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Season Preview: Youth movement for girls’ soccer

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Junior Savannah Kamperides vs. Plymouth South. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The defending Division 2 state champs have plenty of new faces around.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ soccer team has its work cut out for it in 2022. 

Patriot League All-Stars Olivia Borgen, Ava Melia and Nora Manning have all graduated from last year’s D2 state title team. Borgen (Penn State) and Melia (Bryant) are both playing Division 1 soccer. Melia anchored the backline, while Borgen (team-high 23 goals and 14 assists) and Manning (12 goals and team-high 15 assists) provided some serious firepower up front. 

Senior captain Kayla Cassidy, who is committed to play D1 herself for the University of Cincinnati, was supposed to shoulder even more of the load on offense. Except Cassidy, who pumped in 18 goals last fall (good for second on the team), tore her ACL and is out for the season. 

“That’s big loss,” Floeck said. “That, on top of the senior class that we lost.” 

It doesn’t end there. 

Senior midfielder Madelyn Allen is also expected to miss most of the season due to injury.

There’s more. 

“Between June and July, five of our players suffered season-ending injuries,” Floeck said. “It has been like nothing that I’ve ever seen. We’ve even had some other younger players that have shown well that have suffered some serious injuries that appear to have them out for the season.” 

So who is healthy?

For starters, junior captain Makenna Marshall is and will lead the defense. Marshall has been on varsity since her freshman year. 

“We’re really looking for her to provide that leadership on and off the field,” Floeck said. “She is a tremendous player. She has the respect of all her teammates and she’s been through the biggest games we’ve played in. We’re relying on her to be the leader of the team and for our back line.”

Fellow junior Savannah Kamperides joins her back there.

“Savannah played an important role for us last year so this year we’re looking for her to come back and be strong on the back line,” Floeck said. 

While just juniors, Marshall and Kamperides are elder statesmen on the team, which features just one healthy senior in Ella Nagle. 

“As our lone senior on the field right now we’re counting on her to kind of shoulder some of that load (on offense),” Floeck said. 

Sophomore Maddie Fitzgerald should also play a key role on offense. 

“She played significant time for us last year as a freshman and we’re really counting on her to step up and be a catalyst for our attack,” Floeck said. 

It’s definitely a youth movement for the Panthers. 

“We have some freshmen that are really being thrown into the fire,” Floeck said. “Even our bench is all freshmen and sophomores. Our mantra to get better every day and if you’re doing that hopefully the results are going our way.”

Floeck said he’s excited about the development of his program. 

“We want to make sure we do it the right way,” he said. “We have a great opportunity that we’re not graduating much so if we can develop these players the right way this can really set us up going forward. We understand we’re going to make mistakes or they’re going to be in satiations they’ve never been in but we’re trying to work through that with them. Our league is not forgiving nor is the fact that I’m sure everyone wants to have a shot at us because we have had such success in the league over the years.”

The defending D2 champs are back in action on Thursday, Sept. 15 when they host Plymouth South at 6:30 p.m. 

“We want to see growth,” Floeck said. “We know that there’s going to be growing pains. There are things that we’re used to our teams being able to do that we’re just not there yet and from a coaching staff perspective we have to realize that and be there to support our kids when we put them in some situations like a Whitman-Hanson-Hingham rivalry or Plymouth North or Silver Lake. Everything is an opportunity. We just want to keep a positive attitude and focus on the things that we can control. We’re hoping to get better every day and see where that puts us.”

Borgen, Manning & Melia the ‘driving force’ behind girls’ soccer’s title run

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Four years ago, Olivia Borgen, Nora Manning and Ava Melia cracked the Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ soccer team as freshmen. 

They made an immediate impact. 

Borgen and Manning netted eight goals apiece, which was good for second on the team. Melia was a standout on the back line. 

Four years later, they depart as the senior captains of the program’s first-ever state title. 

“They were the driving force, in a sense that they’ve experienced some big games,” said W-H head coach David Floeck. “We didn’t have the state tournament the year prior but they had the experience from their freshman and sophomore years of playing in a state tournament, so their leadership on and off the field was really invaluable for us. They were definitely the engine that made us go — those three.” 

The state championship game is a perfect example. 

The Panthers looked down and out as they trailed a Silver Lake team — that had shut them out in both of their previous two meetings — 1-0 late in the second half. 

Olivia Borgen, despite being in a walking boot with a sprained right ankle until she boarded the bus, provided the spark with the equalizer in the 69th minute. 

