Freshmen Frenzy: Coates, Olvera lead young Emerald girls soccer team

Enter Jacey Coates and Lily Olvera.

The two Emerald freshmen have put on a show this spring, replacing that goal production and leading the Vikings to another stellar season.

“Me and Jacey, we feel special. I mean, we’re just freshmen,” Olvera said. “We have like three years to come.”

Coates feels the same way.

“It’s really special to me,” she said. “Obviously, first year, and as a freshman as well, getting to be one of the top scorers, I think that’s really cool.”

The first-year duo bring a lot to be excited about to the Emerald girls soccer program. They’re young, but they play like they’ve been playing varsity soccer for a long time. Just last spring, they were captains on Westview Middle School’s team.

This year, they’ve translated their game to high school with ease. Through 11 games, Coates leads the Vikings with 22 goals and three assists, and Olvera isn’t far behind with 13 goals and eight assists.

That has led Emerald to an impressive 8-3 overall record, and it’s in the driver’s seat to win Region 4-3A with a 5-0 mark in it.

A surprise with all that was stacked against the Vikings in the preseason? Not really.

“At the beginning of the season, I definitely saw the potential of the team to go on and at least be competitive in the region,” Emerald coach Jonathan Hughes said.

“We finished third last year and I definitely felt like the gap between us and some of those teams had the chance to be much smaller this year. I think it’s been great with just how everyone’s come together.”

Coates and Olvera’s contributions on the pitch only paint part of the picture of what they mean to Hughes’ team. The two freshmen, along with three others, have helped change the culture inside the program.

“I just think the energy that Jacey and Lily and really all the freshmen bring is much needed,” Hughes said. “I just think that there’s a joy that they bring and just a passion for soccer, and I think the whole team’s really benefited from it.

“They’re happy to be at practice. They’re happy to travel to games. All the time, it’s just smiling, joking, goofing off,” Hughes later added. “They’re serious when we need to be serious but before the game, they’re listening to music in the locker room, jamming out, dancing.”

The Vikings now have three matches left until playoffs start April 30. Their goals are like anybody else’s: go as far in the postseason as they can. Beyond that, though, the team’s future, led by Olvera, Coates and three other freshmen, is bright.

“I feel like we’ve got a great group right now, us five,” Olvera said. “We’re all going to get better together and we’re all just going to keep pushing next season. We’re going to play together. We all play club together … I feel like we’re just going to get better every year.”