Female Athlete of the Week

Alli Hare Ida Baker Bulldogs Junior Soccer
With a deep and skillful freshman class joining the mix this season, the Ida Baker girls’ soccer team figured to have enough firepower to generate offense, but that is only one element of the game.
For the Bulldogs to achieve their long-term goals, they knew a key factor would be growing as a team and constructing almost an entirely new defense around junior Alli Hare.
The Daily Breeze Female Athlete of the Week answered the challenge in many ways this season, raising her level of play and helping the younger players along.
From the opening match on, Hare has provided stability and taken charge of the defense, which lost key players like Ashley Carvalho and Emily Weeks from last year’s regional qualifying team.
“Alli is very vocal out there,” said Bulldogs assistant Bill Carvalho. “She played with Ashley (Carvalho) and Emily (Weeks) both in high school and competitively and learned how to command the back of the field. She has great communication skills.”
The biggest difference schematically this season has been the decision to move Hare from an outside fullback spot to the center of the defense. Carvalho said the position has a variety of responsibilities, predominantly to “close up and plug up” the middle of the field, but also to lead the transition to the midfield.
The 5-foot-3 Hare has combined her physical skills (speed, quickness) with a strong understanding of the system.
Her strong play continued last week, as the Bulldogs posted a 3-1 victory over Cape Coral and dominated Port Charlotte 8-0.
Hare said the team has changed since last season, but is coming together quickly.
“It’s a lot different,” she said. “We have a lot of freshmen, but we’re all working well together.”
In addition to being a standout in soccer, Hare is one of the area’s top softball players. She was instrumental in helping the Bulldogs reach the state playoffs in both soccer and softball as a sophomore.
Hare indicated she remains equally dedicated to both sports.
Honorable mentions:
Christine Gaywood, senior, Cape Coral basketball: Gaywood had 19 points, 12 rebounds in a win over Ida Baker, her fourth double-double this season.
Brianna Abatisti, sophomore, North Fort Myers soccer: As goalkeeper, Abatisti made 13 saves to preserve a 1-0 shutout win over Gulf Coast last week.