Value of center mids embodied by Mayfield’s Klika

Ask outside midfielders or strikers in soccer — and they will tell you immediately if they’re being honest.

Nothing can be achieved in the offensive third — no decent chance or prominent statistic — without the cunning and guile of a capable central midfielder.

As Mayfield has raised its program expectation with its run of three straight Division I district titles, one of the area’s best center mids has been at the forefront.

Much of what Tyler Klika does for the Wildcats may not show up in a box score, but the question of what value it carries for the side doesn’t need to be asked.

“Tyler is definitely a quality player — somebody that we had our eye on even before the match,” NDCL coach Steve Sivik said after the Lions lost to Mayfield, 2-0, on Aug. 26. “We knew about her.” For a trained eye like Sivik, and anyone else who has seen a Wildcats match over the last four years, they already know. Klika enters her senior year as a returning D-I second-team All-Ohioan and first-team News-Herald all-star and in a sense a legacy of the meaningful soccer Mayfield has played the last three years — a 44-15-3 record featuring D-I elite-eight berths the last two falls.

As program fixtures such as Marissa Handel, Krissy Blanchard, Lauren Hradesky and Courtney Favazzo have been the leaders of that charge, young players have been thrown into the proverbial fire in the side and found their way.

Now that group is leading the side, and the lessons learned from the trials of significant late October soccer are on display.

“There’s not a lot of seniors this year, which is weird,” Klika said. “So it’s weird being one. I’m not going to lie — it doesn’t feel like it. But I think how many of us did play our freshman year, we’re like, ‘OK, this is the intensity of playing at this level, like come on — you have to pick it up.’

“We’ve all played together for so long. I think all five of the seniors have played together since we were like 4 years old. It’s insane, it’s so crazy. But yeah, we just realized, even at practices over the summer where Coach wasn’t even there, we were like, ‘This is the intensity level we need to get to the end. We want to get as far as possible, if not further. Let’s go.’ ”

Klika plays a key role in making the Mayfield attack go as a ballwinner, with a workrate to challenge for any ball in the middle of the park, and maybe this area’s best passing sense.

She had 15 goals and 19 assists in her first three seasons for Mayfield, including five goals and seven assists last fall as the Wildcats went 16-4-1 and advanced to a D-I regional final.

This season, Mayfield is experimenting with a 3-5-2 formation, in which Klika is a holding midfielder.

In a side with plenty of returning standout attackers, including Cassie Lewis, Jenna Rock and Catherine Rock, Klika can influence defensive-third play and win possession, and her 1-on-1 skill can allow for the rhythm and runs to develop that make the Wildcats so formidable.

“That’s where I play for club, so after all of the club season, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m pretty used to this. I can do it,’ ” Klika said. “When Krissy played, I played there, and then last year, I switched, and this year, I love playing defensive mid.”

That love of roles can be infectious, which sets a good on-pitch tone for Mayfield coach Matt Lubin.

“Everyone we play talks about Tyler and just how much she does for the team,” Lubin said. “Why would we restrict that? And we kind of put her somewhere where she has the ability to influence a lot of the game.

“T hat said, she has 10 girls around her, and 10 more in the reserves, they’re all going to influence the game. It is a great group, and through and through, they’re going to be ready for any thing that’s thrown at them.”

Much like Klika is now after being thrown in the proverbial fire herself.

And given her approach to the game, asking how much value she carries in a starting 11 is easy to attest.

“It’s definitely pushing me — like, ‘OK, I have to get back there again,’ ” Klika said of being an AllOhioan. “I want to be back there. It’s definitely motivational for me, because my dad is always like, ‘Oh, that’s great,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, I have to do it again, though. Oh my gosh.’

“I think it’s inspirational for the younger girls — ‘Oh, what’s this banquet? What’s this?’ And I say, ‘You’re awesome. You can do it. Let’s go. Let’s all go together.’ You show up and Walsh has five players, and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I don’t know any of you.’ Let’s all go there — come on.”