By Alex Frazier
Meet…Stevi ParkerStevi Parker is only five feet, one inch tall.
But she plays like a six-footer.
The Pennridge junior plays center midfield, a position usually held by bigger, taller players.
But that doesn’t faze Parker.
She only knows one way to play.
“She’s one of the most competitive players I’ve ever coached, very aggressive and very technical,” said Pennridge coach Jorge Rodriguez. “Her competitive nature and her aggression make up for that size. I see some of the best players she plays against get extremely intimidated by her.”
Even though she is diminutive, she often outjumps taller players for head balls.
She sees it as a challenge.
“I play big,” she said. “It helps. I’m not scared to go in to tackle the bigger players. I sometimes can win head balls over the girls that are six feet tall. It feels pretty good.”
“When she is on, she pretty much gets to every 50/50 ball that she puts her mind into,” said Rodriguez, ”and as high school soccer goes, that’s probably the most important thing to have as a center middy.”
Although Parker has primary played center mid, she has also seen time at centerback.
Parker is also a captain of the team. Though not overly vocal, her example on the field inspires players around her.
“She tends to put the team on her shoulders and carries the burden, sometimes to a fault,” said Rodriguez. “Sometimes if we don’t perform, well, she takes that home with her. She’s a perfectionist. If she’s unhappy with the way she played, even if her team won, she had a miserable day.”
Win, lose or draw, for Parker it’s not just about winning but how you win.
“She’s all about improving, becoming better player, a better teammate,” said Rodriguez. “She wants to be a well-rounded player.”
Rodriguez uses her on most re-starts.
“She’s an orchestrator of our set pieces,” he said.
In that vein, Parker doesn’t score a lot of goals, but she does get a lot of assists.
“I work hard and I win balls and set up plays for my team, basically do what I can to help my team win,” she said. “I set up opportunities to score. If the opportunity is there, I’ll take it, but I’d rather make the pass.”
Parker has not only gained notoriety for her play on the field, but she also sports a name that’s not easily forgotten.
“My parents liked Stevie Nicks (of Fleetwood Mac fame) when they were thinking of names for me, so they just gave me Stevi,” she said. “Everybody mixes my name up all the time and people think I’m a guy.”
Parker has already committed to college. She will attend South Carolina on a full scholarship.
She attracted college coaches playing for her PA Strikers Club team. “We do a lot of college showcases,” she said. “A lot of schools came to see us play. South Carolina saw me play a lot.”
Unlike many of her peers, Parker never got into the Olympic Development Program regimen.
“ODP was never really my thing,” she said. “I tried it once but didn’t really like it. All my club friends pretty much do it.”
She visited South Carolina during the summer and committed in August. She also considered West Virginia, Rutgers and Maryland.
“I just loved it down there,” she said. “I felt at home. I loved the coaches and the team. Everything just felt right to me.”
She isn’t sure what major she will declare, but she’s thinking of something related to sports, perhaps physical therapy.
This year’s district tournament will be Parker’s third. As a freshman Pennridge was district champ, and last year the Rams finished third.
This season, Parker has helped to lead her team to states once again.“We’re pretty confident,” she said. “We’re trying to take it one game at a time, hoping that we can play our best every game, play as a team and make it farther than we did last year.”
Clearly, she will play a huge role for the Lady Rams.
“Not many coaches have one player at that caliber that still wants to play high school ball, that is already committed to a college and is playing for one of the best club teams in the state,” said Rodriguez. “She still wants to not only spend time with the high school team but is also really, really committed to the team overall.”
Go West – Chris Freudig has been coaching Central Bucks West soccer for nearly 20 years, producing numerous league and state champions.
But even this veteran coach is amazed by what this year’s team has accomplished.
The Lady Bucks tied defending champion Pennridge for the Continental Conference. That in itself might not be so amazing, but how they did it is.
West went undefeated in the conference with a 10-0-4 record for 34 points, tied with Pennridge at 11-2-1. With the exception of Upper Dublin in the American Conference, the Bucks were the only other undefeated team.
That in itself is an amazing feat considering the schedule the Bucks faced in the final week of the season.
First it was Pennridge, a 1-0 win, then Central Bucks South, a 0-0 tie, and on the very last day Hatboro-Horsham, another 0-0 tie.
The Bucks were 7-0 at home and 6-0-4 on the road. All four ties were 0-0 games. They didn’t yield a single goal in the league and only three overall during the regular season, one in a 1-1 tie against Boyertown and two in a 2-0 loss to Council Rock South, their only setback of the year.
“I’ve been around a long time,” said Freudig. “I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it. That’s as special as it comes.”
While the Bucks didn’t give up many goals, they didn’t score many either. Through 18 games, they produced only 17 goals. Those 18 games were in reality 19 or 20 if you count all the overtime periods the girls played. Nine of those 17 goals came in just four games, and all came on re-starts.
