Senior Provides Leadership, Timely Goals for Francis Howell Central

When a team has to perform in the clutch, it never hurts to have experienced senior leadership at the helm.

And Francis Howell Central senior forward Shelly Hassall proved she could perform in the clutch against Fort Zuwalt East last week. Hassall scored her third goal of the season with three minutes and 40 seconds left to play. The .  

“I feel like I played harder toward the end of the game,” Hassall said. “I always score toward the end.”

The Francis Howell Spartans improved to 4-4 with the win.

“We’re only going to get better,” Hassall said on the importance of the win. “We’re a very young team. All of the younger girls will step up and play better. So, we can only go up from here.”

The Spartans have just three other seniors aside from Hassall: Katie Westermann-Long, Lexie Mooney, and Ashleigh Harris. Hassall, Mooney and Harris serve as captains.

“All of the younger girls listen to us really well,” she said. “It’s a positive. We can get the team to come together.” 

The Tuesday match wasn’t the first time the two teams met, as Fort Zumwalt East defeated Howell Central 1-0 in penalty kicks on March 25.

“We went into penalty kicks on Friday and lost,” Hassall said. “When we were out in the huddle I told the girls that I didn’t want to go through that again. Everything seemed to click. We went out there as a team today.”

The Spartans encountered cold weather and a wet field when squaring off against Fort Zumwalt East this week. Rain fell before the match and at times during the match, but Howell Central has faced more than one cold and wet game this season.

“We’ve played in a lot of cold weather,” Hassall said. “It was rainy on Friday (against Zumwalt East). About every game has been cold and wet. By now, we’re used to the weather.”

Hassall started earning varsity time fairly early in her career. After playing junior varsity as a freshman, she started earning varsity time as a sophomore.

“The girls around her get better, faster, and stronger,” she said. “You only have to work harder and the harder you work the better you’ll be.”

Not strictly a one-sport athlete, Hassall also played golf her junior and senior years.

“Golf is so much different,” she said. “You have to be so patient. You can’t get really hot headed. If you get hot headed here, you just lay a girl out, but in golf you can’t do that.”

Hassall started playing recreational soccer when she was in kindergarten and has been playing select soccer continuously since the third grade. She plans on giving up soccer when she starts college next year, but the senior has no regrets in dedicating years to the sport.

“I’m so happy I played soccer,” she said. “It’s just something love to play.”