Francis Howell Senior Powers Soccer Team

When a forward tries to put the ball in the back of the net in a prep soccer contest, he or she can’t go it alone.

And Francis Howell senior forward Melanie Hunt knows she can depend on her fellow forwards night in and night out. Hunt, senior Julie Mooney, and freshman Jordan Catalano have proven their ability to score goals this year. Hunt and Mooney have each netted three goals while Catalano has eight.

“This is the first year Jordan and I have played together,” Hunt said. “She started out at junior varsity but in the first game of the season she played at varsity and scored the first two goals of the season against St. Dominic. She works very hard and it’s easy to play up top with her and Julie (Mooney), we’ve been playing together since seventh grade and that means we know how to play with each other.”

The Francis Howell Lady Vikings improved to 5-0 with a win over Fort Zumwalt South on Tuesday. Hunt, Mooney, and Catalano each had a goal in the 3-0 victory.

“We had a lot of expectations going into this year,” Hunt said on the good start. “We won sectionals last year and we knew the incoming freshmen were good and would bring a lot of momentum to the team. Our first game being against Dominic, we knew we had to bring everything we had and we played very hard in that game. In all of the other games we’ve kept up our momentum and played hard. Now that we’re 5-0, as know we can play with any team.”

Hunt said the Lady Vikings have aspirations of making it to the final four this season.

“We are doing well know but we have to keep improving and getting better,” she said. “We’ve started out the year good but we still have a ways to go before we can make it that far against all of the better private school teams.”

The senior forward started playing varsity soccer as a freshman. She’s a part of a core of seniors that started at the varsity level in their first year of high school.

“Jorie Clarkson, Julie Mooney, Ally Rodriguez and myself all started playing varsity as freshmen,” she said. “We we’ve been at if for four years. As freshmen, we knew we had to work hard and we’ve all made impacts on the team in all of our positions.”

While Hunt realizes the value of the Lady Vikings’ offense, she also appreciates the team’s defense.

“We just need to stay on our marks and pressure the ball,” she said. “At the beginning, in practice, he had trouble staying on our marks but now the defense is more organized.”

Not a one-sport athlete, Hunt plays both softball and basketball.

“I play in every season and it makes me mentally tough,” she said. “Throughout my life I’ve been mentally tough and I think it teaches you to work as a team because all the sports I play are different.”

Hunt will continue her soccer career at Truman State, a Div. II school in Kirksville, MO, next year. She wants to start off her career by starting every game her freshman year.