After a summer of travel and fun, it was time for Callie to buckle down for her sophomore year of soccer at Henry Clay. After a great freshman campaign she wanted to make sure she didn't rest on her laurels and take anything for granted.
We were all very proud and happy that she made the varsity squad again and she loved participating from the other side on the grand tradition of toilet-papering the homes of the new varsity team members. It is a great group of girls and Callie enjoys the time she gets with them on and off the field. The team lost some strong players from the year before but they were ready for the challenge ahead.
After playing much of her freshman year at the forward position, Callie adjusted to being one of the outside wings/midfielders. It required a lot more running in the transitions from offense to defense and back. Her time in club playing defense certainly helped her be effective on both sides of the ball.
One of the big adjustments for Callie in the new role on the wing was also mental because she was not the point person for the offense as much. In her first year on varsity she led the team in scoring, but now she was supposed to create opportunities for others more than focus on scoring. And in the first month of the season as the team worked to get into a rhythm Callie played well with two goals and five assists. She was also proving to have very reliable corner kicks, with two of her assists coming off her deliveries.
It was an up and down season for the team and for Callie as well. Henry Clay had a nine-year streak of winning their district heading into this season and to keep that streak alive they would have to come together as a squad. At times they looked unbeatable and at other times they struggled.
Regardless of how the team was doing, however, the team dinners, morning bagels in the parking lot, and just the overall camaraderie continued to feed Callie's soul. Through the ups and downs, and there were plenty of both, Callie never stopped loving her teammates and being part of the team.
And as happens with every mad rush through the season, districts were upon us before we knew it. Our first game was against Scott County, a rematch of a thrilling 3-2 Henry Clay win from earlier in the season. This game proved to be even more exciting as Scott County took an early 2-0 lead and had the Blue Devils on their heels. But Callie and crew dug deep and tied it up by halftime. Less than a minute into the second half Callie scored a go ahead goal and the show of offense truly commenced. At the final whistle the scoreboard registered a 6-4 victory for Henry Clay.
On to the championship game we went. It was a rematch of the previous year's district championship against Frederick Douglass. Henry Clay won that game 2-1, but in this regular season Douglass had beaten the Blue Devils pretty handily 4-0. Fortunately this game was a much better contest. Unfortunately it ended with a 2-1 defeat.
The good news is that the runner-up still moves on to the regional tournament. This meant the girls had at least one more game to play. And the Blue Devils received their 2nd place district trophy eager to move on and show what they were made of. When the schedule came out they were headed up the road to Georgetown to play Great Crossing High School.
The Great Crossing field is where Henry Clay had won districts the previous year so they felt confident going into the match. To say this was an exciting game is an understatement. As was the case at points during the season, the girls fell behind early and clawed back. The game went back and forth heading into the final minutes. A free kick goal put the Warhawks up 4-3 with only 4-5 minutes left. The Blue Devils refused to give up and literally fought to the very last second. There was one second left on the clock and the referee had the clock stopped to allow Henry Clay to take a corner kick. Callie delivered a beautiful ball and Grace Plummer headed it into the back of the net. As Blue Devil fans went bananas the referee signaled that the goal did not count because time had run out. Safe to say there was a flurry of emotions and one of the Blue Devil assistant coaches got a red card in the process. Such a difficult end to the season.
And just like that, Callie's second year of varsity soccer at Henry Clay came to an end. It was a tougher year than the first one, but no less rewarding in the end because of the bonds she continued to build and the joy she continued to have playing with her teammates.
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