Shortly thereafter, Manning made perhaps the play of the game when she drew a foul on the Silver Lake keeper in the box.

Enter Melia. She rocketed home the penalty kick for a 2-1 W-H lead. 

Manning followed it up with a goal of her own to add some insurance. 

“Liv and Ava are my best friends and it is so special to me that I got the chance to spend some of the best years of my life with them,” said Manning, who netted 12 goals and dished out 15 assists. “Playing with them these past four years has been amazing. I’m going to miss playing with [them] more than anything and I still can’t believe it’s all over.”

Added Borgen, a back-to-back All-New England selection, who scored a team-high 23 goals with 14 assists: “It’s so special to have shared this journey with them. From tiny little freshman trying to fit in on the team to senior captains leading our team to a state championship, it feels unreal.”

Said Melia, a two-time EMass first-teamer: “To make varsity together as timid, young freshman to later make it all the way as captains and state champions is amazing.”

Borgen and Melia are no stranger to lifting hardware. Back in 2017, they won the National Championship together with their South Shore Select club team. 

“Sharing that with her has given us an amazing relationship,” Melia said. 

The three will head their separate ways next year to continue their soccer careers. Borgen will play at Penn State, Manning is heading to Stonehill College and Melia is going to Bryant University. 

“They led the way with their energy level and how much it mattered,” Floeck said. “They were really committed to try and bring a state championship to the school.” 

Girls’ soccer wins first-ever state title

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They say it’s tough to beat a team three times in a season.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ soccer team proved why.

Down 1-0 late in the Div. 2 state final to Silver Lake, a team the Panthers hadn’t scored against in their previous two meetings, they finally broke through — erupting for three goals in the final 11 minutes to capture their first-ever state title.

“I’m at a loss for words,” said 26-year W-H head coach David Floeck. “We’ve worked so hard. This is a tremendous accomplishment for them.”

Senior Olivia Borgen, who was knocked out of the Panthers’ state semifinal win Wednesday with a sprained right ankle, snuck home the equalizer in the 69th minute.

“She is gutsy,” Floeck said. “She has been in a [walking] boot all the way until we got on the bus for the game. She said, ‘Coach, I’m taping it. I’m going to give everything I got.’”

“I just needed to give it my all,” Borgen said. “It was the last game. Even if I was in a boot 30 minutes before I came here, I just needed to push through and give it my all. We’ve worked so hard to get here. I’m just so proud of this whole team.”

It remained tied until the 77th minute when Lakers goalkeeper Emma Hudson got called for a foul, taking down a W-H senior captain Nora Manning in the box. The result? A penalty kick.

Fellow senior captain Ava Melia buried it for a 2-1 lead.

“Its just the best feeling ever,” Melia said. “I could not be happier. This team deserves it.”

Manning sealed it with a goal of her own in stoppage time.

“I’m so excited,” Manning said. “It was our goal from the beginning of the season. It feels so amazing to finally achieve that.”

Season Preview: Girls’ soccer taking things a day at a time

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Senior captain Nora Manning fights for the ball against Hingham. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The girls’ soccer team is focused on improving daily.

For a program that has qualified for 21 straight state tournaments, you would likely assume the Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ soccer team sets the bar high.

Or maybe not?

“Honesty, we haven’t talked about any of it,” said 26-year head David Floeck when asked about his club’s goals. “Not to sound cliché, but we’re just trying to get better every day.”

So far that’s what they’ve done. Following a 3-1 start to the season — with their only loss coming against Plymouth North — W-H played to a 2-2 draw against unbeaten Hingham on Monday, Sept. 20 at Dennis M. O’Brien Field.

“I don’t think we’ve been playing as well as we’re capable of playing,” said Floeck, whose Panthers finished 9-2-2 last season. “I thought tonight our intensity was on a different level than it had been all season and that’s what we need to compete. We can’t play the Hinghams or Plymouths without this type of intensity level.”

Senior captain Olivia Borgen put the Panthers in front 2-1 early in the second half with her second goal of the night — this one on a penalty kick.

“We need her,” Floeck said of Borgen, who is committed to play at Penn State. “She is the engine that makes us go.”

That’s where it stood until four minutes remaining when the Harborwomen, who ended the Panthers’ season last year in the Patriot Cup semifinals, knotted it up at two apiece.

“When you get that close you’re definitely hoping to squeak one out,” Floeck said. “But it was another Whitman-Hanson Hingham battle.”

