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11/25/2014 11:00 PMAllie Stephens was a star scorer on Guilford girls' soccer's SCC and state title run in 2013. This past fall, the senior battled through adversity to return to the field and be a catalyst toward consecutive conference crowns.
The forward tallied 12 goals as a junior to earn All-SCC Hammonasset Division honors for the 21-2 Indians. While she fought leg, calf, and quad problems during the recent campaign, Allie played past the pain to notch four goals and two assists for the SCC champions and repeat her All-Division accolades.
According to Head Coach Scott McMahon, Allie's contributions to the team went well beyond the stat book due to her outstanding intangibles.
"Allie is another senior in our program who could arguably be our most important. This season, she was equally important and she didn't need to score as much to prove it. Instead, she did it by example on and off the field," says McMahon. "She would come out of games in tears because the pain was so unbearable. That, in itself, was inspiring to myself and her teammates. Her heart was unquestioned. Then on the field, it really became clear after she missed a few games to rest and rehabilitate."
McMahon says that Guilford was at its low point following a 5-0 loss to Mercy in early October and felt that the Indians had lost track of their style of play. However, upon Allie's return, Guilford started to get its groove back.
"Something was missing and that something was Allie as she came back against Foran and immediately put pressure on defenders and demanded the ball up front. As her teammates sent the ball up the field, she controlled it and set up her teammates," he says. "Suddenly, beginning with her, we were finding and passing to each other again and controlling games. It began with her. I remember specifically telling our backup forwards Grace Clancy and Paige White to go out there and do what Allie's doing."
Knowing this was her last hurrah with the Indians, Allie ignored any road blocks. When it came to getting back to action, she simply tried to open lanes in driving the Indians' offensive attack.
"My desire pushed me through the pain because I won't be playing varsity soccer in college so I knew it would be my last year and didn't want to go down without fighting," says Allie, who is likely to attend BYU. "I never thought of myself as an all-star, but I always like to receive balls and pass it up to either our center midfielders or Julia Carr and it felt really good to talk to Coach McMahon about how I was helping the team. What I took away from this year was more about how you can help a team in any way."
The key to Allie's success was hustling 100 percent for every moment on the pitch while also being influenced by some wise words.
"I work hard and, whenever I talk to my dad, he says, 'Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard,'" says Allie. "I always hustled on the field, which led me to a great junior year and really helped me this year. For me, it was about giving it your all. With soccer, I just love the whole idea of looking to run, find space, and getting on breakaways."
Allie says that one of the Indians' finest moments this year was a 3-1 win in the SCC final against a Cheshire squad which handed them their only losses in 2013 and had also defeated Guilford at the end of the regular season.
"We lost to Cheshire twice in 2013 so after beating them in our third game this year, I felt we really came together," Allie says. "We got into a lull in the middle of the year, but we started clicking with everything after that, especially in our passing. In the SCC semis versus Lauralton Hall, we were just passing so well, finding gaps, and moving the ball so well."
It was almost surreal to Allie that the Indians remained on top of the SCC this fall and she leaves the program feeling nothing but pride for her club and her community.
"It was crazy. Winning SCCs the second time felt like a huge dream and it was amazing to do it again," says Allie, who thanks her entire family. "I couldn't ask for a better opportunity. I was so proud to be a part of Guilford soccer and couldn't imagine being part of any other town or team."