Before the leaves began to turn last fall, Kylie Kemp was already drawing attention and double teams.

“Toward the end of last year, I had two or three girls guarding me,” said the Monmouth senior forward. “Every team had one really good person on me. It got really frustrating. I knew if two people were guarding me, than someone is open.”

Kemp had a breakout season. She became the team’s finisher and scored 24 goals,  nearly half her high school career total.

“Everybody clicked,” said Kemp. “I got really good passes. Everybody helped a lot. I scored most of my goals right in the beginning. I got really confident, and I just kept going.”

She also got marked a lot more as a result. That forced her and her teammates to find a counter to that defensive strategy.

“She’s got to learn she’s a marked person now,” Monmouth coach Gary Trafton said. “It’s going to be harder when she gets the ball. They’re just going to bang her.”

In addition to seeing double coverage, she might also see higher expectations this season. Kemp enters her senior season with 53 goals, six shy of Faith Flannery’s school record of 59. Flannery graduated in 2000.

“I have friends that say, ‘Now you have to score like 50,'” said Kemp, who was unaware of how many goals she had in her career until told this week. “I’m like ‘Yeah, okay.’  I don’t really care how many I score. I’m just hoping to help the team win.”

The Mustangs went 12-2 last year before losing in the Western C semifinals to St. Dom’s. A key part of matching that success this year will not only be Kemp’s ability to finish like she did last year, but also for her to execute with teammates when teams key on her.

“At times, she was trying to do too much,” Trafton said. “She has to get rid of the ball a little more and give it to other people. Things opened up for her. Then she knew she wasn’t going to have the ball all the time. She started getting her teammates involved. That took some of the pressure off her.”

While Kemp worked with Ali Trafton, the coach’s daughter, on her shooting technique, she also worked with teammates in trying to move the ball and keep defenses guessing. The Mustangs hope to do more of that this year.

“She has to realize she can’t do it all by herself,” said Trafton. “I think she’s getting that. She’s got to find someone open and she’s got to slip the ball to them. She’s going to get open that way. She’ll get the ball back from them when she’s open.”

Kemp has been working on moving more, forcing defenders to chase and follow her. She’s worked on quick passes and one touches to keep the ball moving and the defense in pursuit.

“I think last year we started doing the quick passes and the give and go’s,” Kemp said. “I think everyone got the hang of it. I think it worked really well.”

With a little more seasoning this year, the Mustangs hope that attack up front will be that much more effective and balanced.  Sidney Wilson has moved from fullback to the front to bring some new skills there. Sabrina Beck and Haley Fletcher are two others who should help. Monmouth also expects strong play and shots from midfielders like Paxton Lessard and Sammy Grandahl.

“I’m just hoping a couple other kids can take some pressure of her,” Trafton said. “That would open things even more for her. We’ve got the legs. We just have to capitalize on our opportunities.”

Kemp isn’t sure yet of her college plans. She’s a standout athlete in basketball and softball, as well.  She’s received interest from colleges regarding basketball and softball. Though she’s sure she wants to stay local, she’s unsure just what school and what sport she might pursue.

“I think I’m better at soccer, but I really like basketball too,” she said.

kmills@sunjournal.com

2013 Fall Preview

• Girls’ Soccer
• Boys’ Soccer
• Golf: Sep. 3
• Field Hockey: Sep. 4
• Cross Country: Sep. 5
• Football: Sep. 6

Copy the Story Link