There have been many great players to come through Glendale’s soccer program over the years, which has resulted in the girls’ team making four final four appearances.
Senior striker Reilly Heman is looking to lead the Lady Falcons back to the final four with a career best 35 goals already this season.
As a kid, Reilly and her friends always knew what they wanted to accomplish.
“We always would just dream big,” said Heman.
Reilly’s had dreams of playing at the highest level for years.
“We kind of joked around about it but we knew in the back of our minds that we could do that,” she added.
Glendale soccer coach Jeff Rogers started to see her potential when Reilly played varsity as a sophomore.
“As coaches, you get to coach special kids along the way and she’s a special one,” said Rogers.
As a special player, she makes special plays.
“She has this great stride with the ball on her feet. In an open field when she gets going she has those long strides, and she just blows past people,” Rogers said.
Reilly’s speed is a good compliment to her power.
“She hits the ball probably as hard as some of my boys do in the fall, so she’s a dynamic player,” Rogers said.
“I’m like a really offensive minded player,” Heman said. “A lot of times I’m pretty good at taking people on the dribble and trying to create space for me to take it. I think it’s just fun because you have a lot of time to be creative in the game.”
That mindset helped Reilly score six goals in one game earlier this season.
“My teammates played me the right ball and I was in the right place,” she said.
That’s happened a lot in Reilly’s Glendale career. She scored 32 goals last year while leading her team to the final four.
“To have a player like her on the field she’s just that extra dynamic. She’s a great player to have on the field and our younger players are really coming together around her so they are making great runs off of her,” Rogers said.
All of this talent and hard work has made Reilly’s childhood dream come true, as she’ll be cleating up for the Missouri State Bears next season.
“I’m excited to stay home and I think that it will be such a nice challenge because that is such a high level of soccer. I think it will be fun to get into those practices,” Reilly said.
Before she puts on her Bears jersey, Reilly hopes to fuel another deep playoff run for her Falcons.
