PENDLETON — Another day of open field workouts for the Pendleton Heights girls soccer team is over. After three hours in the nearly 90- degree heat and running up and down the field, the players disperse from the team huddle and go their separate ways. Most head home with their parents or jump into their cars in search of air conditioning on their way to a well-deserved shower and an evening off.
But not Kate Cowger.
Most nights, she sticks around to keep playing with the boys soccer team, which practices after the girls. On this evening, the boys have the night off, but Cowger still found a friend with whom to work on footwork and keep playing, long after practice had ended.
Soccer is what she loves.
“I’ve been playing soccer since I was 6 years old,” she said. “To get to play in high school is really fun. I play club soccer year-round — it’s my passion.”
Cowger is a four-year starter for the Arabians, something she takes a great deal of pride in accomplishing.
“It’s getting to play with these girls for me,” she said. “When I was a freshman, I didn’t know anyone else because I was the only freshman on varsity. They all just helped me get into things, and they’ve been doing that ever since.”
Three of those players who helped her along — Kirby Barger, Sam Hammel and Alicia Schrink — have graduated. Cowger said she learned a great deal from those players that she can apply to being a senior leader for the 2017 Arabians.
“When I was a freshman, I looked up to the seniors,” she said. “And even last year I did, like Sam Hammel. She was a great team captain. Her skills at getting everyone together and hyped up really meant a lot to me.”
Last season ended in heartbreak as the Arabians lost 1-0 in sectional to a quality team from Hamilton Southeastern. Cowger said that loss, coupled with the continued upward trend of the program, has her looking forward to a successful season.
“That motivates me a lot,” she said. “It would be really nice to get a sectional win under us. My sophomore year, we were really close, too, and last year even closer. I think maybe this year we can pull out a sectional win.”
Cowger runs track in the spring, plays the piano and serves as a lifeguard at Alvin D. Brown Memorial Swimming Pool. She will be a rookie EMT this year, which will be a valuable experience for her intended career.
“It’s going to help me; I’m going to go into the medical field,” she said. “I’d like to be a neurosurgeon. Just being in the hospital environment and being an EMT would really help in that area.”
But right now, she is focused on enjoying her senior year of soccer.
“We want to keep having fun, no matter what,” Cowger said. “That’s the whole point of doing this — to have fun and work hard.”
