The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Hadley, Lake Catholic are developing in early going
“Ella was young last year, but she’s different this year. She is ready to play. She had some big goals for us last year, especially in (the state semi). But now she’s a fulltime player, which is great. That absolutely helps.”
Desirable as it may be to try, it’s difficult to surpass the brush with local lore Ella Hadley had last fall.
With a 77th minute goal in a Division II state semifinal victory over Mansfield Madison, the then-freshman reached a pinnacle of sorts for Lake Catholic.
By any reasonable measure, she scored probably the biggest goal by a soccer side in school history, sending the Cougars to their first state final in the sport. Those moments linger in history to be sure, but it’s no impediment for challenges of the present.
The task that exists in this moment is to keep that wave going with a fairly new-look side, in which Hadley is playing a key role.
The sophomore was impressive in a 3-0 win over visiting Madison on Aug. 25, operating as a central midfielder. Her ballwinning, field vision and sharp service were notable and helped dictate the flow of the match against a quality Blue Streaks side.
“Ella Hadley played her best game as a Cougar,” Lake coach Chris Hastings said. “She played probably 70 minutes and she was phenomenal, getting the ball — played that pass off when we needed a goal early to Keka (Babic).
“Ella was young last year, but she’s different this year. She is ready to play. She had some big goals for us last year, especially in (the state semi). But now she’s a fulltime player, which is great. That absolutely helps.”
It especially helps because the Cougars need to retool in midfield after sustaining a graduation hit. Kennedy Newhart, a 2017 first-team News-Herald allstar, was a longtime standout
— Lake Catholic coach Chris Hastings
for Lake either as a center mid or left outside mid. Brynn Morgan was a key contributor in the middle of the park, supporting what was a young back three as a holding mid.
“I know that I’ve been playing better — at least that’s what I’ve heard,” Hadley said. “The team, we have a really good group of girls and really good connections. I think that helps a lot to complete passes and know where each other are running. So that’s good for us.”
Against Madison, the Cougars showed promise with what their midfield play could look like going forward. Hadley was an orchestrator, and Andrea Babic was solid as a ballwinner and facilitator as well. Kennedy Rieple, who primarily plays as a left back, got into midfield at times and was promising in wide play on the ball.
“It was definitely a change, but a lot of the underclassmen have to step up. It looks good,” Babic said. “We’re getting our rhythm together. By a couple more games, we should be good.
“(Ella is) doing wonderfully. Really from that state semifinal, she’s been stepping it up, and that’s what we need. We need the younger girls to step up, because we want to get back to where we left off.”
For Hadley, that has meant taking on a new role as a regular in the starting 11. Technically, she feels she has made the most strides with field awareness.
“I think just making runs through — and Hastings has helped with that,” Hadley said. “He is telling me how to make runs, the proper runs, and how to find people that are making the runs. That has helped out our team a lot.”
As is the then-freshman who scored the biggest goal in soccer in school history working to improve and carry that legacy a little further in 2018. A year ago, after she scored that goal, Hadley spoke of her acclimation to the side.
She and her family moved to Northeast Ohio four years ago from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and as a freshman at Lake, she was deemed a “super sub” by Hastings. Even after the state semi, Hadley was still the ninth-grader carrying her side’s mesh bag of balls onto the bus.
Hadley may not have envisioned herself in Northeast Ohio all that long ago, but challenges of the present don’t stop for anyone. And now, Lake likely can’t envision taking on present challenge without her.
“Along with the state final finish, obviously we didn’t come out on top, but it’s a lot of pressure,” Hadley said. “All the other teams want to beat us. That’s kind of hard for us. We have to come out every game strong, wanting to win.”