Last fall, Kelsie Hilton set aside her athletic career to focus on the most rigorous semester of her academic career.
Watching her Maine Maritime Academy women’s soccer team in its first season under new coach Seth Brown, Hilton could see that returning to the pitch would be nearly as great a challenge.
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She couldn’t wait to start.
Hilton, a former Monmouth Academy standout, returned to the Mariners this fall and has prospered in net. The challenges of playing for Brown, whom she compares to her former coach at Monmouth, Gary Trafton, have driven her to new heights as a goalkeeper and competitor.
“He’s definitely one of the best coaches I’ve had,” Hilton said. “He pushes us to our limits and he gets the most out of us. Last year, I watched this team go through a building year and this year has been a building year, and he’s trained us to strive and to work hard for what we want to accomplish.”
Hilton has impressed Brown and her teammates with her preparation and toughness and for seizing an unexpected opportunity.
Her first two years with the Mariners, Hilton split time between goalkeeper and midfield. When she sat out her junior season, Taylor O’Malley took over the keeper duties full time and was the incumbent for this season. But a hand injury and subsequent surgery ended the senior’s season well before it began,
After a year away from the sport, Hilton knew she would have to impress Brown to fill the unexpected opening.
“(Brown) had never seen me play, so I really wanted to prove to him that I could play,” said the marine biology major. “I wanted to really prepare myself for the season.”
It didn’t take long for Hilton to win the starting job. When she did, it seemed like she never left.
“She took command,” Brown said. “She stepped in like it was her role right from the beginning and didn’t miss a beat.”
A 2-1 comeback win over Becker College in the season opener showed just how ready Hilton was to anchor the Mariners in net.
“That game proved what our team is capable of and what I’m capable of and what coach has seen in me,” said Hilton.
One week later, Hilton and the Mariners shut out University of Maine-Presque Isle, 1-0.
Hilton has started all 12 games, posting a 1.91 goals against average. MMA has struggled to a 3-9 record (1-5 in the North Atlantic Conference), but four of those losses have been by a 1-0 score. The Mariners have played in eight one-goal games overall.
“Kelsie has done a really good job,” Brown said. “She’s a very good shot-blocker. She’s good at communicating with the people in front of her.”
“I talk a lot back there. It helps me stay focused in the game,” she said. “It’s been good, especially this year, having the backs come and talk to me. The communication between me and the defensive players has been superb, which is really great because you know your teammates are there for you. You know they’ve got your back.”
Last week, Hilton injured her left shoulder in a collision with another player as she made a save. While there was no structural damage, the lingering pain limited her time in a 4-0 loss at Colby-Sawyer last Saturday. Hilton hopes the week off the Mariners have before a key NAC match at Thomas College this Saturday will get her back close to 100 percent.
In the past, she may have wanted to nurse such an injury in order to be 100 percent for softball season. But MMA folded its softball team last year as part of a restructuring plan.
While Hilton, who was the Mariners’ starting third baseman, is actively working with administration to keep softball going as a club sport at MMA, she won’t hold anything back for the rest of the soccer season.
“I can do it,” said Hilton, who plans to use her one remaining semester of athletic eligibility next fall with the Mariners. “The pain is in my head and that’s the only thing that’s stopping me.”
Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638
rwhitehouse@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @rawmaterial33
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