jamaica, Reid has helped lead the Lady Dawgs (2-0 Region XIV) to an undefeated 9-0 record this season.

Reid has become a perfect addition to the more aggressive offensive team that Lady Dawgs’ coach Debbie Bonner envisioned at the start of the season.

“I am very happy with where we are at,” Bonner said. “I still see some changes we are going to make because there is more this team can do.

“Venicia got here the weekend before school started and was slow to learn the system at first, but has jumped into it now that she understands what runs we want her to make. She is a great addition and what is even better is that my midfielders really see her to line a ball to her.”

With three goals in Navarro’s 7-0 win over Allen County Thursday, Reid now leads the Lady Dawgs in goals scored with 19 total — ranking her 10th in the nation in scoring prior to Navarro’s late match Saturday at Tyler Junior College.

Both Sarah Lawrence and Toni Smith, of England, are second on the team with six goals a piece this season.

Being a star on the soccer field is nothing new to Reid. Playing competitively since she was 12 years-old, she was the top goal scorer and named Most Valuable Player of the Jamaican Women’s Football Association as a member of the Portmore Strikers in the Jamaican Football Federation (JFF) when she was 15.

Reid was also a member of the CONCACAF Jamaica Women’s under-20 team, the Reggae Girlz, until 2006.

Navarro, however, is not Reid’s first experience playing in the U.S., spending time on teams in Indiana and Michigan before coming to Corsicana.

Now an integral part of the Lady Dawgs, Reid says she is enjoying her new teammates and coach.

“We are working well as a team,” Reid said. “Coach Bonner is a great coach and I get along well with all the girls ... they are supporting me a lot.

“Playing junior college is great for me right now. My dream now is to keep my team on top.”

        

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