Simply The Best
ADAMS TWP — The desire to improve is never-ending for Ellie Coffield — and her constant work and attention to detail has led to rare achievements.
The senior midfielder closed her high school soccer career by helping Mars win back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA championships. The Planets were voted the No. 1 girls team in the country by a poll released by United Soccer Coaches last month.
Individually, Coffield was named Gatorade Pennsylvania Girls Soccer Player of the Year following her junior campaign.
She scored 24 goals and distributed 36 assists this season, earning for the University of Pittsburgh recruit Butler Eagle Girls Soccer Player of the Year honors.
“Being a midfielder, setting up my teammates is one of the key roles for me,” said Coffield. “Getting an assist is just as important as scoring a goal.”
The hours of training and practicing will have a positive effect on Coffield moving forward, too.
“There's always something you can improve on,” she said. “I'm looking forward to playing at the next level and I want to make an early impact at Pitt.”
Coffield started all four years for the Planets and finished her scholastic career with 95 goals and 104 assists. It started with her 14-goal, 15-assist effort as a freshman in 2017.
“I was playing against girls who were three or four years older than me and that was a bit intimidating,” related Coffield, “but I expected good things from the start.”
The combination of talent and intangibles made Mars coach Blair Gerlach believe he had a special player on his hands.
“Toward the end of her freshman season, I could tell she wasn't just a player who could fill a role, but a player we could build around,” he said. “It didn't even take her a full season to prove that.”
Coffield scored 31 goals and had 28 assists for the Planets in 2019, after which she was named All-State.
“We win the state title last year and to come back from that for a curtain call, to try and follow that up, it's very difficult to do,” said Gerlach. “But Ellie was a consistent force for us. She was like a general in the middle of the field.”
Coffield does not take lightly the team achievements she contributed to, which included an overall four-year record of 77-5-1, including a perfect 50-0 in section play.
“The senior class this year, it was a special group. We're super-close,” she said. “Our goal always is to have a good run in the playoffs and we were able to bring the team together.
“We've had a lot of success at Mars and I'm blessed to have been a part of it.”
