Sarah Teegarden does more than just score for Wake Forest soccer

The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.

Sarah Teegarden (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2013) freshman, Wake Forest women’s soccer: It’s not all about goals or even points for Teegarden, but the defensive midfielder continues to make a name for herself in North Carolina.

The former Tolog notched her second point (two assists) of the season with an assist in a 4-0 thumping of Miami on Sept. 15. Teegarden has nine shots (two on goal) and has played in all 14 games for Wake Forest.

More than just points, Teegarden’s ability to control the midfield is garnering her nationwide attention. She’s helped solidify a defensive unit of Wake Forest (8-4-2, 3-4-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) that has allowed 12 goals and posted five shutouts on the year.

Teegarden came in ranked 24th in TopDrawerSoccer.com’s midseason rankings of the top 100 freshmen in women’s collegiate soccer, which came out Wednesday.

Wake Forest spoiled Notre Dame’s five-game conference winning streak to open the ACC by forcing a 1-1 tie Oct. 3. Wake Forest has since slipped against two high-ranked foes —No. 1 Virginia (2-0) on Oct. 13 and No. 6 Virginia Tech (2-1) in overtime Thursday.

Kayla Mills (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2013) freshman, USC soccer: While Teegarden contributions aren’t always clear off a stat sheet, Mills’ exploits certainly are.

After shifting from defender back to her normal position of forward for the Trojans, Mills is nearly averaging a point a game after a strong start to the season.

The freshman has started in 14 of 15 games and has a team-high 13 points to show for it. She’s scored three goals and assisted on seven others.

Mills, who is ranked 32nd in TopDrawerSoccer.com’s top-100 freshmen list, most recently came up with a clutch goal in a 3-2 overtime loss to Arizona Friday.

Down 2-0 with 12 minutes to play, she assisted a Marlee Carrillo goal. The score came on a corner-kick pass, sent in by Mills, as players scrummed for the ball before Carrillo knocked it in in the 83rd minute.

The Trojans scored again three minutes later before slipping to 6-7-2, 1-4-1 in Pac-12 Conference after allowing an overtime goal.

USC is also benefiting from the play of Flintridge Sacred Heart graduate Katie Johnson. The sophomore forward has scored four times and owns a hat trick this season.

Brooke Elby (Flintridge Prep, 2011) junior, North Carolina women’s soccer: After helping the Tarheels win the NCAA Women’s College Cup championship last year, Elby is looking to improve on her sophomore season.

So far, the Flintridge Prep graduate has logged 451 minutes in 12 games, with one start, for second-ranked North Carolina. Elby has two assists and eight shots in that span.

The midfielder nabbed her helpers in consecutive games. The first came in a 3-0 home win over Kennesaw State on Sept. 1 and the next in a 1-0 victory over UCLA to kick off the Duke Nike Classic on Sept. 6.

While Elby hasn’t logged a point recently, North Carolina is on a tear and has won six straight games to improve to 13-2, 7-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Tarheels’ biggest game of the season is set for Sunday, as they host No. 1 Virginia, which is undefeated, with a chance to take back the top seat in the NCAA.