A record breaking scoring spree by Powell Panther girls’ soccer freshman Ivy Agee ended with a big reward for her impressive first campaign — leading the state in scoring with 39 goals and earning an All-State nod.

“Being named to the All-State team was a big honor and I hope to keep improving each year,” Agee said. “I’ve put in many hours of hard work since I was young and it’s nice to see that it is paying off.”

RECORD BREAKING SEASON

It’s been a long time coming for the Panther girls’ soccer program, which has come a long way since Skyler Collins scored the first goal for Powell High School against Green River in its first season of full varsity action in 2002.

Single season records were hard to come by, with the previous record for goals in a single season coming from Jourdyn Haire with 11 in the 2015 season.

Haire was one of two Panthers who scored double digit goals over the 21 years of the program, with  Haley Wichman scoring 10 in 2013.

Wichman was the unofficial record holder with 19 goals over her four year career; however, Wichman scored one during a forfeited match her senior season, and five goal scorers were missing from matches over her freshman and sophomore seasons.

Another contender for the record came from Kayla Kolpitcke, who scored 18 goals over three years, but was unable to play her senior season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Agee overtook the all-time record with several games to go in the season, and expanded on it on the way to the 39 she finished the year with.

“When I heard about this, I was really surprised but excited at the same time,” Agee said. “To be honest, I didn’t even know or think about this during games — I just went out and played my hardest.”

Agee scored through a variety of ways this season — scoring on long shots, corner kicks, dribbling through the opposing team, free kicks and penalty kicks.

She said that one of the things she tries to do is continually put pressure on the opposing team’s keeper through long shots.

“My mentality when taking some of those shots is to just try and put pressure on the opposing team’s keeper,” Agee said. “If I miss, I just need to forget about it and keep trying to put pressure on the keeper.”

Overall, Agee outscored the Panthers’ entire team in each season prior in PHS girls’ soccer history. Until this year, the most goals in a season from a team was 31 by the 2013 Panthers.

Despite such a strong season, Agee feels as if there is room for improvement moving forward.

“I am still learning when I should shoot or possibly not, but that is part of learning,” Agee said. “When I do make them, it can really put a team on their heels.”

The 2023 edition of the Panthers ended up setting the record for most wins in program history, ending with a 9-7 record.

“I was very excited for the year,” Agee said. “It was going to be my only season with the seniors that I had become friends with over the past year. I just wanted to try and do my best from the beginning to the end of each game so that we could hopefully make state and do well at state.”

ALL-STATE TEAMMATES

In addition to setting records on the field, Agee and fellow freshman Coy Erickson are the first pair of teammates selected to the All-State team in the same season for PHS girls soccer.

Erickson plays alongside Agee in the middle of the pitch, and the pair grew together throughout the season.

“It’s cool that we both were named All-State,” Agee said. “Coy is one of my best friends and for both of us to get it was awesome. We play well together in the middle of the field and I’m so proud of her.”

CONTINUING TO IMPROVE

Heading into the summer Agee said that she and the Panthers are excited about the future of the program, hoping to continue improving after the best season in program history.

She said it’s really important to continue working hard with her teammates to grow, alongside her coaches Danny Agee and Callee Erickson.

“I am very proud of each girl on this team,” Agee said. “Callee, my dad and I can’t wait for what the future has for us. My dad has been my soccer coach since I was 3 years old. I am thankful for all he has taught me through the years and his dedication to watch other players grow.”