A force in midfield for the Powell Panther girls’ soccer team during her freshman season, Coy Erickson earned an All-State nod after a strong defensive campaign.

ALL-STATE SELECTION

All-State selections are hard to come by for freshmen in Wyoming, with Erickson, her teammate Ivy Agee and Cody’s Ellie Talich being the only three 3A freshman selections this season.

“There’s a lot of great players out there and I feel very honored,” Erickson said. “I’m thankful for my coaches and teammates that make me better every day and got me to where I’m at today.”

Erickson finished the season with three goals and two assists, primarily playing in a defensive midfielder role despite being selected as an All-State defender.

Continuing to compete and winning each 50/50 ball for the Panthers was one of the strengths for Erickson, who uses her mentality to go into each play knowing that she will win the ball for her teammates.

“It’s not a 50/50 ball for me, it’s a 100 ball,” Erickson said. “Which means I’m going to win it every time it’s up. It’s important that I get it and we attack instead of us having to go back and play defense.”

SHOWING TOUGHNESS

After the success of the regular season, Erickson was struck with an injury just minutes into the state tournament. She showed her toughness by playing all three days of the tournament despite battling an injury that limited her mobility.

She said that toughness came from a speech by her coach, in addition to her teammates stepping up in her time of need.

“I have great teammates that stepped up when I was down and when I wasn’t playing well,” Erickson said. “Coach Danny [Agee] gave me a Kobe Bryant speech because he knows I love basketball the most. Kobe Bryant pushed through injuries no matter what, because he didn’t want to make a fan waste their money to not even watch him play. He always went 100%. I felt like I needed to have a little Kobe Bryant in me and play through it, as much as it hurt.”

ALL-STATE TEAMMATES

Erickson and Agee are the first set of teammates to have been named All-State in the same season for the Powell High School girls’ program.

Erickson said that it was a cool experience to be named All-State alongside one of her best friends after a successful freshman season.

“We’re pretty good friends on and off the field,” Erickson said. “I think it’s pretty cool since we got to experience our freshman year together as All-State soccer buddies.”

CONTINUING TO GROW

The successful season has motivated Erickson heading into the summer, looking to excel in other sports that she gained varsity experience in her freshman year — golf and basketball.

“I want to be the best at everything I do,” Erickson said. “I’m a very competitive person and look forward to competing in all my future years and hopefully getting the same chance to experience All-State again.”

That motivation heading into other sports won’t slow down Erickson from continuing to grow in soccer, with another strong class coming up to help the Panthers improve more after an already historic season for the PHS program.

“(I plan on) working on my strength and agility,” Erickson said. “(I will) continue to build relationships with my teammates now and the girls coming up.”