EDWARDSVILLE - Last season, Kate Jose was the leading scorer as a sophomore with Metro-East Lutheran in Edwardsville, where she led the Knights with 30 goals and four assists for 66 points as the Knights finished 7-11-0, losing in the IHSA Class 1A regional opener to Roxana at Norman Lewis Field 7-0.
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Fast forward to 2024, and once again, Jose is in great form, but this time, it's with Edwardsville High, just right down Center Grove Road, as she's leading the Tigers with six goals and an assist for 13 points, connecting for a hat trick in a 10-0 win over Alton Apr. 4 at Tiger Stadium.
Kate Jose is a Spencer Homes Female Athlete of the Month for the Tigers.
In a post-match interview after the win over the Redbirds, in which Edwardsville improved to 5-1-0, Jose feels she's enjoying her first year with the Tigers and has been playing very well.
"It's my first season at Edwardsville, so it's been a pretty big accomplishment so far, I love the team, and everything's going great," Jose said of her soccer success.
Transferring from Metro-East to Edwardsville has been smooth sailing thus far for Jose, and is enjoying the bigger competition the Tigers play against.
"It's great," Jose said. "I spend a lot bigger competition, the games are a lot of fun, and there's just a whole bunch of joy going around. It's awesome."
Going from a conference such as the Gateway Metro, where the Knights play, to the Southwestern Conference, where the Tigers play, is a big transition, but Jose hasn't noticed the difference between the two leagues.
"Honestly, I don't think we've played (Belleville) Althoff yet," Jose said, "so I can't really compare. But right now, we're doing well, and it's going well."
As far as goals and aspirations for both herself and the Tigers in the 2024 campaign, Jose is hoping to score more goals and help her new team as much as possible, and having a blast while doing it as well.
"Honestly, I came into the season hoping to score, like, five to eight goals," Jose said. "But now, I'm hoping for 10 to 12 at the end of the season. And just having a whole bunch of fun."
Again, congrats to Kate Jose on her honor as a Spencer Homes Female Athlete of the Month for Edwardsville.
