Soccer, Winter Track
Favorite athlete: Rose Lavelle
Favorite team: The Philadelphia Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Beating West 4-1 in districts junior year.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Being nicknamed Stinky and Smelly with Sophie sophomore year.
Music on playlist: I listen to a wide variety of music, but I mainly listen to The Weeknd, Kayne, Tory Lanez, and SZA.
Future plans: Play soccer at NJIT
Words to live by: “Work hard in silence, let your success be the noise.”
One goal before you turn 30: Travel to Italy
One thing people don’t know about me: My middle name is Noel because I was born near Christmas.
By Mary Jane Souder
Sofia Mignon didn’t need much of an introduction when she arrived as a freshman to try out for the Central Bucks East soccer team.
With older sister Izzy a senior and fixture in the Patriots’ lineup, Sofia had ties to the program before she ever set foot on the pitch.
“Izzy was one of those kids that worked hard,” East coach Jake Nesteruk said of Sofia’s older sibling who is now playing soccer at Holy Family University. “You could see she was a program kid, and she was super bought in.”
As a freshman, Sofia was a member of the jayvee team.
“I remember our jayvee coach, Paul Lichter, who has been with the program 15 years, was like, ‘Hey, Jake, you’ve got a special one coming up,’” Nesteruk said. “I’m like, ‘Okay, there’s a ton of special ones. We’re really lucky to have a bunch,’ and he said, ‘Yeah, but this is someone who’s going to change things.’”
That ‘special one’ was Sofia Mignon, and listening to Nesteruk tell it, she has lived up to Lichter’s advance billing and then some.
“I remember her sophomore year Sof coming in – it was the senior year of Elise (Duffy), Chloe Strawn and all of them,” the Patriots’ coach said. “Sof was very, very quiet but one of those kids you just couldn’t take off the field. She was someone who had an unbelievable work rate, who never turned the ball over, who just absolutely led by example even as a sophomore.
“She never really spoke up, always did her job, and girls gravitated towards her just because she refused to be outworked or outmuscled. I saw it later than Paul Lichter did, but I knew her sophomore year that this kid is going to be the backbone of our success this year but also for the years coming down the road.”
In Mignon’s inaugural year on the varsity as a sophomore, the Patriots – coming off a 4-4-2 record in the 2020 COVID-shortened season – earned a share of the SOL Colonial Division title and advanced to the state tournament.
“My sophomore season was definitely very special because it was the first year in a long time that we had made it to states and made a run like that,” Mignon said.
A culture was also being established for East soccer.
“It was definitely something that’s evolved over the years,” Mignon said. “Even my freshman year was good, but since my sophomore year on varsity, we are so comfortable around each other. On the field, nobody is yelling at each other, we give constructive criticism, but take it in a way that’s like – ‘Thank you for that, I can do better.’ It’s just a really good environment to be in.
“What sets East apart, I think, is the bond we create both on and off the field. The friendships we have helped us to excel on the field as well. We are just extremely comfortable with each other, and it’s in such a short amount of time that we are able to connect that quickly.”
Back to the beginning
Sofia Mignon grew up in a soccer family. In addition to her older sister, Izzy, she has a younger sister, Ava, who also had a passion for the sport. In the winter, Sofia participates in indoor track to stay in shape for soccer.
“I’ve played soccer since I was a little girl, and it’s always something I wanted to pursue and continue to improve at,” Mignon said. “I did tennis a little bit, but that’s about it.
“Obviously, when you’re young, you’re not great, but my older sister a very good soccer player, so we knew it was in the genes and we wanted to just keep going with it.”
Mignon joined the club circuit with Warrington Soccer Club, and she has remained with that club to the present.
As a freshman, Mignon and her classmates dealt with the added stress of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was definitely hard because when you’re trying out, it’s nerveracking,” Mignon said. “I had my older sister with me because she was a senior. She helped to keep me motivated and just reminded me to keep working hard.
“Going into freshman year, you’re also going to be meeting new people. I just wanted to create bonds with some new people because that was definitely helpful throughout.”
