Hiland girls soccer eyeing midseason surge with talented underclassmen

For the Hiland girls soccer team, which went 11-5-4 a year ago, it was another good year under the leadership of eighth-year coach Conner Lee. The one caveat was losing in districts, something the program hadn’t experienced since 2019.

Then, to start this year, Hiland stumbled against Division I Stow-Munroe Falls 3-1. In Hiland's second game of the season, it evened its record at 1-1 with a resounding 5-0 win over Northwestern.

“It was a good bounce back from the opening match,” Lee said. “Our defense played well, and it was a great opportunity to get a lot of kids a lot of playing time.”

That could be the key for this young Hawks team this year, simply gaining valuable in-game experience. With an overall young squad that is heavily loaded with freshmen and sophomores, that is the major aspect of the game they are lacking. As proven by their start, they are not void of talent.

“We have a lot of talent in those two classes,” Lee said. “But that means that we have a lot of learning to do. Still, we could have a really strong group by the middle of the season and into tournaments.”

Some of the key players are Chanelle Kellogg (senior), Italee Mullet (junior, midfielder), Chloe Mullet (junior, defender) and Ally Mullet (freshman, forward).

Headlining that group is Italee Mullet, who led the team a year ago as just a sophomore with 16 goals and one assist. Kellogg finished third on the team with 10 goals and nine assists, and if the early-season results are any indicator, both are already dialing it in. Add in the additions of Minka, Ally and Lilly and the final product could be very dangerous for opponents.

“It’s a great group of kids,” Lee said. “They have a good balance between having fun and working hard. They really make my job easy and fun every day.”