McLean makes noise: Rams highlight All-County girls soccer team

Jun. 3—A small frame and a soft-spoken nature wouldn't suggest at first glance that Josie McLean would be a key goal scorer for Purnell Swett on the soccer field.

But once she stood on the field she had a commanding influence on the game — and after a strong freshman season McLean has earned Robeson County Player of the Year honors.

"It was a big surprise for me to win (this award)," McLean said.

"I expected her to do well, but I didn't expect her to do as well as she did," Purnell Swett coach Alaric Strickland said. "She exceeded my expectations with her play and how hard she worked. She just went for it from day one, and that carried over to the other girls, with how hard she was working and she was only a freshman."

The Rams' freshman forward/striker scored 21 goals, nine more than any other Robeson County player, and had 11 assists; this helped lead the Rams to a 12-8-2 record and a first-round state playoff appearance. She won tournament MVP honors at the Robeson Cup after six goals and three assists in two tournament games.

McLean's success comes with an fast and aggressive playing style on the field, juxtaposed to her off-field personality.

"When you're on the field, you have to be more aggressive, because if you're not the girls will kind of run over you," McLean said. "You have to be aggressive so you can get past the defenders and so they can't intimidate you either."

And the hard work shown by McLean rubbed off to her teammates.

"She's hungry when she's out there on the field, between the line," Strickland said. "Even in practice, she's the same way; she's going at it 110% the whole time, that's her nature. And when she gets off the field, boom, she's everybody's buddy and friend, but when she's on the field, she has her mind set to go hard the whole time."

While McLean didn't have the opportunity to play middle school soccer, with that program beginning just this spring in Robeson County, she credits a decade of participation with the Pembroke Soccer Association for making her the player she is today.

"It's been extremely important," McLean said. "I've been playing with them since I was 3, and they've taught me everything I know."

And that knowledge will suit her well into the future, with three years of high school soccer left with the Rams.

Goalkeeper of the Year

While Lumberton may have had a 5-14-2 record this season, goal prevention wasn't the reason why they struggled — instead, it's the reason for the five wins and two ties.

Diamond Harris had another solid season in goal, taking county Goalkeeper of the Year honors for the second straight year.

"When I went to our conference meeting it was pretty unanimous — all the coaches can see how good of a keeper she is and how much she's meant for us and keeps us in games," Lumberton coach Ethan Freeman said.

Harris had over 70 saves this season and six shutouts in goal. This includes back-to-back shutouts over 100 minutes late in the season in a pair of scoreless draws against South View and Seventy-First, shutting down United-8 Player of the Year A'Jaylah Yates (42 goals this season) in the latter.

"She was a big part of our team, a big part to what success we had this year," Freeman said. "She made us very competitive in games; against teams that were probably better than us she gave us kind of an edge."

While Harris was most often kept in goal due to her value at the position, she played multiple positions, and scored three goals this season while playing in the field.

Harris will play collegiately at Western Carolina starting this fall.

Coach of the Year

Purnell Swett coach Alaric Strickland described this season as a "pleasant surprise" for the Rams. Leading the Rams to the state playoffs after narrowly missing the field last year, Strickland has been named Robeson County Coach of the Year.

Strickland credits his team's chemistry — with a large senior class and a large freshman class coming together as a team — for this season's success, which included the Robeson Cup championship.

"That was very fortunate, that our seniors and our younger players meshed so well together, and all worked together to achieve the team goals they had set for each other," Strickland said. "It was great to see how hard they worked to achieve everything they wanted to accomplish."

This is the third straight season Strickland has been named girls Coach of the Year; he also coaches the Rams' boys soccer team.

"He's a really good coach because he will interact with the players on a personal level, he'll show you what you need to do, and he'll break it down for you individually," McLean said. "Because he knows everybody's a different type of player, and he really tries to understand you and he'll work with you and it's really good to work with him; he makes it easy."

All-County Team

*Anna Lowry, Sr., F, Purnell Swett — Scored 12 goals with 13 assists as a one-two punch opposite McLean.

Alexis Locklear, So., D, Purnell Swett — Strickland described Locklear as his "defender of the year."

*Raven Cummings, Jr., MF/D, Purnell Swett — Controlled the midfield for the Rams.

Kinslee Morgan, Sr., D, Purnell Swett — Scored eight goals with one assist.

Mia Brayboy, Jr., MF, Lumberton — Led the Pirates offensively with 11 goals and eight assists.

Morgyn Clay, So., STR, Lumberton — Scored six goals with three assists.

Laci Rozier, Sr., D, Lumberton — A team captain and the Pirates' defensive anchor.

Jennifer Mendez, Jr., F/MF, Red Springs — Scored nine goals for the Red Devils.

Sandi Garcia, Sr., MF, St. Pauls — The senior leader of a young Bulldogs team scored four goals with three assists.

* — denotes 2021 All-County selection

Honorable Mention

Purnell Swett's Ava Giles, Jahna Locklear and Wren Jacobs, Lumberton's Peyton Brooks, Anahy Carrera, Emerson Gist and Chloe Hammonds and Red Springs' Melany Sanchez and Monserrat Villagomez each earned honorable-mention selections.

The All-County team is chosen by The Robesonian sports staff with input from coaches.