Thanks to our continued partnership with Univest Financial, SuburbanOneSports.com will once again recognize a male and female featured athlete each week. The recognition is given to seniors of high character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams or who have overcome adversity. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete (Sept. 11, 2023)
A moment three years ago changed Emily Ehresmann's outlook. After almost losing her soccer career, the Southampton resident decided she was going to make the most of every opportunity the game presented her. She didn't quite expect it would lead to where she is this fall as the starting goalkeeper for William Tennent's girls' soccer team in her first year playing with the program, but it's been a perfect unison for all sides. Ehresmann has stepped way out of her comfort zone this fall and she's loving every minute of it. "It's incredible to see us grow week by week and game by game," Ehresmann said. "Our passes get more creative, we're doing all this intricate give-and-goes up top and through the midfield and it's incredible to see everyone working together because we all love each other and have a family mentality. That's what I love about this team, I love the girls so much and that makes us fight for each other without hesitation."
See, while Ehresmann plays for the Panthers and dons a bright green William Tennent goalkeeper kit, she doesn't actually attend the school. She's lived in the Centennial School District her whole life, but Ehresmann has been homeschooled since she began fourth grade. Due to a serious knee injury when she was 14 and a promising club soccer career, she'd just never explored playing for the high school's team until this past summer. Just by growing up in Southampton and being a talented player, she knew a few of the girls who played at Tennent, and this summer they came to her with news there was an opening at the goalkeeper position. Tennent senior Theresa Ditri, the keystone of the team's rigid defense, brought the subject of playing for the high school up, and Ehresmann knew it was an opportunity she'd regret passing on.
Ehresmann, who stands about 5-foot-8 and brings plenty of athleticism between the posts, decided to give it a try, and once Ditri told the Tennent coaches about this talented keeper she knew, the invitation was open. While goalkeepers are by nature courageous, throwing themselves headlong into any challenge to keep a ball out of their net, this was different. Joining the Panthers for their summer league and team workouts, Ehresmann admitted to feeling some trepidation. "I was so nervous at first, and I think they picked up on that," Ehresmann said. "I entered it very humbly, not cocky at all like I'm going to come in and do this or that but more of a 'hi, I'm here to do my best' and try out like anyone else. Once I made the team, I definitely got more confident in talking to everyone and taking a lead once we were on the field. I love the hometown feel of this team at Tennent, they're all from around here and some even live in my neighborhood. My club team, everyone is hours away from training, and when you have girls coming from four states, we really don't hang out outside of training. I feel like the chemistry at Tennent, we just work together effortlessly."
Tennent coach Elise Jara didn't know much about Ehresmann other than what she'd heard from Ditri and the other players who knew the keeper. It didn't take long for the Panthers head coach to see what she had. "She played in one of our games, and myself and one of my assistants - we just looked at each other like 'oh my gosh, we need her to play for us,'" Jara said. "I spoke to her and her parents after the game, she told me she was homeschooled and playing for a club team in Delaware. We just told her we wanted to do anything we could to make it easy, but she really did just fit right in with the girls."
With six straight shutouts to open the season, Ehresmann played a key role in the Panthers’ 7-0 start and a spot atop the SOL Freedom Division standings. Ehresmann hopes to continue playing at the college level. She has quite a few Division II and III programs already extending offers, and she even has a few Division I programs interested with visits scheduled at La Salle and Campbell. Away from soccer, Ehresmann said she's a little bit of a writer and she's planning to study finance in college, then likely get into real estate.
To read Ehresmann’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/emily-ehresmann-00108509
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Sept. 11, 2023)
Jackson Costello, according to his coach, can do it all on the soccer field. “He can shut a player down,” Upper Moreland soccer coach Justin Allegra said. “If I’d say, ‘Hey, listen, I need you to shut this player down,’ he will do that. If I say, ‘I need a little bit more out of you in the midfield. I need you to take and distribute the ball,’ he’s got that, and he’s got a (heck) of a left foot. He’s got an incredible left-footed shot. So anywhere I put him - I don’t feel like I’m losing. I feel, if anything, I’m gaining. While there’s no mistaking Costello is blessed with soccer skills, that’s just part of the equation. The Upper Moreland senior is one of just two seniors in the starting lineup of a Bears’ soccer team that - early in the season - lost three straight games and was outscored 17-1 in those games.
It would be understandable – and actually make perfect sense – if Costello would have been frustrated. Especially since he had been part of the varsity as a swing player freshman year that won the District 1 3A title and advanced to the PIAA 3A state semifinals, and the Golden Bears were a district playoff team each of the previous three years he was part of the program. That was not the case. Far from it. “The majority of the team doesn’t have a lot of varsity experience,” Costello said. “I’m mainly seeing this season – not focused only on winning but setting up the future generations and instilling a good work ethic in them.” According to his coach, that’s not just lip service. “He’s a quiet kid,” Allegra said. “The kid will do anything for the team, whether it’s playing forward, whether it’s playing midfield, whether it’s playing defense. Now he’s actually playing defense because that’s where we need him this year. He’s the kind of kid that will literally just do anything to help his team win. This year, he is our captain, so he leads by example.”
Costello doesn’t need to be in the spotlight. As a matter of fact, his favorite motto “Work in silence” suggests he doesn’t want it. When asked what exactly that meant, Costello had a ready explanation. “I mean that I just have to keep my head down and keep working as hard as possible,” he said. “I don’t need to post on social media every time I work out or tell people about it. Winning is the reward and it will speak for itself.”
Allegra relies on his captain to keep him apprised of the pulse of the team. “I’ll meet with him once a week, and we talk about what he thinks is going on,” the UM coach said. “He takes the team’s temperature. I’ve noticed this year he’s taken on a little bit extra because in previous years we’ve had eight or 10 seniors on the team. This year we only have (four) so we’re an extremely young team. He’s the leader, he’s the captain, and he leads by example.” Costello’s natural positions are left back or left wing, the positions he plays for club. “I played center mid all last season, now I’m the center back,” he said. “As long as I can be on the field and play, I’m happy.”
Off the soccer pitch, Costello is an excellent student, boasting a GPA over 4.00 and carrying a workload that includes AP Calculus and AP Physics. He is a member of the National Honor Society and has given service hours to his aunt’s charity, the Superhero Project. According to its web site, the Superhero Project aids and encourages families in the NICU and provides assistance and resources to many hospitals in the greater Philadelphia area. “It’s been really cool,” Costello said. “They give them baby supplies and all that, and it basically helps families figure out the whole situation.”
Next fall, Costello plans to pursue an engineering degree in possibly civil or mechanical engineering. As for soccer, he has been talking to several colleges, including Widener and Alvernia. “I’m pretty sure I will play soccer,” he said. “I really want it to be a big part of my college experience.” According to his coach, Costello is the consummate student-athlete. “He’s very involved in the school, his grades are phenomenal,” said Allegra said. "He's a great kid."
To read the remainder of Costello’s story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/jackson-costello-00108542
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