Dixon’s Hailey Russell is The Daily News girls soccer offensive player of year

The senior is also his daughter. So imagine what it means to King that Russell is The Daily News offensive player of the year for this past girls’ soccer season.

“It’s really cool,” he said. “Hailey has never asked for attention and never sought it out. She gets her gratification from how we do as a team, but knowing she led the area in scoring, set a school record for points in a season and is getting the recognition she deserves … I’m proud to be her coach and even more proud to be her dad.”

Ask Russell what she will miss about playing under King and for the Bulldogs, and the midfielder/forward will say she will remember the bond she has with him as well as the relationships she formed with her teammates.

She plans on running for the cross country team at Barton College after she graduates.

“I’ll miss the team atmosphere,” Russell said.

But before Russell takes the next step in her life, she first can enjoy a senior season that earned her the offensive player of the year award as voted on by the coaches and the newspaper’s sports staff.

The N.C. Coaches Association 2-A all-state player was an overwhelming choice for the honor after she finished with 34 goals and 35 assists (103 points) to help lead Dixon to a 22-3-1 mark, a share of the Coastal 8 1-A/2-A Conference title and advance to the NCHSAA 2-A East Regional semifinal.

Russell is the first Dixon girls’ player to be offensive player of the year.

“My season was good, but as a team we played well,” Russell said. “We had a lot of younger kids step up.”

With Russell helping lead the way.

Russell was asked to do a lot this spring, not only because she was a senior, but also because of the amount of injuries the Bulldogs had this season.

Dixon played just three games with its entire starting lineup. While Russell didn’t miss a match, the team was without Anna Fretwell, who had 23 goals as a freshman in 2017.

But through it all, Russell didn’t get fazed.

“I really didn’t think about any of that,” she said. “I just went out and played.”

Russell certainly did, King added.

“Hailey put in a lot of work in the offseason, starting in October, and not only did she fill the voids, she exceeded our expectations,” he said. “She did this while playing multiple positions, left wing, attacking central midfielder and some as a defensive midfielder. She played anywhere we asked and she played them to her highest ability.”

Russell had three games where she had 3 goals and 3 assists. Overall, she had 23 games where she had at least an assist and 12 where she had a goal and an assist.

Russell said she wanted to produce more goals and assists after she recorded 5 scores and dished out 13 assists as a junior. Before she missed her sophomore season with an injury, Russell had 11 goals and 24 assists as a freshman.

One game in particular Russell said she will always remember came her senior year when she had 3 goals and an assist April 27 in a 4-2 overtime win at Richlands. It was a victory that helped the Bulldogs share the conference title with the Wildcats.

“That was a great game,” Russell said. “Coach (Kevin) Hicks said, to me either at halftime or before overtime that big players have big moments in big games. That really motivated me.”

But Russell’s clutch play didn’t stop in the regular season. She had 3 goals and 7 assists in four postseason games. Russell had an assist in Dixon’s 2-1 loss to Carrboro in the regional semifinal.

“Hailey is a very strong-minded player and a very smart, savvy player,” King said. “I knew she could handle different roles and tasks and the expectations and become an offensive leader for our team.”

courtesy : jdnews.com
photo :The Daily News

[social_warfare buttons=”Facebook,Pinterest,LinkedIn,Twitter,Total”]