LFO’S Carver signs on to play soccer at Shorter
The past few years have witnessed a resurgence for the LFO High School girls’ soccer program as they have taken big steps toward earning state playoff berths and becoming contenders in Area 6-AAA.
While the LFO offense has picked up the pace — the Lady Warriors had the fourth-most goals in the league this past season — it’s the defense that has also helped set the tone and one of the Lady Warriors’ top defenders will now get set to take her game to the next level.
Jordan Carver, a backline specialist that can also play in the midfield and fill in at keeper if need be, signed her name on a letter of intent to continue her career at NCAA Division II Shorter University in Rome on Thursday, giving the LFO program its first female soccer college signee in a number of years.
“I’ve been playing (soccer) for a very long time, probably since the age of five,” Carver explained. “(This day) means a lot because I’ve been searching for a college to play soccer at for a long time and I finally found one that I can play soccer at, but I’m (also) going to like being at the college too.”
With Carver providing a boost in the back, LFO’S defense held opponents to just two goals a game on average this past season as they went 9-6-1 overall and 5-3 in area play, missing out on the state playoffs by just one game. The Lady Warriors gave up just 15 goals against area opposition, had three total shutouts on the year and allowed just one goal in a match six times.
“She’s tough and she’s extremely quick and fast, even deceptively fast,” head coach Justin Butler said. “I didn’t realize just how fast she was until this year. We had a player last year that was a track star and she always filled that speed position for us. This year, after she left, Jordan immediately stepped into that role and she was our speed player on defense. She has great technique and skill and that just comes from her years of experience and practice.”
Carver also added that while Shorter will fill an athletic need, the university will also fill a spiritual one for her as well, saying that she chose Shorter because of “the people and how they perceive God.”
“They tell you that no matter what class you’re in, you’re going to hear about the Lord, no matter what. That’s just how their college is,” she said. “I’m hoping to bring a strong faith and a strong defense (to Shorter).”
“Jordan is a great person,” Butler added. “For Senior Night, I always write letters to all of my senior players and we talk about them. I talked about how (Jordan) is a great teammate to the other girls.
“She’s so inclusive and makes everyone feel like they are a part of the team. She’s always finding ways to help anybody who needs help on the field. She’s basically like having another coach out there.”
Carver said she plans to study biochemistry and biology to one day become a veterinarian.