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Thursday, May 31, 2018
A smile creeps across the face of Jackson girls soccer coach Justin McMullen as he turns through the memories in his head, reaching back to a time nearly 10 years ago.
His 2018 squad features only two seniors, but his history with them is long and fruitful.
So on the eve of his last days with Lauren Welker and Grace Pehle, he remembers the beginning.
"I just remember the first time I actually coached them down in Memphis, and they had a nice little combination that sticks out in my head right now," McMullen said. "Then you look out there now, this year and the last four years, and they've had several of those combinations together.
"Man, it's all full circle here. Friday is it, right there, to play for a spot in the championship game."
There are many reasons Jackson will play in a Class 4 semifinal Friday against Park Hill at 6 p.m. at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri the program's first-ever trip to state but chief among them are the Indians' seniors, small in number and physical stature but immeasurably large in impact.
Jackson seniors, from left, Grace Pehle and Lauren Welker pose for a photo during practice Wednesday, May 30, 2018 in Jackson.
BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com
This has been a breakthrough season for Jackson girls soccer, but with breakthroughs come the things that precede them: failure and frustration. No one has known that more than Welker and Pehle, the former a four-year starter, the latter a three-year starter and both varsity contributors since reaching high school.
Each year has ended in heartbreak, perhaps none more so than a year ago, when the Indians boasted a talented, experienced group that took a 1-0 lead into halftime of a sectional game against Eureka, only to see dreams of program history dashed by a four-goal second half for the Wildcats, who went on to win the Class 4 title.
Through the disappointments, the Indians learned to persevere, and this year provided the payoff. No Jackson girls soccer team had advanced past the sectional round; these Indians have gone one better than that and given themselves a chance to win a state title.
"I guess ... I never just thought it would happen," Welker said. "For it to happen this year, my senior year, it's pretty crazy. Especially when going in to this year we had a lot of freshmen and we just didn't know how that was going to go and how we'd all play together. It's just worked out really well."
Lifelong friends and teammates, Welker and Pehle provide a prolific partnership up top for Jackson, producing on the field and providing leadership to a team that features six freshmen. Welker heads to Kansas City with 21 goals and 19 assists, and Pehle has racked up 20 goals and nine assists.
"I go back to club days, training them at probably 9 or 10 years old in our Southeast Missouri Soccer Club days," McMullen said. "To see them at this point, with those two right there, even at a young age you knew they had some special tools. They're different styles of player, but to see them come together their senior year and be able to share this moment together, it's really awesome."
Their differences, filtered through friendship, have became the driving force of a Jackson attack that has found the back of the net 100 times while spearheading an historic run.
Jackson senior Lauren Welker poses for a photo during practice Wednesday, May 30, 2018 in Jackson.
BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com
Quiet dynamo
Welker could have gone to Saxony Lutheran. That's where her older sister, Logan, won a pair of Class 1 state titles.
Instead, she chose to attend Jackson, at least in part, she says, because Pehle was there.
"I've really been best friends with her since I was really little," Welker said. "She's kind of part of the reason I went to Jackson, too. She really helped me make friends and get involved in Jackson."
Indians soccer has been the better for it. Scouring the depths of high school soccer in Missouri, you'd be hard pressed to find a more dynamic presence than Welker. Despite often playing against bigger defenders, she sets herself up for success with an excellent first touch and body positioning that makes it incredibly difficult even for opponents twice her size to knock her off the ball. And once she turns toward goal and gets her legs moving, there are few who can run her down.
Jackson's Lauren Welker battles Ft. Zumwalt West's Ashlyn Nichols during the second half of a Class 4 state quarterfinal Saturday, May 26, 2018 in Jackson.
Fred Lynch
It's a package that helped her St. Louis Scott Gallagher club team to tremendous success last summer and earned her a chance to play Division I soccer at Southeast Missouri State in the fall.
"I've had some pretty close speed-wise, but I haven't had anyone control the ball and not miss a beat as she's running with the ball at her feet. Man, she's just dynamic," McMullen said.