West’s leading scorer was Alexis Haug, who had a whopping five goals. The next highest scorer had two. Freudig said there were a total of 10-12 girls who scored during the season. That’s spreading the wealth.Freudig also noted that his teams have gone for over 50 games without getting a penalty kick.
“We don’t get much help in that area,” he said.
Three of four defenders scored game-winning goals.
Lindsay Horst, arguably the Bucks’ best player, had just one goal, but assisted on six game-winning goals. She could easily have led the team in goals had Freudig kept her up top, but because she is so versatile, he had to move her back to bolster the defense.
“She played all over,” he said, “wherever we needed her.”
Jen Bradley and Bree Benedict shared goalie duties until Bradley suffered a concussion halfway through the season.
“The defense has been amazing,” said Freudig. “We just don’t give up many shots, and when we do our goalkeeping has been very solid.”
It’s not surprising that six West defenders made some level of all league.
“(Elena) Ochsenreither has done a marvelous job, along with Kelly Clark and Lauren Schofield, and whether it’s been Lindsay (Horst) or whether it’s the freshman Zoe Traficante, those girls have been excellent,” said Freudig. “You can’t do what we’ve done this year with just having a good goalkeeper. You need to have an incredible defense in front of a good goalkeeper.”
Around the league – Congratulations to Council Rock South for winning the National Conference; Pennridge and Central Bucks West for sharing the Continental; and Upper Dublin for turning in an undefeated season in the American.
Ironically, West was also undefeated in the Continental, but the Lady Bucks had four ties, which cost them an outright title.
• SOL teams didn’t fare so well in the first round of the District One Tournament. Eleven teams made the tournament, but only three advanced to the second round. Council Rock South (1) and C.B. West (4) received first-round byes so that made five still alive.
Three teams were upset in the first round. Council Rock North (8) fell victim to West Chester Henderson (25) on a late goal, while Conestoga (24) cruised past Neshaminy on the Redskins’ home field, 4-0. In another slight upset, No. 19 Unionville nipped No. 14 Hatboro-Horsham, 1-0.
Unfortunately, C.B. South and Pennsbury met in the first round, automatically eliminating one of them, in this case Pennsbury.
On the positive side No. 17 Upper Dublin edged No. 16 Downingtown West 4-3 on penalty kicks.
In the second round, four of five SOL teams were victorious. Once again one was automatically eliminated when Council Rock South and Upper Dublin butted heads, with the Golden Hawks winning 5-0.
If you read about C.B. West above, it won’t surprise you that the Lady Bucks didn’t score a goal against Bishop Shanahan, but managed to win 3-1 on penalty kicks.
Central Bucks South shocked No. 2 Downingtown East, 2-0. The Titans are playing their best soccer about now. It took Pennridge until overtime to surmount a pesky Avon Grove 2-1, setting up another SOL conflict with C.B. South.
In Saturday’s quarterfinals, Pennridge edged Central Bucks South 1-0 while Central Bucks West – in a rare offensive explosion - defeated Strath Haven 2-1 in overtime. Top-seeded Council Rock South downed Conestoga 2-0 as three SOL teams advanced to the district semifinals. South, meanwhile, remains alive in the hunt for one of seven state berths.
SOL Top Five1. Council Rock South
2. Central Bucks West
3. Pennridge
4. Central Bucks South
5. Council Rock North
Southeastern Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Poll
(Through Sunday)
1. Archbishop Wood 17-1-1
2. Council Rock South 15-2-1
3. Downingtown East 16-3-0
4. Boyertown 17-1-1
5. Central Bucks West 11-1-5
6. Strath haven 14-3-0
7. Owen J. Roberts 15-2-1
8. Pennridge 15-2-1
9. Council Rock North 12-5-0
10. Neshaminy 12-3-1
Others receiving votes: Radnor, Methacton, West Chester East, Villa Maria, Lower Merion
Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Poll
(Oct. 25)
1. Archbishop Wood (District 12)
2. Council Rock South (1)
3. Central Bucks West (1)
4. Downingtown East (1)
5. Pennridge (1)
6. Mt. Lebanon (7)
7. Peters Township (7)
8. Strath Haven (1)
9. Hollidaysburg (6)
10. Owen J. Roberts (1)
Honorable mention: Boyertown (1), Lansdale Catholic (12), State College (6), West Chester East (1)
National Soccer Coaches Association Region III Poll
(Oct. 26)
1. Pingry (NJ) 11-0-0
2. Ramapo (NJ) 15-0-0
3. Archbishop Wood 17-1-0
4. Mercyhurst (Pa.) 14-0-3
5. Lenape (NJ) 14-1-2
6. Northern Highlands (NJ) 13-1-0
7. Council Rock South 15-2-1
8. Central Bucks West 10-1-5
9. Hopewell Valley (NJ) 13-0-2
10. Red Bank Catholic (NJ) 16-1-0
11. Pennington (NJ) 10-1-2
12. Downingtown East 15-3-0
13. Pennridge 15-2-1
14. Mt. Lebanon (Pa.) 14-1-3
15. Peters Township (Pa.) 15-2-0
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