Freshmen fuel Seneca High girls' soccer resurgence

SENECA, S.C. — Not long after Ryan Wilson took the job as the new Seneca High School girls’ soccer coach, he got word about four freshmen who could change the program’s fortunes.

“I knew they were coming, and I knew they would change the program,” Wilson said.

He was right.

Kylie Bankson, Molly Bradley, Bri Morel, and Addison Steele have not only helped change the Bobcats' fortunes but also turned them into winners. First, they raised the team’s level of play and led them to an 11-6 regular season, the program’s first winning campaign since 2016.

Not satisfied with regular-season success, they combined for six of Seneca’s seven goals in a 7-6 victory over South Pointe in the first round of the Class 4A State Playoffs. It marked the program’s first playoff victory since 2015.

“It will be fun to watch them for the next three years. They enjoy the game,” said Wilson. “They work hard. They are unselfish, and I am really, really excited for their future.”

But the present is not so bad either.

The No. 8 seed Bobcats will face top-seeded A.C. Flora High School in the second round of the Upper State Playoffs on Friday in Columbia.

Seneca has made it this far because Morel, Bradley and Bankson have combined to score 59 of the team’s 66 goals and 32 of their 44 assists.

“It was definitely a good opportunity for all of us. Being able to play varsity our freshman year and coming this far, it has been a really good experience.”
—MOLLY BRADLEY, SENECA FRESHMAN ATTACKER

It has also done well for their confidence.

Morel leads the Bobcats with 55 points, thanks to her team-high 23 goals and nine assists. Bradley has tallied 19 goals thus far and has 52 points, thanks to her team-leading 14 assists.

Bankson is not far behind with 43 points, scoring 17 goals and nine assists. Of course, one of her goals was her game-winning kick in the final seconds to knock off No. 9 seed South Pointe on Tuesday.

“This has been a great opportunity for all four of us to come and play and get some experience with a lot of girls older than us,” Bankson said. “We have enjoyed working together and getting better.”

Seneca’s three leading scorers all agreed that they could not have had the success they had without their teammates.

“It has been a team effort the whole season. The whole team has really worked hard, and we have done our best,” Bankson said.

Wilson is unsure how Friday’s playoff game at A.C. Flora will go. However, he knows this: win or lose, the 2025 season has been a success, and with four freshman contributors already on the varsity and a few more moving up from the junior varsity next season, he knows Seneca soccer has a very bright future.

“I have not seen anything like this group, I really haven’t,” he said. “We have four freshmen who made varsity, and we almost kept the fifth and sixth. There is more help coming.”