Thursday was a special day for Woodrow Wilson goalkeeper Ally Arthur, in more ways than one.
Not only was it Arthur’s birthday, it was also the day that she made her college plans official.
With family, coaches, teammates and friends filling the Woodrow Wilson Auditorium Thursday, Arthur signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer for Glenville State University.
“I am nervous, but I am also really excited,” Arthur said. “It is just a big step in life, really. I am a little overwhelmed with excitement and nerves, but overall I am excited and ready to try new things.”
Although she is more than capable of playing at the next level, Arthur originally had concerns about how soccer would mix with her academics.
“This is a very big deal for me. At first I had no interest at all in playing,” Arthur admitted. “Then the coach reached out to me and it really opened my eyes to college sports itself.”
“I was really worried about time management with sports (and academics),” Arthur went on to say. “The coach gave me one of the players (phone) number and she texted me. That calmed me down completely. So, that was really awesome.”
Having played soccer since she was eight years old, the move to keeper was not love at first sight and took some adjustment.
“I moved to keeper when I was 10-to-12 years old. One of our keepers stepped down, so I moved back there. I used my feet for a good two years because I didn’t want to get hand-ball,” Arthur said, laughing. “I hated it at first. I didn’t like it back there. It was terrifying, but I gained a really big love for the position.”
Arthur has been the starting keeper for the Flying Eagles the last three seasons and recorded over 100 saves this past year against the toughest teams in the state.
“Freshman year I was center defense. It was a little nerve wrecking moving to keeper, but I didn’t have a problem with it,” Arthur said. “We do play really tough teams, but as a senior, nerves weren’t a thing.”
Woodrow Wilson girls head soccer coach Julie Agnor has known Arthur for a number of years. She is also aware of the challenge ahead to replace a talent like Arthur between the pipes.
“I have known Ally since she was probably in third or fourth grade,” Agnor said. “My youngest daughter has always played with her, so Ally has been more than just a player. She is like one of my kids.”
“To watch her at this stage of life is exciting and sad” Agnor continued. “I remember coaching her in grade school and middle school. She was always so excited to play. It is going to be a sad time next year. Replacing Ally will be a challenge because she is special.”
Over the last two seasons, the senior keeper has been a key cog in the Woodrow Wilson machine which has won back-to-back sectional titles.
“Ally has worked her butt off and kept goals from going in that normally would get put in,” Agnor said. “She can definitely play and she has been a force to be reckoned with. Those players are hard to find.”
Agnor also talked about what has made Arthur such a great teammate and why she feels her keeper will be a success at the next level.
“Ally cares about her team and loves those around her. Those are really good characteristics. She wants her team to be good and she will push her team. She is the one that says “get it together, it’s time to play,” Agnor explained. “She is very coachable and Ally will do whatever the coach asks her to do. As long as she keeps that mentality and doesn’t let herself get down, she will be fine.”
The future Pioneer said she wants to get her undergraduate degree in Exercise Science to eventually become a physical therapist.
In addition to getting the offer to play soccer, Glenville State also provides the learning environment Arthur was hoping to find in college.
“Glenville State is a smaller campus. I didn’t want to go to a huge school. They mentioned the class sizes to me and they are really small. The teachers do more one on one stuff. It eased my mind a lot with sports,” Arthur said. I know two girls that play now as well, Ivy White and Morgan Wills. That helps out and it’s not very far away.”
