Winning a district title for Springfield Catholic girls soccer is nothing new.
“I get excited every time, it never gets old,” said senior Haley Brown.
But a state championship has eluded the Lady Irish since 2011. So to do something they’ve done zero times in 13 years, they’ll take the pitch with two players who have already accomplished things this program’s never seen.
“I wasn’t expecting my shutout record,” Haley said.
Haley’s 51 shutouts are ten more than the previous school record holder.
She’s also second on the all-time list in saves and second in goals against average.
“I didn’t even know until a couple [of] weeks ago. So it’s not something I was working towards knowingly at least,” Haley said.
But the Arkansas State signee’s teammates sure notice.
“[Haley’s] always been a stud,” said senior Olivia Swisshelm. “And as soon as she did sign we knew she deserved all of it. She definitely comes up with some big saves against teams we don’t expect to shoot on us and the higher competitive teams we have in the area.”
Swisshelm’s last name is already on the stadium where Springfield Catholic plays. So it’s fitting at the place her grandfather helped make so special, nobody has helped their teammates score more than her.
Olivia’s 72 career assists and counting are eight more than the previous record holder.
“I actually didn’t even know I got [the record],” Olivia said.
“Oh my gosh, it amazes me every time when [Olivia] springs down the field. She’s so fast. And then her crosses are just amazing,” Haley said.
Their statistics in the classroom are great too.
Haley graduated Suma Cum Laude and top ten in her class with a 4-64 GPA.
Olivia’s not bad either.
“I mean I don’t have a 4.644 GPA,” Olivia joked. “It’s a 4-3. So she’s still a little higher than me.”
So it’s a smart bet that any game with Catholic’s saves and assist queens gives these Lady Irish a fightin’ chance.
