Riley McBee
A fixture in net for the Ridgeland Lady Panthers for the better part of the last four seasons, recent graduate Riley McBee has not only been a top performer for the Black-and-White, but an unquestioned leader, on and off the pitch.
One of the top goalkeepers in the northwest Georgia area, the sure-handed McBee has been one of the big reasons for the resurgence of Lady Panthers’ soccer.
Today, she is being honored as the 2021 Walker County Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year.
“It’s really exciting,” McBee said. “I was really excited when I found out about it.”
The former Chattanooga Valley Middle School Eagle found her way into some matches early on as she split time in goal her freshman season. However, by the time her sophomore campaign rolled around, McBee was fully entrenched as the starter and ended the year ranked in the top 30, nationally, in total saves, according to MaxPreps.com.
Before her junior season was ended early due to COVID-19, McBee helped Ridgeland to four wins and three ties in its first 10 matches, recording an impressive four consecutive shutouts during one stretch.
She would use those types of performances as a springboard into 2021.
With a solid defense playing in front of her, the stingy Lady
Panthers went 6-7-1 overall and 3-3 in Region 7-AAAA. A 2-1 region home win over Pickens in April would secure Ridgeland’s first state playoff berth since 1998.
Individually, McBee ranked fourth in the state (per MaxPreps) with 11.8 saves per game, while her 165 total saves for the season was sixth in all of Georgia (per MaxPreps) and
45th nationally. She capped the regular season with a shutout of Christian Heritage on Senior Night.
“It was an awesome season for all of us,” she explained. “I was just happy to be a part of it and happy to see how much the team has grown over the years.
“I think I did better than my past seasons for sure. I was happy to see how much I’ve grown from then until now. Communication has been a big thing. Just communicating and letting my teammates know after I judge how certain balls are going to go to them and stuff like that.”
She said her favorite memory came in what turned out to be the final match of her junior season.
Facing favored Southeast Whitfield, the Lady Panthers played toe-to-toe with the Lady Raiders and got the match to a penalty kick shootout. There, McBee came up with not one, but two huge saves to help Ridgeland to the upset.
“It was stressful, but it was definitely fun and worth it all in the end,” she added.
McBee will suiting up next year at nearby Covenant College, but she will not be too far away from the school and the team that she said made her last four years so memorable.
“I’m excited about Covenant, but I’m going to miss all my friends and teammates,” she said. “I’ve played with these girls forever. We became so close and it was so hard to say goodbye, but I definitely hope I left (the program) better than I found it. That’s a big thing of mine. I think you should leave things better than you found them and I’ll be happy to come back and see how the team has grown this next season.”