College-bound Fenwick players excited for tourney

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11:32 PM Wednesday, October 19, 2011

By Rick Cassano

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — College soccer can wait.

Four Fenwick High School girls have committed to play at the NCAA Division I level next year, but the seniors are eager to make one last statement as Falcons.

“Honestly, I don’t want it to end because I love high school soccer,” defender Selby Smith said. “We still have that one goal, and it’s to go to state. We’d like to do that this year.”

Smith has committed to Indiana State with teammate MacKenzie Hamilton. Sydney Neal is headed to Miami University, while Morgan Madden will play at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW).

“Having the opportunity to go to college and do something that they love is something most people don’t get a chance to do,” said Fenwick coach Tom McEwan, whose squad begins Division III sectional play at home tonight against Yellow Springs. “I’m proud of all of them for all the hard work they’ve put into this.”

Nobody is more eager to begin the postseason than Neal, a center midfielder who’s been sidelined all season after suffering a knee injury last spring.

She finally received medical clearance to play this week and is slated to be on the field tonight.

“I am so sick of watching,” Neal said. “At least I’m back now. It’s better than nothing. I had to miss the tournament my freshman year.”

She tore her left anterior cruciate ligament that season and underwent five-plus months of rehab. Last May, Neal snapped her right ACL while playing for her club team.

“I was kind of asking myself, ‘Why me?’ ” she said. “But I can tell you the whole process was 100 percent easier this time. I knew what was going to happen and what I needed to do to get back.”

Neal committed to Miami before her junior season. It came down to MU and Dayton.

“It was such a hard choice,” Neal said. “I just wanted to be close to home, and those two happened to be my final two. I just loved Miami. I don’t know why.”

Neal, who’s planning to major in physical therapy at Miami, hopes to play a lot tonight.

McEwan said she won’t start, and he isn’t sure how long he’ll let her go. He’s expressed concern about her playing at all this fall.

“I would hate to see anything happen to her,” McEwan said. “But I talked to a couple different college coaches, and they all said the same thing — regret is a two-way street. You don’t want her to look back one day and say, ‘I wish I would’ve played.’ It’s hard to tell someone as passionate about soccer as she is that she can’t play.

“I talked to her family. I talked to her doctor. I talked to her,” he continued. “I told her ultimately I’d respect her decision. She took about five seconds and said, ‘I want to play.’ ”

Neal broke several braces when she came back to play as a sophomore. She’s wearing a brace now, but plans to ditch it after the prep season ends.

Smith and Hamilton both became enamored with the Indiana State campus when they visited. They’ve been friends for a long time, but didn’t necessarily base their decisions on each other.

“It was just coincidence, but it’s nice to have someone I know going to the same school,” said Smith, who’s uncertain of her major. “Indiana State is very nice. It’s very spacious with a beautiful soccer facility.”

Asked if she and Hamilton would be college roommates, Smith laughed.

“We love each other, but we fight like sisters,” she said, “so we might have to go separately.”

Hamilton, a forward, said she had an interest in Purdue. Scholarship money dried up, though, and she took an immediate liking to Terre Haute-based ISU.

“I actually liked it a lot more than Purdue,” Hamilton said. “Once I saw Indiana State, I realized Purdue would’ve been too big for me. It would’ve been too hard to get from place to place without having a bike or taking a bus.

“I loved my coaches at Indiana State,” she added. “I think that’s really what made me make my decision.”

Hamilton is looking at a double major of psychology and criminology. “I want to specialize in studying body language and profiling,” she said.

Madden, Fenwick’s goalkeeper, is focused on education and chemistry. She’s not sure of her exact major at this point, but will likely work toward becoming a chemistry teacher.

“I could get a technical degree from Purdue, or I could get an education degree from IU,” Madden said. “IPFW was the best of both worlds for me — play D-I soccer and get a Big Ten degree. I need a good degree that will take me somewhere. I can’t use soccer the rest of my life.”

She committed to IPFW last spring and said that commitment has helped her this season. Some players slack off once they’ve committed. Not Madden.

“I think it’s kind of helped me gut up and get better,” she said. “I’m preparing for the next level. I know it’s going to get harder, but I like challenges.”

Madden will be in goal this evening when top-seeded Fenwick (8-3-5) kicks off what it hopes will be a long tournament run.

The Falcons are ranked sixth in Ohio and getting healthier. All signs are good for a team that’s stacked with 12 seniors.

“We’re battle tested,” McEwan said. “The win-loss record is not as important to me as the product on the field, and they’re probably playing their best soccer right now.”

MacKenzie Hamilton (from left), Selby Smith, Morgan Madden and Sydney Neal are all bound for Division I colleges.

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