Two seasons ago, a talented Archbishop Spalding freshman broke a 4-4 tie in a girls soccer game against Catholic. The line-drive shot came from 35 yards out.
“It was just steamin?,” Cavaliers coach Bob Dieterle said.
Assistant coach Bob Wagner said it might still be going.
Christine Nairn?s talent is still going, too. Now a junior midfielder, Nairn has helped catapult Spalding to an 11-0 start heading into tonight?s game with McDonogh (8-2-2).
“They?re always a good team,” Nairn said. “Really hard to beat, but hopefully we come out with a win.”
That game will loom large in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference standings.
“I think if we keep playing how we?re playing, we can go undefeated again,” Nairn said.
Aside from her role with the Cavaliers, Nairn is a member of the under-17 U.S. national squad and recently spent a week in California training with the team.
“Of course I miss my girls,” she said of her Spalding teammates. “They?re some of my best friends here, but it?s always fun to go away and represent your country.”
She?s been with the national team for two seasons. She also plays club soccer and is a member of the basketball team at Spalding.
Dieterle and Wagner saw her play soccer as an eighth grader.
“You could tell,” Dieterle said.
“We were very impressed,” Wagner added.
Nairn?s soccer experience started early. She watched her two older brothers play and always had a soccer ball at her feet. That familiarity has helped her game reach another level. In doing so, she has become the target of double-teams, extra attention and even the occasional flying elbow.
“Yeah, a little bit,” Nairn said. “I just laugh it off. It?s high school. It?s supposed to be fun.”
But she also has a competitive edge and continually wants to improve. She scored seven goals as a freshman and added 17 more as a sophomore. This season, she has tallied eight.
“We don?t look at her and say, ?You have to put a few away,? ” Dieterle said of overutilizing his junior?s talents in a game like tonight?s.
Nairn might be more valuable in drawing attention away from her talented teammates.
“In some respects, we don?t even know what her limitations are,” Dieterle said.
Nairn?s dreams are lofty, but not surprising.
“That?s always been a dream of mine to play in the World Cup some day,” she said. “But I?m just taking small steps right now.”