"Any coach we've talked to this year says that's the best player they've seen all year, and we're talking some of the top teams in St. Louis. A really special talent, but not only that, you get that talent in Southeast Missouri, man. She's a joy to coach and I'm going to enjoy these last two games, for sure."
Just by being on the field, she affects defenses and changes the game for her teammates and sets the tone.
"I think the best way to describe her would be, she's very sly. She comes in and she gets the job done, but she doesn't have to be this huge motivator and huge, loud voice," Pehle said. "She comes in and motivates everyone with her actions and what she does. That's why we work good together she does that and then I can be the loud one that gets everyone going."
Jackson seniors Lauren Welker, left, and Grace Pehle pose for photos during practice Wednesday.
Dance partner
It's hard not to notice Pehle even before the first whistle blows.
McMullen has developed a unique handshake for each of his players a routine they undergo as each runs out to the center of the field during pregame introductions. But to call what Pehle and her coach go through a handshake would be an injustice. Theirs is more an elaborate, rhythmic ritual.
"We started with just a foot handshake thing; we moved on and did the little, whatever this is called wave thing; we added the robot," Pehle said. "Each year we progressively got more advanced with our dance moves.
"He's fairly decent at dancing. He coaches like he dances. I'll say that."
Before she even kicks a ball, it's clear she does things a little different.
"If you know Grace, that's just kind of how Grace is. That's kind of the type of player she is you improvise," McMullen said. "That's kind of what she's done, even with the handshake. She improvises a lot on the field. Her personality, it's unique in that aspect."
Those unfamiliar with Jackson soccer might hear her homonymic last name being yelled from the sideline and assume she's drawn a nickname from the most iconic individual to ever play the beautiful game. In some ways, it's an appropriate connection Pehle provides a sort of Brazilian flash and deception on the ball alongside Welker's pace and forward drive.
She's also a more vocal presence than her fellow striker.
"I'm more of, I don't know, kind of quiet and shy," Welker said. "She's more, tells people what to do on the field and makes sure that we get done what needs to get done. She's definitely a team leader."
Pehle's development has helped lift the Indians as she has become a more complete player on the field. A year ago, she might have tried too hard to beat a player 1-v-1 or kept the ball on her foot a split second too long; this year, she's become a seamless piece of Jackson's connective tissue.
"I will say this, and no knock to her from last year, but she's more complete this year," McMullen said. "She's looking for her teammates more often and she's got her head up and doing some really good things off the ball as far as her leadership and getting players in the right positions. She's had a great attitude this year. We talked about that at the start of the season, and she's done a great job with that."
Her relationship with the game has evolved as well. A multi-sport athlete who was the basketball team's starting point guard this past winter, she had to be nudged into soccer as a child. Now she drops the word "love" when it comes to the sport and the fruits her work is now bearing.
Jackson's Grace Pehle works against Ft. Zumwalt West's Katlleen Hilke during the first half of a Class 4 state quarterfinal Saturday, May 26, 2018 in Jackson.
Fred Lynch
"At first, I didn't like it as much," Pehle said. "My dad had to pick me up and he was my coach and he swung me around to kick the ball and everything. But having my dad coach me through all of it, he's kind of been the one who's pushed me and to take me out to the fields for extra practice or take me out in the back yard and helped us. He's brought me and Lauren out to these fields multiple times. He's been my big motivator and pushes me to do all these things.
"I think that's why I like soccer the most, because I've built a relationship with my father through it, and I'm just so happy that finally, senior year, it's paying off, all that hard work and everything."
The two Indians seniors will take the field two more times in black and red two more opportunities for Pehle to soak in what she holds closest from her high school soccer career. That will come in the moments before kickoff, when she joins her squad in a circle around McMullen, and she looks into the eyes of the teammates who helped her end on such a high note.
"It's something when I look around the circle and I see all these girls faces, that's in my head forever," Pehle said. "Win, lose, or whatever happens, I won't forget those memories I've had with them."
The other semifinal will feature Eureka (19-5-1) and Lee's Summit West (22-1) at 4 p.m. Friday. The championship game will be at 4 p.m. Saturday.
[Editors note: Correction made to note semifinal opponent as Park Hill.]
