Lewis misses senior sendoff,
but heads to college hot spot
By Chris Walker
Haley Lewis will be in Hawaii this September to play soccer.
She’ll be a freshman for Grand Valley State which scheduled a two-game trip. The Lakers program has earned a nice busman's holiday.
The school, located in Allendale, Mich., won a Division II record sixth national championship in 2019 while putting the finishing touches on a remarkable decade that saw the program bring home five national titles, three runnerup finishes and nine trips to the Final Four in 10 years.
The Lakers, who will celebrate just their 25th season as a soccer program later this year, also have a NCAA record 53-game home winning streak.
(To put that in perspective, Lewis was just 14 years old when Grand Valley State surrendered a pair of second half goals in a 2-1 loss to Florida Tech on Oct. 5, 2016. That was the last time they lost on their home turf. Of course, the Lakers got redemption in 2017, crushing Florida Tech 8-2).
The future is most definitely bright for the Oswego East senior forward, but she was hoping to enjoy a final season with the Wolves this spring as well as her Team Chicago Elite club team in the summer before her arrival in college. Unfortunately those opportunities have been eliminated due to the cancellation of the respective seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I was really looking forward to this year coming off a really good club season,” Lewis said. “For me personally, I had a lot of assists and goals and was playing really well, so I was really confident. Throughout high school I’ve struggled with that a bit. It was not fear but letting my nerves get to me so I wasn’t playing to my full potential.”
An ankle injury sidelined Lewis a season ago with her finishing with six goals and three assists in limited action. She had 18 goals overall coming into this season.
“I had a lot of problems with my ankle, and I had hurt it right before the high school season. Then I hurt it again (almost a year ago) against Naperville North (a 6-2 loss on April 17, 2019),” she said. “In the past I’ve pushed through it, but this one was really hurt so I stopped and didn’t come back until late in the season.”
She was set to prove that she was capable of doing much more personally as well as in helping Oswego East turn around its program after struggling at 6-14-1 season ago.
“I had told one of the assistants, coach (Sean) Kelleher, that 'This is my year,'” she said. “'I’m going to put it all out on the field.'
“So this is definitely eye-opening. You always hear people saying ‘I could’ve done this, I could’ve done that,' but we don’t have another year here.”
Lewis appeared poised for greatness this spring.
“She came in raring to go,” Wolves coach Juan Leal said. “She came in excited. She was healthy, and we were expecting a lot out of her. We didn’t necessarily expect her to carry the team, but to take us in the right direction we want to go, because she’s so fast and explosive with the ball.”
Leal saw a sneak preview of what he hoped was to come from Lewis during some winter indoor training
“She was burying shots in the dome so we got a nice little preview of what to expect from her and in connecting in the middle with Maddy (Frazer) and playing with Allison (Adams) and Alex (McPhee) and the younger girls,” Leal said. “She can be so explosive. While other schools would be aware of Haley Lewis, we have a lot of other weapons in there and stuff, so we were excited.”
Frazer, an NIU commit, has been playing with Lewis for about seven years. Frazer was enthusiastic to see how the seniors could finish up, and she expected a big season particularly out of Lewis.
“Playing with Haley is always so fun,” Frazer said. “I know I can always count on her to speed past a defender and give our team opportunities. She brings so much speed to the game that no opponent can match.
“This year she would do so much for our team offensively. She has the ability to cross it in for teammates or score a goal. As a teammate, she is always encouraging others and working hard on and off the field. As a leader she is always helping out the younger teammates giving them advice and listening to them as a teammate and as a friend.”
The reality that this soccer year wasn’t going to happen has been elongated since an official decision didn’t come until April 21. For well over a month, seniors like Lewis have seen their in-person team contact suspended, leaving young minds to daydream about potential outcomes, both positive and negative, including the official cancellation of the entire spring sports season.
“It’s been very tough,” she said. “I played my last game with my club team in January and didn’t even know it, and that club team was something I look forward to in the summer.”
With her Team Chicago’s bid for a national title in June and July already canceled, her season with the Wolves remained her last hope before college so that became her primary focus.
“Hope for the best and be prepared for the worst,” she said. “That’s what I’ve been telling myself. So I’ve been doing a lot of running and some touches on the ball. I can’t sit and watch TV all day.”
Instead, she’s tried to still help lead her teammates, remembering what it was like when she was only a freshman.
“We have Allison (Adams) and Maddy (Frazer), and we’re not all necessarily super close, but we have that respect for each other, and it shines through no matter what,” she said. “So when this first started happening we had to figure out what we can do ourselves to prepare our team in case we do have a season. We kind of organized stuff just to help each other out, so we are there for each other.”
It’s been quite a different situation for Lewis compared to her freshman year. In 2017, she was playing on a squad that featured nine seniors who were fourth-year players, including star Jasmine Ruiz, who is now playing at Villanova.
Ruiz’s advice was pretty simple: do your thing.
“She said to just enjoy it. She taught me to lead by example and let my play do the talking,” Lewis said. “I remember that senior-freshman bond when I was a freshman with Jasmine, so I know it’s sentimental but bittersweet. And I’ve gotten really close with (sophomore) Chloe Noon and (freshman) Erika Smiley.
