Edwardsville girls soccer stars ready themselves for college play

EDWARDSVILLE – Edwardsville's girls soccer team is sending five players to the next level.

Those five players and the schools they are going to are Allysiah Belt, heading to Missouri-St. Louis in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference; Abby Crabtree, heading to Purdue in the Big Ten; Taylor Hansen, who signed with Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey; Mallory Mushill, who signed with SIU-Edwardsville in the Ohio Valley Conference; and Ashlin West, who will be attending Illinois-Chicago of the Horizon League.

Crabtree's reasons for deciding on the Boilermakers in West Lafayette, Ind., weren't entirely soccer-related. “Not only is it going to challenge me academically, but in the sports area too,” Crabtree said. “That's exactly what I was looking for.”

Purdue's reputation is stellar; among their alumni include the late Neil Armstrong and the late Gene Cernan, who were the first and last men to walk on the moon. “Actually, a few of the girls just recently went to NASA to tour; they're astronomical engineers and they're on the soccer team,” Crabtree said. “It's going to be great to work with girls who aspire to work just as hard in soccer, but also in their academics.”

Crabtree plans to major in biology and be in the pre-med program. “It's going to be hard, but I'm fully ready for it.”

The Boilermakers' coach, Drew Roff, will be starting his second year with the program after a stint as head coach at Illinois State; Crabtree is part of Roff's first full recruiting class and is excited about the possibilities for Purdue. “He has a lot of expectations for us; there is a lot of pressure there, but I'm ready to live up to it,” Crabtree said.

Mushill selected SIUE for several reasons. “I loved the coaching staff,” Mushill said. “It's close to home, the school is awesome; I love Edwardsville. I think it was a good choice for me because watching them play matches how I play.”

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Mushill is planning on majoring in either nursing or something in the biology field, possibly genetics. “I'm not sure yet,” Mushill said.

Being able to play soccer in her backyard is a plus for Mushill. “My family will come out and watch me play; it'll be nice not having for them to travel far,” Mushill said.

Mushill hopes to play some semi-pro soccer after her college graduation, but Crabtree's soccer career will come to an end following her graduation from Purdue; she'll be attending  med school. “Soccer will be in my past and I hope to make it the most memorable four years of my life,” Crabtree said.

“These girls have been with the program for all four years,” said Tiger coach Abby Comerford. “They're practically my kids; watching them sign and move on to the next chapter, it's a huge deal.

“All the girls are their own individuals; it's the case that they're all going to where they need to go. They're all going to big schools that are the right fit for them. Being able to see them move on to the next chapter, it's huge.”

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