Daily Pilot High School Female Athlete of the Week: Clevely’s stuff special
Zoe Clevely gave an impassioned speech to her Edison High girls’ soccer teammates before their final Sunset League game against Los Alamitos on Feb. 7.
The game was big. After a 6-0 start in league, the Chargers were reeling, losers of three straight. Los Alamitos had taken the lead in league by half a game. All the Griffins had to do in the finale was produce a tie to win league.
Clevely, the Edison senior goalie and team captain, felt like she should say something.
“I thought of it the entire week,” she said. “When I woke up that morning, I had a feeling that it was going to be a great game. I knew that no matter what happened, we were all going to be happy at the end and that it was going to work out.
“I told [my teammates], ‘Even if it’s just a high school game, what you put out there defines who you are for the rest of your life.’ It’s my job to bring everyone together, on and off the field.”
Clevely, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, certainly did her part. Coach Kerry Crooks said that she made at least 10 saves in the epic battle at Edison’s turf field. One sequence, where Clevely made four straight saves in the second half, stood out.
“It was a melee,” Clevely said. “Craziness. I was on the ground, crawling, flinging my body across the goal, just doing everything I could to keep it from crossing the line.”
The Chargers’ persistence paid off. In the final minute of overtime, they earned a corner kick. Clevely came up to be a threat in the box. She saw two of her senior teammates deliver.
Mikayla Edwards drove the corner kick into the box, where Taylor Wasserman headed it in. The Chargers had just beaten the rival Griffins for the second time in league on a golden goal, to win the outright title.
The sequence stunned Clevely, who said she blacked out for a few seconds. Usually, she’s the one charging toward her teammates after a golden goal win. This time, she was already up in the box.
“When we score golden goals, I cry almost every time,” she said. “I cried really hard in that Los Al game, not because I was sad, but because I was just so happy and proud of everyone. It was a really special moment, special game. I’ve never experienced that kind of emotion before in a game.”
This week has not been as kind to the senior-laden Chargers (13-8-2). They gave up a late goal and lost at home to Tesoro, 1-0, in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs on Thursday night. Clevely missed the game, as she is on a trip to Washington, D.C. this week through Edison’s Center for International Business And Communcation Studies (CIBACS) program.
Clevely wants to study business at Pepperdine, where she’ll be playing women’s soccer for the Waves. On and off the field, she’s a class act. She was happy for her fellow senior keeper Jessica Neighbors, who got the start in goal Thursday.
“We are best friends,” Clevely said. “I’ve known her since kindergarten. Even though I start, we’re equals. If she wasn’t there, how would I be able to train and get better without her pushing me? And then of course, I’m pushing her to be a better player ... There’s no resentment at all. There’s just respect and friendship and love.”
That’s the kind of attitude Crooks would expect from her team captain. On the field, Clevely has been through a lot in her four years as varsity starter. As a freshman, she helped the team win league and advance to the Division 1 title match.
Last year, as a junior, Clevely earned Sunset League Defensive MVP honors. And she’s proven her talents in club, where she plays for Pateadores Academy, as well as on the national stage. Clevely has been to training camps for the U.S. Under-17 and U18 national teams.
But it’s that attitude that is most impressive to Crooks.
“She has played like a senior since her freshman year,” Crooks said. “She’s probably one of the most mature kids I’ve ever met. Very willing to put the team first over her own goals, which is pretty rare ... She does those little things to make sure her team is first and not just her, even though she has all the accolades to be a jerk.”
Clevely certainly is proud of the team’s progression this year, winning the Sunset League after an up-and-down preseason. It’s hard for her to believe that this senior group will now go its separate ways.
It’s an accomplished group. The Chargers’ two center backs, Wasserman and Emma Nichols, have signed with Wagner College and Dominican University, respectively. Edwards will play at Kansas State, while senior forward Cassidy Helenini is going to the University of San Francisco.
Clevely gets back into town from the East Coast on Saturday afternoon, then will get ready for the Edison winter formal with her friends on Saturday night.
“It’s been really special, being able to play with all of these amazing girls and these amazing coaches,” she said. “These are friendships with my teammates and my coaches that I’m going to have for the rest of my life.”
Zoe Clevely
Born: Feb. 12, 1999
Hometown: Huntington Beach
Height: 5-foot-11
Sport: Soccer
Year: Senior
Coach: Kerry Crooks
Favorite food: Mexican food
Favorite movie: “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Favorite athletic moment: Helping Edison win the Sunset League this year.
Week in review: Clevely had a standout game on goal as Edison beat Los Alamitos, 1-0 in overtime, to win the Sunset League on Feb. 7.
Twitter: @mjszabo