Smiley had known Lewis from Team Chicago, but she didn’t get to really start knowing her until tryouts and early preseason training earlier this year.
“She was so welcoming and so sweet, offering me a ride to train and being a good role model before the corona,” she said. “I’m an '05 (born in 2005), and she’s an '02, so she’s always been a couple years ahead of me at Team Chicago. I didn’t talk to her a lot at first, but we started talking a lot through our winter leagues.”
As an offensive threat, Smiley was thrilled to see how she could fit in with a team with four players already committed to play in college.
“I was excited to play with her so I’m kind of upset that I can’t have that,” Smiley said. “I know she’ll do great things in college, because she’s a really good player. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t play together.”
Although it’d be happening quietly and atypically, that senior-to-underclassmen mentorship has continued despite not happening on grass/turf or in the unpredictable Chicagoland spring weather.
“They’ve told us that we need to give 110 percent effort and do our part,” Smiley said. “We still tried to do that at all the practices. I’m just disappointed, because I was hoping to bring some offense, hoping to play a forward or midfielder position to help us score and be more dangerous on the offensive end.”
Eventually Smiley will show what she can do, but it’ll be among a new cast next spring.
“I know I have the next three years so that’s good to know,” she said. “It’s just that I won’t be able to play with the seniors. They’re all good players and good people so that’s the downfall.”
As seniors athletes deal with heartbreak now, the truly gifted ones who are playing at the next level are at least fortunate knowing that they’ll continue playing the sport they love. Lewis is one of the fortunate ones, and she’s going somewhere that wins and wins and wins.
“They only graduated one senior, so the team is going to be big next season,” she said. “I’m excited about it. I went there for one camp, and at first I wasn’t sure about it, but I kept going back, and that’s when I knew it was right for me. I love (the coach) Jeff (Hosler) and all the girls. It’s special. It’s a winning environment and a beautiful campus. I’m so humble and excited to go there.”
She’ll definitely be a part of a program that has some Chicagoland Soccer area flavor to it. Geneva’s Alicia White joins the team with her while St. Charles East’s Chantel Carranza, Naperville North’s Morgan Krause and Metea Valley’s Makenna Schoolman are already fixtures in the program.
As with all seniors, Lewis will always lament missing her final season.
“She came into this season wanting to leave her lasting mark,” Leal said. “Her main goal was to leave the program better than when she got her. That’s the legacy she wanted to leave behind.”
but heads to college hot spot
By Chris Walker
Haley Lewis will be in Hawaii this September to play soccer.
She’ll be a freshman for Grand Valley State which scheduled a two-game trip. The Lakers program has earned a nice busman's holiday.
The school, located in Allendale, Mich., won a Division II record sixth national championship in 2019 while putting the finishing touches on a remarkable decade that saw the program bring home five national titles, three runnerup finishes and nine trips to the Final Four in 10 years.
The Lakers, who will celebrate just their 25th season as a soccer program later this year, also have a NCAA record 53-game home winning streak.
(To put that in perspective, Lewis was just 14 years old when Grand Valley State surrendered a pair of second half goals in a 2-1 loss to Florida Tech on Oct. 5, 2016. That was the last time they lost on their home turf. Of course, the Lakers got redemption in 2017, crushing Florida Tech 8-2).
The future is most definitely bright for the Oswego East senior forward, but she was hoping to enjoy a final season with the Wolves this spring as well as her Team Chicago Elite club team in the summer before her arrival in college. Unfortunately those opportunities have been eliminated due to the cancellation of the respective seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I was really looking forward to this year coming off a really good club season,” Lewis said. “For me personally, I had a lot of assists and goals and was playing really well, so I was really confident. Throughout high school I’ve struggled with that a bit. It was not fear but letting my nerves get to me so I wasn’t playing to my full potential.”
An ankle injury sidelined Lewis a season ago with her finishing with six goals and three assists in limited action. She had 18 goals overall coming into this season.
“I had a lot of problems with my ankle, and I had hurt it right before the high school season. Then I hurt it again (almost a year ago) against Naperville North (a 6-2 loss on April 17, 2019),” she said. “In the past I’ve pushed through it, but this one was really hurt so I stopped and didn’t come back until late in the season.”
She was set to prove that she was capable of doing much more personally as well as in helping Oswego East turn around its program after struggling at 6-14-1 season ago.
“I had told one of the assistants, coach (Sean) Kelleher, that 'This is my year,'” she said. “'I’m going to put it all out on the field.'
“So this is definitely eye-opening. You always hear people saying ‘I could’ve done this, I could’ve done that,' but we don’t have another year here.”
Lewis appeared poised for greatness this spring.
“She came in raring to go,” Wolves coach Juan Leal said. “She came in excited. She was healthy, and we were expecting a lot out of her. We didn’t necessarily expect her to carry the team, but to take us in the right direction we want to go, because she’s so fast and explosive with the ball.”
