After another strong season on the field the Powell High School girls’ soccer team reaped the benefits of postseason honors at the 3A level. Ivy Agee became the first four-time All-State selection for the Panthers, junior Emery Hernandez earned her first selection in soccer, sophomore center back duo Charlie Eastman and Jesi Agee earned their first honors of their high school careers and freshman Charlie Taylor was selected after her first season.

FOUR TIME HONOREE

Ivy, who has been leading the Panthers the last four years all over the field, became the first Panther girl to  earn All-State every year of her career.

“It means the same as the past few years, it’s always an honor being chosen for it,” she said.

While still leading the team in goals, 33 for the season, Ivy felt this year especially she grew as a leader and was able to play more of an assister role on the team this time around.

“I feel I’ve grown more as a leader the past few years. I love helping underclassmen and even some upperclassmen to help them understand certain techniques better,” she said. “I was able to take on more of a team role by choosing to play more through balls and passes this year which was good.”

That goal tally brought her overall career tally to near 150, blowing away the old school record away which she broke during her freshman season with 39 goals.

Ending her career on the Panthers, Ivy was able to play with two of her younger sisters, as Jesi earned All-State honors as a sophomore this season and Mady contributed a number of goals as a freshman.

“It’s always an experience playing with them because you never know what reaction you’ll get from either one when I give them a pointer on the field. I’m glad I got to finish my season with them both, it was so fun,” Ivy said.

Leaving the program, Ivy will say goodbye to a team that placed at state each of the past three seasons, including a state championship appearance a year ago, but will miss her teammates and coach the most.

“I sure will miss my teammates and having my dad [Danny Agee] as my coach will be the biggest thing I will miss,” she said. “I am thankful for the 18 years I have had with his coaching and also for having teammates who wanted to be there and put in the work.”

ANOTHER ACCOLADE

One Panther added an unexpected All-State honor to her all-around strong career already, as Hernandez earned the All-State soccer nod to add to her recognitions in basketball and golf.

“I wasn’t really expecting All-State or All-Conference this year because I did join the team a few weeks into the season. I was surprised, but very excited for me and all my other teammates that got it,” Hernandez said.

She said that finally adding soccer was a goal of hers this year, after coming up just short a year ago when she was named All-Conference.

“It was my goal last year as a sophomore to achieve All-State in all three of the sports I play, but fell short in soccer which stung, but I knew that I couldn’t let that affect me this year,” she said.

This year Hernandez played all over the field for the Panthers, serving in the defense, midfield and attack at various points, scoring nine goals.

Competing through this season she said that she felt her footwork got better, but her attitude once she joined the team helped reignite a spark that she hadn’t felt anymore.

“The last few years I couldn’t find the love for the game, and this year something sparked with this team and these coaches that just relit it for me,” Hernandez said. “Coach Agee has a great understanding of the game of soccer and it’s a privilege to be able to see how he implements drills into practice that help us in the game. He’s a huge reason why this program is thriving for the past few years and will continue to thrive.”

Hernandez added she believes that the offseason continues to be the area where athletes make the most strides, and while she’ll be focusing primarily on basketball where she is a two-time All-State selection, she’ll continue to participate in soccer so she is not rusty moving forward.

“Even though I joined a little later in the season, I appreciated the team, coaches and fans for welcoming me. I was nervous coming in late, but after the first few minutes of practice I knew I made the right decision,” she said.

FIRST TIME SELECTIONS

The center back duo of Jesi and Eastman received their first All-State recognition alongside the freshman Taylor.

“It was a huge honor and something I worked really hard for all season. Being recognized as an All-State player as a sophomore motivates me even more because it shows that the work I’ve put in is paying off, but it also reminds me that there’s still room to grow and improve,” Jesi said.

Eastman reciprocated the same sentiments, saying it was a huge honor to have her hard work recognized, and motivating her for the future to keep improving.

Eastman said the center back partnership was important this season for the team, as she shifted inside from left back a year ago, forming a  partnership with Agee as well as Hernandez at times.

“Playing alongside Jesi was great because we trusted each other and communicated well. We were able to work together to keep the defense organized, and having that chemistry made it very easy,” Eastman said. “We even got a nickname from a friend, icy hot, because Jesi is willing to go up and make an offensive move while I keep the back line calm and keep us together.”

Contributing to that offensive attack of the Panthers, Jesi added six goals this year.

While Jesi formed a strong bond with Eastman, she said another important thing for her this year was earning the honor alongside Ivy for the first time.

“It made the experience even more special. We’ve spent so much time playing and supporting each other throughout the years, so being recognized is something we’ll always remember,” she said. “It’s exciting to share an accomplishment like that with someone who’s been such a big part of my soccer journey.”

Just ahead of that duo was Taylor, who controlled the field for the Panthers from the defensive midfield position, adding three goals  — all from a hat-trick against Pinedale — while helping ensure the Panthers retained possession a number of times.

With all of those recognitions, Ivy said that Taylor as well as everyone else on the team showed significant improvement, stepping up to the occasion this year.

“It shows our team and certain individuals really stepped up and all improved this year. All the individuals who were chosen work extremely hard and really showed up this year,” Ivy said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Both Jesi and Eastman plan to continue working in the offseason to get better moving into next year, as Eastman feels the Panthers have improved each year to become one of the top teams in the state.

“Every year our team has become closer and more experienced. We have built a strong team where everyone works hard and supports each other,” Eastman said. “As we’ve gained confidence and developed together, we’ve put ourselves in a better position to compete for a championship each season.”

“I’m really proud of what our team accomplished this year,” Jesi added. “Individual awards are exciting, but they wouldn’t be possible without great teammates, coaches and support from family.”

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS

Rounding out the postseason honors for the Panthers were junior Ava Gilliatt and freshman Aspen French.

Gilliatt played along the frontline for the Panthers, creating a number of opportunities while chipping in eight goals to earn her first postseason honor.

French played primarily through the midfield for Powell, but was the team’s second leading scorer with 14 on the year.