It was the first one for W-H freshmen goalkeeper Ava Patete, who made 13 saves to keep the Harborwomen at bay.

“This was a huge night for her,” Floeck said. “Neither goal was anything she could have done [to prevent]. She made a ton of saves tonight and more importantly in an atmosphere with two great teams going at it, big crowd cheering, the pressure of the game and she really did a phenomenal job.”

Senior backs Megan Bizier and Skylar Jordan and classmate Ava Melia, who is headed to play at Bryant University, locked down the backend.

As for the offense, junior Kayla Cassidy, Stonehill-bound senior captain Nora Manning and classmate Jenna Lindstrom will chip in plenty this season.

The Panthers are back in action Friday, Sept. 24 at 3:30 p.m. on the road against Silver Lake.

“We have to keep it going,” Floeck said. “And if we do, we think we can get on to something special and in those (league title and state title) conversations.”

Future Nittany Lion: Borgen bound for Penn State

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Olivia Borgen is Penn State-bound. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Whitman-Hanson Regional High junior Olivia Borgen will take her talents to Penn State University.

Her decision is in. 

Whitman-Hanson Regional High junior Olivia Borgen has committed to play soccer at Division 1 Penn State University. 

“Penn State has a very competitive soccer program and I definitely want to be challenged and improve my soccer game and I feel that Penn State will help me get to the next level,” said the Hanson native. “They are a very big sports school and I love that about Penn State.” 

An All-New England first-team selection this fall, Borgen also considered Boston College and Clemson. Ironically enough, Penn State is the only one of those schools she never visited. But, she didn’t need to. 

“My cousin, Lindsay, went there and she absolutely loved the school,” Borgen said. “I was at the 2015 [D1 NCAA women’s soccer] championship game in North Carolina, when they won and because it was in North Carolina, almost everyone was cheering for Duke, but I was definitely cheering for Penn State.”

Borgen said the first time Penn State saw her on the pitch was this past February at the Penn Fusion Showcase in Pennsylvania. She followed up with an email and asked them to watch her in game action.

“I’m glad I did because apparently, they liked what they saw,” Borgen said. 

How could you not? The Patriot League All-Star has netted 39 goals and dished out 25 assists over her first three seasons at W-H. She credited her high school head coach David Floeck for helping her become a goal scorer.

“When I came in as a freshman, I would always look to pass first, which in some cases is definitely the right move, but he always encouraged me to shoot when the opportunity was there and it really helped grow as an attacking-minded player,” said the speedy Borgen, who holds the W-H girls’ outdoor track 100-meter dash school record of 12.44. “That definitely helped my game.”

But despite her success so far, Borgen knows she has work to do as she gears up for her collegiate career. 

“I’m planning on getting stronger mentally and physically before I head to Happy Valley,” Borgen said,  “So, a lot of strength and conditioning and mental training to try and bring my game to the next level.”

Season Review: Girls’ soccer team made mark in short season

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Junior Olivia Borgen was an All-New England first-teamer. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The Panthers finished the shortened season 9-2-2.

In a fall season like we’ve never experienced before, perhaps the strangest difference at Whitman-Hanson Regional High was to not see the girls’ soccer team gearing up for the state tournament, for the first time in 21 years.

That’s because there wasn’t one to prepare for. 

The Panthers still got what they could out of this COVID-shortened season, playing a stout Patriot League Keenan Division-heavy schedule.

“There wasn’t one game that you could look at and say that we have a great chance to win this game,” said 25th-year W-H head coach David Floeck. “Every game could go either way and I think that was great for our girls to get that experience.”

Floeck’s club finished the season 9-2-2, falling to Hingham in the semifinals of the Patriot Cup, 3-2, in a shootout.

“We had opportunities to win that game and so did they,” Floeck said. “I think we played very well in that match. We could have advanced. We had an opportunity to win the game with 15 seconds to go and their goalie made the save. We performed well and were happy with how the team played.”

Junior midfielder Olivia Borgen made it click for W-H on the offensive end. The Penn State-bound, All-New England first-teamer, scored nine goals and piled up eight assists.

“What Olivia found now was she wasn’t surprising anybody like last year, maybe she caught some teams by surprise with her offensive output,” Floeck explained. “Now teams were game-planning specifically to stop her, so one of the areas she grew in this year is how to handle when coaches are game-planning how to stop her.”

On the back end, junior defender Ava Melia garnered first-team EMass honors.

