La Cañada girls’ soccer’s LeClerc receives top league hardware
A concussion forced Mia LeClerc to miss virtually all of last season.
LeClerc suffered the injury while playing for her club soccer team in 2016 and joined the La Cañada High girls’ squad with a few matches remaining. Having recovered from the concussion, LeClerc made it a point to come back to La Cañada this season and make an impact.
LeClerc accomplished her goals, as she excelled as a midfielder and was named the Rio Hondo League Most Valuable Player for the first time.
“It wasn’t fun and I was out of soccer for about 10 months,” said LeClerc, a senior who contributed one goal and three assists in league. “I had to wait to get better [physically] and I really wanted to get back out there. I got to play the final few games last season and it motivated me that much more to come back this year and have a good season.
“It’s my senior year and I’m one of the team captains. My teammates really helped me out, we had a great time in the playoffs and it’s really an incredible honor to get in our league.”
La Cañada finished 12-7-5, 4-1-3 in league for second place behind South Pasadena, which won the CIF Southern Section Division V championship. The Spartans embarked on an impressive playoff run, advancing to the Division IV quarterfinals for the first time since 2014. La Cañada lost to runner-up Ventura, which won the CIF Division IV Southern California Regional championship.
“It’s awesome to see her get that kind of recognition,” said La Cañada coach Kevin Neumeier, who led the Spartans to the league title in 2017. “She was a starter during her sophomore year and then had the concussion, but she came back even better.
“Mia played to a higher level and she’s the heart and soul of our team.”
Receiving first-team nods for La Cañada were Kallie Rushing, Charlotte Tapp and Chloe Kouyoumdjian.
Rushing, a senior, anchored the Spartans defense.
“Kallie always held her own and she was our leader at center-back,” Neumeier said.
Tapp, a junior midfielder, finished with two goals and four assists in league.
“She’s got that great talent and ability,” Neumeier said. “Charlotte made our offense go and she always got back on defense.”
Kouyoumdjian, a senior forward, finished with four goals and two assists in league.
“With Chloe, you could count on her getting at least two good scoring opportunities per game and she found a way to score timely goals,” Neumeier said.
La Cañada’s Ashley Messier, Katie Scoville and Solenn Matuska were tabbed to the second team.
Messier, a junior goalkeeper, had 25 saves and three shutouts in league. Scoville and Matuska, both seniors, stood out on defense. The Spartans yielded eight goals in league and 23 overall.
Picking up honorable mention for the Spartans were senior midfielder Sidney Hwang (one goal and one assist in league) and sophomore midfielder Samantha Mayer (one goal and two assists).
Statistics for the entire season were not available.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
