Four More Years: North celebrates Lady Bulldogs' soccer signing

The McKinney North girls soccer program had the bittersweet honor Monday of seeing four of its best sign letters of intent to play college ball: Jasmynn Reber (University of South Carolina Upstate), Michelle Bucy (Texas State University), Kerry Edwards (Dallas Baptist University) and Kacey Ludwig (Missouri University of Science and Technology).

Each has been a varsity starter since their freshman year. North head coach Lance Lovell said they will be hard to replace.

"They're vital parts of the team," he said. "They've been vital parts of varsity for four years now."

The four seniors' relationship goes back even before they began playing for North. Reber said each of them either played together or against one another on club teams before becoming Lady Bulldogs. Since then, they've made an impact year after year, both on the field and in the classroom, and Lovell said they're players he's never had to worry about. They're always eligible and always ready to play.

For Bucy, it still feels like her freshman year. Joining her teammates in a signing ceremony held at MNHS, she said she's been blessed to be there the last four seasons.

Bucy will have the chance to be a first-year starter again when she begins playing for Texas State, as the team will graduate two seniors at her defender position after this season. It's an added reason to attend a school that has been her top choice since she set eyes on its campus in San Marcos.

"It's like I'm on vacation when I go there, every time," Bucy said.

Bucy was also considering Rice and the University of Memphis as prospective colleges but said Texas State was close enough to home that her parents can come watch her play, along with being an all-around better choice for her. A straight-A student at North, she plans on studying biology on her way to becoming a neurologist, a career path she chose in order to better understand her sister, who has cerebral palsy.

"I just have such a limited knowledge of it right now that just to learn more would open up a whole new world to me," Bucy said.

Signing day was also a bit surreal for Edwards, a Lady Bulldogs captain and the team's starting keeper since her freshman year, which was also the first time she ever played the position. Lovell said he noticed she had the ability to play keeper back then, and she agreed to give it a try.

Her progression since peaked with district keeper of the year honors last season.

"Honestly, if you would have told me my freshman year that I would be playing soccer at DBU as goalkeeper, I would have said you're wrong," Edwards said. "Now it's the only thing that I want to do. I like playing soccer and I want to further my career."

Edwards said there was no other school for her but Dallas Baptist, where she plans on studying kinesiology, with the goal of entering physical therapy school to become either an athletic trainer or physical therapist.

Ludwig, the Lady Bulldogs' other captain, wasn't sure at first whether she would play soccer in college at all. What sold her on joining the Missouri S&T roster were her future teammates, she said. The team lives together in one dorm, and Ludwig said it was a close-knit group that is basically together 24/7.

"They really made me feel like I was part of the team already," Ludwig said.

And since many of the players are engineering majors, the school's specialty, help with classwork is always nearby. Ludwig plans to study mechanical engineering.

"At the drop of a dime, they'll come and help you out with your homework," she said.

Ludwig faxed her commitment letter off on Sunday, and the ceremony at North was her third time to sign, or pretend to. The four seniors, their parents and Lovell also gathered Saturday at a local restaurant to celebrate after last week's winter storm canceled their plans for National Signing Day on Feb. 2.

Currently No. 10 in her class, Ludwig also thought about going to the Illinois Institute of Technology, the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Texas A&M. One of her goals for the rest of her senior year is to move up a spot in academic ranking.

Following the team trend in high academic and athletic performance, Reber will enter USC Upstate with enough credits, earned via dual credit courses and night classes she is currently taking, to all but knock out her freshman year. That's especially good news considering the amount of school she will have to go through to become an orthopedic surgeon, her chosen profession.

At USC Upstate, Reber plans on taking her first step into the medical field by earning a nursing degree.

Reber wants to get one thing out of the way before heading off to college, though: beating McKinney. The closest North has come in her time on the team is a shootout win, which is only good for a tie on the district record. She wants an official win this year on the way to a district title for the Lady Bulldogs and a successful playoff run.

North has been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round the last two seasons, a streak all four college signees want to see broken in 2011.

"We have a first-round playoff curse, and we're going to beat it this year," Ludwig said. "That's for sure."

Having Reber, Bucy, Edwards and Ludwig on the team is giving Lovell high hopes. With those four on the roster for their last season, he's not worried about whether or not his younger players will get up to speed. They'll take care of it.

"With this senior leadership," he said, "it shouldn't be a problem at all."

Current Rating: 0 of 0 votes!

Rate File: Select Rating: * ** *** ****

 Plano Apartments
 Plano Attorneys
 Plano Auto Dealers
 Plano Auto Parts
 Plano Auto Repair
 Plano Beauty Salons
 Plano Car Rental
 Plano Dentists
 Plano Doctors
 Plano Flowers
 Plano Hotels
 Plano Insurance
 Plano Loans
 Plano Mortgages
 Plano Movers
 Plano Pizza
 Plano Realtors
 Plano Restaurants
 Plano Storage
 Plano Tax Preparation
 Plano Travel
 Featured
 More...