“Ava was phenomenal,” Floeck said. “She’s always been a top-notch player and one of the hardest working players whether it’s practice or games, and what Ava really did this year is become a true leader. We graduated our whole defensive lineup, besides Ava and she took over as the leader of that group. With a lot of our backline being new, she turned them into a formable backline and that’s what allowed us to make a run because they played so well and she gets a lot of credit for that.”

Behind Melia was the goaltending tandem of senior captains Reese Codero (Patriot League All-Star) and Kylee Colclough (committed to play at Stonehill College).  

“We were fortunate to have two of the best goalies in the league on our team,” Floeck said. “They were the biggest supporters of each other. They celebrated each others’ successes, helped pick them up if something didn’t go well. We were very fortunate to have those two ladies in net for us.”

Senior captain and league all-star Alexis Billings played a key role in coordinating the Panthers’ offensive attack.

“She is one of those kids that isn’t always flashy, although she came up with some huge goals for us this season, but she is just the one who does all the dirty work in the midfield,” Floeck said. “She is someone you can just count on you know is just someone you count on. You just know you’re going to get a great effort and hard-fought game from Alexis.”

Senior captain and midfielder Abby Carew, senior striker Ana Sullivan, junior backs Megan Bizier, Skylar Jordan and Emily Leitch, sophomore midfielder Kayla Cassidy and freshman back Makenna Marshall also stepped up for the Panthers this season.

CALLING IT CAREERS

In addition to graduating seven seniors, W-H will also have to make up for the losses of longtime assistants Glenn Ward (23 years) and Tom Zamagni (26 years), both of whom are hanging up the whistles after a combined 49 years on the W-H sideline.

“So many things go on in our discussions and game planning together that have been instrumental, but the scouting the player development that they were both involved in, it’s hard to put into words what both of them have contributed to the program,” Floeck said. “Both are returning for family and that’s why they got into coaching. They treat it like it’s their family.”

‘Tis the season: Panther athletes get set to play on a very different field

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The fall sports season starts on Friday, Sept. 18 at Whitman-Hanson Regional High.

The wait is almost over.

After nearly six months without high school sports, the fall season is finally set to get underway tomorrow at Whitman-Hanson Regional High.

Cross country, field hockey, boys’ golf, soccer and girls’ volleyball will all begin practice. Football and fall cheerleading were moved to February.

“These have been difficult times for all of us, but especially our kids,” said W-H athletic director Bob Rodgers. “I am so excited to see them back with their coaches and teammates. I’m not sure people truly understand how much being part of a team means to our students but I know this will help them deal with these uncertain times.

“Our teachers have been working so hard for the return to school and the same holds true for our coaches. I hope everyone remembers that this is uncharted territory for all of us and we will do the best we can to serve our students the best we can. We will learn as we go and adjust when necessary.”

There are a few major changes coming to some sports. Field hockey will be played 7-on-7 instead of 11-on-11. There will be no throw-ins, slide tackling or heading the ball in soccer.

“This season is most certainly challenging, but we will meet this challenge with a covered smile,” said boys’ soccer head coach Dave Leahy.

That feeling is universal.

“I’m very excited that we get the chance to play this season,” said girls’ soccer junior Kelsee Wozniak. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge with the new rules, but the fact we even are allowed to play is great.”

Said girls’ volleyball junior Lily Welch: “All of my teammates and I are super excited about having a season. Even though it’s hard under the guidelines, we have all been getting together and training with each other. We have also had the chance to be teachers and work with the incoming freshman and I love that.”

There also won’t be a state tournament, but Wozniak said she’ll have no issue staying motivated playing in the Patriot League.

“We play in a very strong conference with talented teams,” she said. “Our goal is to compete and win our league. That will drive us every day to work very hard as a team.”

Regardless of what this upcoming season will look like or even how it may play out, one thing is certain heading into it.

“I can’t wait to get started,” said boys’ and girls’ cross country head coach Steve George.

A triple threat: Codero a 3-sport standout at Whitman-Hanson

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Codero dribbles the ball. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Since she was a freshman, all Reese Codero has ever known is being on the varsity team— in three sports.

Reese Codero’s refrigerator at home is littered with magnets. It’s what happens when you‘re a three-sport athlete.

But not only is the Whitman-Hanson Regional High junior a three-sport athlete, but she’s a three-sport varsity athlete, and she has been since her freshman year. That’s rare.

“I like it because it’s three different groups of girls I get to see each season,” Codero said. “I really like seeing different faces.”