Leal saw a sneak preview of what he hoped was to come from Lewis during some winter indoor training
“She was burying shots in the dome so we got a nice little preview of what to expect from her and in connecting in the middle with Maddy (Frazer) and playing with Allison (Adams) and Alex (McPhee) and the younger girls,” Leal said. “She can be so explosive. While other schools would be aware of Haley Lewis, we have a lot of other weapons in there and stuff, so we were excited.”
Frazer, an NIU commit, has been playing with Lewis for about seven years. Frazer was enthusiastic to see how the seniors could finish up, and she expected a big season particularly out of Lewis.
“Playing with Haley is always so fun,” Frazer said. “I know I can always count on her to speed past a defender and give our team opportunities. She brings so much speed to the game that no opponent can match.
“This year she would do so much for our team offensively. She has the ability to cross it in for teammates or score a goal. As a teammate, she is always encouraging others and working hard on and off the field. As a leader she is always helping out the younger teammates giving them advice and listening to them as a teammate and as a friend.”
The reality that this soccer year wasn’t going to happen has been elongated since an official decision didn’t come until April 21. For well over a month, seniors like Lewis have seen their in-person team contact suspended, leaving young minds to daydream about potential outcomes, both positive and negative, including the official cancellation of the entire spring sports season.
“It’s been very tough,” she said. “I played my last game with my club team in January and didn’t even know it, and that club team was something I look forward to in the summer.”
With her Team Chicago’s bid for a national title in June and July already canceled, her season with the Wolves remained her last hope before college so that became her primary focus.
“Hope for the best and be prepared for the worst,” she said. “That’s what I’ve been telling myself. So I’ve been doing a lot of running and some touches on the ball. I can’t sit and watch TV all day.”
Instead, she’s tried to still help lead her teammates, remembering what it was like when she was only a freshman.
“We have Allison (Adams) and Maddy (Frazer), and we’re not all necessarily super close, but we have that respect for each other, and it shines through no matter what,” she said. “So when this first started happening we had to figure out what we can do ourselves to prepare our team in case we do have a season. We kind of organized stuff just to help each other out, so we are there for each other.”
It’s been quite a different situation for Lewis compared to her freshman year. In 2017, she was playing on a squad that featured nine seniors who were fourth-year players, including star Jasmine Ruiz, who is now playing at Villanova.
Ruiz’s advice was pretty simple: do your thing.
“She said to just enjoy it. She taught me to lead by example and let my play do the talking,” Lewis said. “I remember that senior-freshman bond when I was a freshman with Jasmine, so I know it’s sentimental but bittersweet. And I’ve gotten really close with (sophomore) Chloe Noon and (freshman) Erika Smiley.
Smiley had known Lewis from Team Chicago, but she didn’t get to really start knowing her until tryouts and early preseason training earlier this year.
“She was so welcoming and so sweet, offering me a ride to train and being a good role model before the corona,” she said. “I’m an '05 (born in 2005), and she’s an '02, so she’s always been a couple years ahead of me at Team Chicago. I didn’t talk to her a lot at first, but we started talking a lot through our winter leagues.”
As an offensive threat, Smiley was thrilled to see how she could fit in with a team with four players already committed to play in college.
“I was excited to play with her so I’m kind of upset that I can’t have that,” Smiley said. “I know she’ll do great things in college, because she’s a really good player. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t play together.”
Although it’d be happening quietly and atypically, that senior-to-underclassmen mentorship has continued despite not happening on grass/turf or in the unpredictable Chicagoland spring weather.
“They’ve told us that we need to give 110 percent effort and do our part,” Smiley said. “We still tried to do that at all the practices. I’m just disappointed, because I was hoping to bring some offense, hoping to play a forward or midfielder position to help us score and be more dangerous on the offensive end.”
Eventually Smiley will show what she can do, but it’ll be among a new cast next spring.
“I know I have the next three years so that’s good to know,” she said. “It’s just that I won’t be able to play with the seniors. They’re all good players and good people so that’s the downfall.”
As seniors athletes deal with heartbreak now, the truly gifted ones who are playing at the next level are at least fortunate knowing that they’ll continue playing the sport they love. Lewis is one of the fortunate ones, and she’s going somewhere that wins and wins and wins.
“They only graduated one senior, so the team is going to be big next season,” she said. “I’m excited about it. I went there for one camp, and at first I wasn’t sure about it, but I kept going back, and that’s when I knew it was right for me. I love (the coach) Jeff (Hosler) and all the girls. It’s special. It’s a winning environment and a beautiful campus. I’m so humble and excited to go there.”
She’ll definitely be a part of a program that has some Chicagoland Soccer area flavor to it. Geneva’s Alicia White joins the team with her while St. Charles East’s Chantel Carranza, Naperville North’s Morgan Krause and Metea Valley’s Makenna Schoolman are already fixtures in the program.
As with all seniors, Lewis will always lament missing her final season.
“She came into this season wanting to leave her lasting mark,” Leal said. “Her main goal was to leave the program better than when she got her. That’s the legacy she wanted to leave behind.”