Mignon was a two-year captain for the Patriots, serving with seniors Elliott Forney and Brooke Roumy as a junior.
“She handled that role her junior year so maturely,” Nesteruk said. “She just kind of took it, listened to the seniors and let them lead but found ways to bring in what the underclassmen wanted to hear and what they needed and the support they might need.
“But ultimately, what made Sof so special – she has literally not come out of a game since her sophomore year, and that’s really where her leadership lies. To show up when we need her show up when the games are really tough but also the ones where it’s a 3:30 kickoff, and you’ve got a 40-minute bus ride and you don’t feel like playing. She’s still the same kid that treats the game respectfully, treats the opponents the right way.”
As a senior, Mignon had the added bonus of playing side by side with her sister as central midfielders.
“Especially with her, I know her freshman friends, and I just do my best to motivate them because they know what they experienced – I have experienced,” she said.
Mignon’s goals and assists don’t begin to tell the story of her contributions.
“I look at this year – she got to play with so much freedom,” Nesteruk said. “She’s going to graduate with a great senior class. I look at what she’s done on the field, and as much as we appreciate her and other coaches speak highly of her – just because her name doesn’t show up a ton on goals or assists, she is super underrated and undervalued even within our own program.
“She’s one of those kids that just found a way to lead through every action she took. She was not a talker, she really led by example through and through.”
The Patriots’ successful season this fall came to an end with a 2-1 loss to District 3 champion Central Dauphin in the opening round of the state tournament.
“It was extremely hard to see it end because spending the amount of hours with this team – in a short amount of time, they become your family,” Mignon said. “And it’s really hard to say good-bye because you build such a good connection with them, and then it’s over.”
The next chapter
Mignon’s high school career may be over, but her soccer days are far from over. The senior recently signed a letter of intent to continue her soccer career at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).
“Sof is incredibly versatile,” Nesteruk said. “You could put that kid anywhere on the field, and she’ll understand what the job is for that position, and she’ll succeed in it, but ultimately, her skill set – she belongs in the center of the midfield for any team.
“She has played in the center of the park for us the last three years and why she’s succeeded – she’s found a really good balance between what’s needed to be done defensively to succeed in District 1 – you’ve got to be really good in the air, which she is. You’ve got make tackles and play really gritty defensively, you’ve got to protect your back line and blow up plays, and she does that so well.
“Offensively, she’s the ultimate point guard for the team. You never see her get caught on the dribble, she’s really quick and crafty with the ball, always looking to change the game with how she passes the ball. Her greatest strength is her ability to never turn the ball over and to change the game with her passing.”
Mignon – who is involved in Next Play Sports and the Kindness Club at East - plans to major in business with her sights set on one day possibly following in the footsteps of her parents and owning her own business.
She chose NJIT because of her comfort level around the coaches and players.
“It was just an extremely welcoming environment,” Mignon said. “That is how I felt all four years at East. I have never felt I couldn’t speak up. I felt very secure with the people around me, and I knew when I was visiting NJIT it was the one because of the people and coaches.”
And what will Mignon take with her from her years as a key part of the East soccer program?
“I actually had to write about this,” she said. “What I will most take with me is I will cherish the moments, every single moment that you have and to just live in the moment because before you know it – it’s going to feel like just yesterday I was a nervous sophomore starting, so just live in the moment.”
From nervous sophomore to confident senior, Mignon has left her mark on the program.
“That’s my favorite part about coaching in high school,” Nesteruk said. “You get to see a kid come into the program that is, quite frankly, afraid of their head coach, and they walk away their senior year, and they’re willing to just spill their thoughts about the game – what they see, what we should be doing differently.
“You get to see a kid grow up and their interests beside the sport. That has probably been the most rewarding portion of coaching this team is seeing a kid like Sof just become a young adult that has other interests and shares them and laughs and jokes with the coaching staff. She has really opened up in a way that I’m not coaching the athlete, I’m coaching a young adult who’s bound to do some great stuff.”