Codero is a goalie on the soccer team, a point guard for the basketball team and a shortstop in softball. While Codero doesn’t have an offseason, she doesn’t need one because each sport prepares her for the next.

“With soccer, you see everything, so I feel like that helps me with basketball because when I’m setting up the offense I can see everyone, and obviously the hand-eye coordination is big,” Codero said. “And with soccer you’re moving laterally a lot. I feel like that helps with softball and even playing defense in basketball.”

“And I’m always sacrificing my body,” Codero added with a laugh. “The turf — I’ve grown an immunity to it so now the hardwood has no effect on me, and then going on to the dirt — it’s even better.”

That sacrifice is something first-year W-H girls’ basketball head coach Mike Costa noticed immediately.

“She’ll run through a wall for you,” Costa said. “She puts her body on the line.”

She’s always had the drive, but she’s developed the skill this winter as well, emerging as the tournament-bound Panthers’ starting point guard.

“She is probably our best ball handler with the guards,” Costa said. “I just feel comfortable with her with the ball in her hands and calling any play she sees. She’s good at seeing the game, so I trust her. She is going to be a big part of what we do moving forward the rest of the season.”

In the fall, she was part of a goalie tandem that helped the girls’ soccer team to a 15-1-2 regular season, winning the Patriot League Keenan Division title. Next season, she’ll serve as a captain.

Codero makes a save in soccer. / Photo by: Sue Moss

“Reese is a rare athlete these days; one who excels in three different sports,” said W-H girls’ soccer head coach David Floeck. “She has improved every year and I think that the skills required for her as a goalkeeper are reinforced with the other sports she plays. As a young lady, she is a leader and well respected by all her teammates. She is a top-notch kid and a talented athlete.”

This spring will be Codero’s third as the softball team’s starting shortstop. W-H skipper Jordan McDermott also raved about her leadership and attitude.

“Reese brings a lot of toughness to the Whitman-Hanson programs that she is involved in,” McDermott said. “I enjoy watching her teammates look up to her, but what I enjoy most is seeing the youth players in Whitman and Hanson support her and be her biggest fans — other than her family.

“She is never one to ask about her personal stats, but about the team stats. She’s never one to drop her body language when she makes a mistake or when a teammate makes a mistake. She is what being a student-athlete is all about.”

Codero fields the ball at shortstop. / Photo by: Sue Moss

So how does Codero juggle being a three-sport athlete with school?

“Time management is a big thing,” she said. “Obviously, studies come first, and I think I do a pretty good job of managing my time, making sure I get my homework done before I come to practice, staying after school if I need extra help. If you have time management, it’s really easy to balance.”

And it’s that sort of life lesson that Codero said she appreciates the most about playing high school sports.

“There’s big wins, there’s how to balance your time with school and there’s preparing you for college,” she said. “It’s really got everything.”

Big goals for Sam Smith at Boston College

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Sam Smith controls the ball against Northeastern. / Courtesy photo

Sam Smith led the Boston College women’s soccer team in goals as a freshman.

Shortly after Boston College named Jason Lowe its next women’s soccer head coach in January, he took a trip to the South Shore to watch some of the program’s incoming players.

Sam Smith, a reigning All-American at Whitman-Hanson Regional High, was one of them.

“You could tell she was a pretty technical player, but mostly off the field, I would say one of the biggest personalities in the freshman group, so we kind of clicked right away,” Lowe said. “Really great kid and really into soccer and could tell we were going to get along really well.”

The Hanson native arrived on campus a few months later.

“She came right in and just from our initial fitness test, she’s probably one of our fittest players on the team — definitely one of our fittest freshmen, so she definitely made a good first impression in the early days of preseason,” Lowe said.

And a strong preseason helped the freshman earn a starting role on the Eagles. After netting the winning goal in the Eagles’ opener against UMass, Smith did the same in the second game as well. By BC’s fifth contest of the season, she had four goals, three of which were game-winners.

“She didn’t overthink it too much,” Lowe said. “She got the ball and was playing with her first touch, and then she just drove into the 18 and got good shots off and did a really good job keeping the ball alive and just sort of staying in the moment.”

That was just a part of her success.

“I’d do film with her, and she actually is really good at breaking down her game and watching film,” Lowe said. “When we come in to watch it, she has already watched it and broke it down herself and had her own opinions.

“Every Monday, on our free day, she is out with the other freshmen working on their game. A combination of both of those helped her get off to a good start and helped her stay in our starting lineup.”

