GIRLS' PREP SOCCER: Elizabethtown's Matherly signs with Morehead State (02/05)

Samantha Matherly is not the most vocal individual, especially not from the Elizabethtown Lady Panthers’ talented soccer program,

NATHANIEL BRYAN/The News-Enterprise

Elizabethtown High School senior midfielder/defender Samantha Matherly signed a national letter of intent to play soccer at Morehead State University on Friday afternoon in the EHS commons area. Seated, from left, are father Kevin, Matherly and mother Lisa. Standing are EHS girls’ soccer coach Jerry Crabtree and EHS athletic director Doug Barnes.

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What the senior midfielder/defender didn’t provide in voice, Matherly instead gave her team savvy, skill and speed – and a lot of it.

So while Matherly might be a quite individual, her play on the pitch was loud enough to have college recruiters hot on her trail. She rewarded Morehead State University for its recruitment Friday afternoon during a ceremony in the Elizabethtown commons area to play on the NCAA Division-I level with the Lady Eagles.

“I’m very excited about going off to college,” said Matherly, who signed her national letter of intent Thursday night and had her mother, Lisa, fax it off earlier Friday.

Matherly was also wooed by a pair of Georgia programs in Covenant College (Lookout Mountain) and the Savannah College of Art and Design. But she noticed Morehead State was tracking her when her Louisville-based Mockingbird Valley club team played in a prestigious showcase in Florida her junior year.

“After Disney, I started looking into Morehead a lot more,” said Matherly, who took her first visit to Morehead State in February 2011. “I loved it after that.”

Matherly has visited Morehead State’s campus three times since.

“It’s out of the big towns and it feels like home,” she said. “I love where it’s placed.”

It would be hard not to love what Matherly gave Elizabethtown in her four seasons, assisting 22 goals in her career and scoring 14 others. It didn’t matter if she was a rookie or a veteran, she had a habit of coming through in the clutch.

After Elizabethtown had blown a one-goal lead against Nelson County in the 2011 5th Region Tournament semifinals, Matherly scored the winning goal by bending in a left-side corner kick in the Lady Panthers’ 2-1 victory. As a freshman, she scored twice against Meade County – after receiving 10 stitches in her head a week earlier.

“Sam doesn’t talk a whole lot, but she is one of those unique players who have been blessed with great athleticism and technical skill in a humble package,” said former Elizabethtown coach Rob Zoeller, a Morehead State alum. “Sam is loaded with ability. Even as a freshman, she scored some big-time goals and made some big-time plays. And even then you knew that if she desired to play at the collegiate level, then she was going to.”

Matherly played defender and wing for Elizabethtown and plays defense for Mockingbird. However, she said she’s been told Morehead State coaches see her as a forward because of her speed.

“I can see myself as a forward and I’m going to try my hardest at what I do, wherever he (Morehead State coach Warren Lipka) puts me,” said Matherly, an All-Area first team selection and an All-Region tournament team pick as a senior. Matherly said. “I think I need to work on my one-on-one ability and being able to take people on a lot more.”

Matherly was also a soccer All-Area honorable mention as a junior and freshman and a track All-Area honorable mention as a freshman.

Morehead State won the Ohio Valley Conference title three straight seasons before finishing 11-8-3 this past season. The Lady Eagles graduate seven players, including one goalkeeper, two midfielders, two forwards and two defenders.

According to ESPN.com, Matherly is 1-of-8 signees or verbal commitments for Morehead State’s incoming freshman class.

Nathaniel Bryan can be reached at (270) 505-1758 or at nbryan@thenewsenterprise.com