It’s that time of year when it comes to high school soccer.
The ladies of Wheeling Park will look to punch their tickets to the state soccer tournament at 5 p.m. Saturday when they meet up with Morgantown on the pitch at Wheeling Island Stadium.
Unfinished business awaits in Beckley as the Patriots look to avenge last season’s runner-up finish in the Class AAA finals. But first, they must take care of the Mohigans. Park is led by a strong senior class, bolstered by a bevy of talented juniors and sophomores.
No matter the outcome, three of those seniors’ playing days will live on at the collegiate level in the fall of 2020.
Headlining the group is forward Faith Mealy, who earlier this year decided to sign on with the West Virginia Mountaineers and compete in the Big 12. She is joined by Fairmont State-bound midfielder Emma Delk and center back Annalese Aderholt, who is likely headed to Grove City of the Presidents Athletic Conference.
Three girls, three positions on the field, and three Division levels of collegiate soccer. Their stories are as similar as they are unique, both in how they achieved their goals and what they had to give up reaching here.
It starts with a dream …
Each year, young boys and girls, brimming with energy bound onto their local soccer pitch, are ready to conquer the world.
Long on enthusiasm and short on attention span, they dream of goals scored, juice boxes drank, trophies won, and fun they’ve had with their friends. But, as age and advancement rise and change the shape of the game, so, too, changes the dream, from one of fun to one of the future.
“Ever since middle school, when I truly began to love the game, I knew I wanted to play in college,” Aderholt said.
Delk and Mealy shared similar stories at around the same age. They began to realize evolving abilities could lead to the promise of something more, something greater.
“I started realizing I could take my game to the collegiate level when I was in middle school,” Mealy recalled, noting that while playing for a top program in Pittsburgh, she already had begun drawing attention.
To do so, though, meant leaving the friendly confines of the Wheeling Area Soccer Association programs, pushing through the FC United travel teams, and into Club-level soccer.
And so, it begins …
“I made the switch from travel to club in sixth grade,” Delk remembered. “The switch was intimidating, playing on a team with strong competition that was relatively close meant I had to play in Pennsylvania. It was tough going from my close-knit Wheeling travel team to a club team where I was the odd one out at first.”
Delk found a home with Century V 01 Gold in Pennsylvania, and that has been her home the last five years.
Mealy made the jump first, playing initially for the Victory Express based in nearby Washington, Pa. before later taking her game a step further and joining the Pittsburgh River Hounds Development Academy. The move brought with it near daily trips to Pittsburgh for practice or strength training, not to mention a game schedule that featured stops across the United States for games and showcase events.
Soccer had become Mealy’s singular focus. It had to be.
“I had to give up every other sport and completely commit to soccer,” she explained, noting that it wasn’t just athletics that fell victim to her rigid schedule and time constraints. “I’ve missed school dances, family events, and even lots of sleep.”
Not one to rest on her laurels, Mealy again stepped up the competition, joining Beadling SC in Pittsburgh. That move saw her playing in national tournaments across the U.S., maximizing her exposure. Aderholt stuck with FC a bit longer than her teammates, but she too eventually made the jump, playing on multiple Olympic development teams in the Mountain State. What that meant was the long drives to both Beckley and Fairmont and the end to hockey. Soccer commitments simply required too much time.
“I stayed at FCWU for four years because I really loved it and it was fun to hang out and play with my friends,” Aderholt said. “As I got older, I played for two statewide teams because that’s what you have to do to be a legitimate player – get more and better training and experience.”
Fine-tuning those skills …
High school soccer beckoned, and the final push began.
The girls received invaluable instruction and experience from the from their Club teams, and it showed as both Aderholt and Delk made near immediate impacts for Park and head coach Carrie Hanna. Mealy came later, choosing to concentrate on club soccer. After deciding on the Mountaineers, Mealy joined the Pats for her senior season.
Hanna, a college player and coach herself, is in her second stint as the Patriots coach, owning a state title to her credit. She takes pride in further helping shape her players’ skills and preparing them for the future.
“I try to get them playing habits they’re going to need in college,” Hanna said. “You can get so far through high school with athleticism and things like that, but we try to increase their soccer IQ, give them habits like communication and checking their shoulders and playing quicker, being more aware of spacing and different formations, and how to adjust to those formations.”
Admittedly, they already brought many of those skills to the table, along with a few a coach can’t teach.
“Faith is one of the most competitive people I’ve met,” Hanna said. “She has a whole different mindset when she sees a ball loose or when she’s going after a ball. Her speed of play and always playing at her highest level sets her apart.”
“Emma is tremendous in the air. I said this last year she’s the best woman player I’ve seen in the state in the air, and Annalese is a tremendous defensive player and leader” she added. “She reads and positions to deny the attack better than anyone I’ve seen at this level.”
Each player brings her own skillset to the pitch and each has her own style of play. Like most Division I athletes, Mealy sticks out of the crowd when she steps on the field. Her speed and foot skills, combined with a strong leg capable of scoring from well beyond the inner box, are evident. Delk, meanwhile, has used her size and physicality and turned herself into a lethal attacker both in set pieces, and when receiving crosses in the middle. At best in the air, she’s headed more than a few shots past area keepers.
Aderholt’s cerebral approach on defense is backed by her willingness to give up her body to prevent a goal. She has a penchant for slide tackles and is adapt at keeping scoring plays before they begin to form.
Each girl made sacrifices, missed major life events and gave up other interests, all in the pursuit of a dream. They each credit their families, who made nearly as many sacrifices to allow them a pursuit of a dream.
Come next fall, that once-upon-a-time fairy tale will become their realities, proof that old-fashioned hard work does pay off.