Smith entered Atlantic Coast Conference play with five goals. Lowe said her non-conference success wasn’t a surprise to him, but he wanted to see if she could perform against ACC competition. She did.

Smith netted two goals against Florida State in the conference opener and another against Miami (FL) the following game.

“That surprised me when she was able to do it against some of the top 10 teams in the country,” he said. “Her header against Florida State was probably one of the most perfect goals we scored all year.”

But that’s where the goal scoring would end for Smith because, with each goal, she started to become even more of a focal point of the opposing team’s defense — to the point where teams double-teamed her.

“There’s no secrets in our conference,” Lowe said. “They watched the film and figured out. She is certainly no secret.”

But despite not scoring again, she still led the team with eight goals this season.

“It was definitely frustrating to hear the other team always say, ‘Double team No. 9,’” Smith said. “It can get to you. See, I don’t think eight goals is a lot, I want to score more.”

Additionally, Smith earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman team and was tabbed to the 2019 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women’s All-Atlantic Region third team.

For as big as the goals Smith has garnered at BC were, bigger ones await.

“The sky’s the limit for her,” Lowe said. “I was talking with the U-20 [U.S. women’s national team] coach, and I think she is definitely on their radar in a really good pool of forwards and attackers.”

“That’s always been my goal,” Smith said.

A hero’s welcome: Sam Mewis inducted into W-H Athletics Hall of Fame

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World Cup champion Sam Mewis returned home to get inducted into the W-H Athletics Hall of Fame.

A World Cup title and back-to-back National Women’s Soccer League championships are part of Sam Mewis’ accomplishments, but some of her fondest memories playing soccer came from her time at Whitman-Hanson Regional High.

“One time, Mary, one of my best friends from high school, I had said it was my mission to have her score a goal, and I was able to assist her first goal ever,” Mewis recalled. “I just remember being so happy and there was this picture in the newspaper, and it just meant so much to me to share that with Mary.”

On Wednesday, Oct. 30, Mewis returned to Dennis M. O’Brien Field — not to play — but as an inductee into the W-H Athletics Hall of Fame. She shared that message with the W-H girls’ soccer team before the game.

“She talked to [the team] about cherishing every moment,” said W-H head coach David Floeck, who coached Mewis from 2007-10. “She’s been in the biggest moments around, and she talked about remembering getting ready for her senior night and getting ready for the tournament and for the kids to enjoy each and every one of those nights.”

Braving the evening rain in a Whitman-Hanson Panthers sweatshirt and black pullover, Mewis, who was unable to attend the original W-H Athletics Hall of Fame induction last month, sandwiched a halftime speech between autograph sessions.

“It’s great [to be back],” said Mewis, who graduated from W-H in 2010. “It’s super exciting and it’s a huge honor. I’m just really excited to be here and be back with the community and seeing a lot of my old friends and teachers. It was awesome.

“I’m really grateful for obviously this community, the way that the coaches and players and my teammates contributed to all that success. Everyone who has been a part of my journey so far has contributed in such a big way, so I wouldn’t be here without them.”

During Mewis’ tenure at W-H, the Panthers went 74-6-4 and won four league titles. Floeck said she helped lay the groundwork for the program’s future.

“When Kristie (Sam’s sister) got here and Sam followed a couple years behind, that’s really when the program took off,” Floeck said. “We had been good up to that point, but that’s when it really took off and we’ve maintained a level of success that a lot of the players that have gone through here have a lot to be proud of.”

Erin Wood, a current senior back on the team, used to attend Mewis’ games growing up.

“Knowing she’s from our school is really awesome to see,” said Wood. “I mean, she grew up in the same town we did, probably five minutes from my house, so the fact that she made it that far in the World Cup and actually won, shows that even if you’re from a small town you build a name for yourself and can create something.”

And that’s just the message Mewis is trying to relay.

“I hope that I can inspire young girls to work hard and believe in themselves and know that no matter where you’re from or what you want to do, it’s possible,” Mewis said.

That’s just a part of the impact Mewis said she is hoping to have on society.

“One of our goals with this whole fight, to help inspire the next generation and all women to understand their value and their worth in the workplace,” Mewis said. “It’s a responsibility, but we also hope that young women everywhere understand that they deserve equal pay.”

Next up for the Hanson native, she now sets her sights on the chance to represent the country on the national stage once again, in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

“It would be unbelievable,” Mewis said. “I missed out on the Olympics last time and it was a huge honor to make the World Cup team, but I would love to continue making rosters and continue down that path.”