Ashkettle inks with SSU soccer

Valley High School senior Lucie Ashkettle, seated second from left, announces her intention to play collegiate soccer at Shawnee State University. Seated with Ashkettle are, from left, father Matthew Ashkettle, mother Brandi Miller and brother Jakeb Ashkettle. Standing are, from left, Kade Glockner, grandmother Debbie Schuler, aunt Shelly Williams, club soccer coach Roger Murphy, club soccer coach Madison Belt, Shawnee State University women’s soccer assistant coach Chris Murphy, Shawnee State University women’s soccer head coach Natasha Ademakinwa, Valley High School soccer head coach Jacob Perry and grandfather Dean Schuler.

Paul Boggs | Daily Times

Valley’s Lucie Ashkettle (3), a multi-year all-Southeast District Division III boys soccer selection, was one of the top soccer players —both boys or girls —in not only Scioto County but all of Southeastern Ohio.

Courtesy of Patrick Phillips of Glory Days Photography

LUCASVILLE — Valley’s Lucie Ashkettle — playing amongst an overwhelming majority of boys — only kept kicking, only kept battling, and only kept collecting accolades, assists, goals and ultimate respect.

Now, Ashkettle is going up against soccer standouts of her same gender.

That’s because Ashkettle, recently and officially, announced her intention to play collegiate soccer —and stay close to home and Shawnee State University.

Ashkettle, and her fellow Valley teammate Elizabeth Brown, are now two of the newest members of the Bears’ women’s program — headed up by head coach Natasha Ademakinwa.

In her four years on the Indians’ pitch, the predominant wing and midfielder Ashkettle amassed 26 career goals and 28 career assists — as she was one of only a hand-count of females not only playing, but starting and contributing heavily against males twice her physical size.

She was first-team all-Southern Ohio Conference AND first-team all-Southeast District Division III for girls as a sophomore, but then her postseason awards were on the boys side as a junior and senior.

In both seasons, she was first-team all-SOC I AND second-team all-Southeast District Division III — as the Indians captured back-to-back SOC I championships for the first time since 2002.

Thus, that kept her from making all-Ohio by not officially being a first-team (all-district) honoree, but often times those lists are deemed meaningless — or even imaginary.

The truth is Ashkettle can flat out play —lighting up the boys pitch with girl power.

She was flanked at her signing ceremony at Valley High School by her parents Matthew Ashkettle and Brandi Miller, her brother Jakeb, Valley High School soccer head coach Jacob Perry, her club soccer coaches, Ademakinwa and her assistant coach Chris Murphy, and several other family members, friends and Indian teammates.

Ashkettle said besides proximity to Valley, and her family being able to watch her play on a regular basis, Murphy making the move to Shawnee State played a significant role in her decision to become a Bear.

She said she received interest from the Bears’ rivals of Georgetown College and the University of Rio Grande, but Shawnee State’s sense-making the most won the day out.

“A big reason I picked Shawnee was that my club soccer coach (Murphy) became the assistant there, and I really liked him as a coach. It’s close to home, it’s affordable for me, and I really think it’s a good place for me,” she said.

So too has been Valley, and even all of Southeastern Ohio.

Ashkettle and her family moved to Lucasville from Lewis Center near Columbus some 14 years ago —to be closer to her mother Brandi’s family.

She started playing soccer for a youth program at the age of three, then competed with a club team —the Lewis Center-centric Classic Eagles at the age of seven.

She also played for an all-girls club team based in Waverly —the Southern Ohio Chargers.

Her introduction to boys soccer, or even co-ed, came when she enrolled at Valley.

“When I moved to Lucasville I started playing on their youth teams in seventh and eighth grade. I had never played on a boys team or co-ed team until I moved here,” said Ashkettle. “I get a whole different experience of high school soccer than the usual high school girls soccer player does. I get to feel a different level of play and I think that’s unique.”

Of course, obviously, there is the highly-physical nature of the sport —and Ashkettle almost always in there amongst the boys battling for possession of the ball.

Never bashful about banging bodies, she has been knocked to the ground and even fouled hard a time or two — but she is well-aware that it comes with the territory.

“It was awesome, because I got to experience something that not a lot of people get to experience, even though around here it’s more common. I think it pushed me more and I was able to develop a new skill and having to be more than just a body on the field. I had to be more technical and push myself harder,” Ashkettle explained. “I knew I was going to get pushed around out there more than I wouldn’t, but I tried to play my game faster and be more technical. I couldn’t think I could go physically up against boys like that. I had to find other ways around that.”

She said she is “pretty confident I will be an outside wing there (SSU) as well, and maybe a forward or attacking mid (midfielder).”

Forwards, for those unaware, play the offensive position closest to the goal —and henceforth find their opportunities of goal-scoring much greater.

She said playing aggressive, and matching male physicality of high school soccer, should bode well for her on the collegiate pitch.

“I will be a lot more aggressive, because I had to be 10 times more aggressive when I was playing with boys,” said Ashkettle. “My physicality is much better than it was when I started and playing with girls. Playing with the boys only helped me be more physical.”

As a wing, Ashkettle scored 10 goals and registered seven assists as a junior —as the Indians excelled and advanced all the way to the Division III district championship tilt.

She was second on the squad as a junior in goals scored, and second as a senior in total points.

The Indians fell 4-3 in a shootout against Ironton St. Joseph in last season’s district semifinal match.

Ashkettle was also a member of the Indians’ unit which snapped Wheelersburg’s 27-match regular-season win streak at the time.

“Definitely beating Wheelersburg my junior year and winning the SOC twice the last two years, it’s just been awesome,” she said.

Perry — a Shawnee State alumnus himself — praised Ashkettle’s contributions to the Indian program, as he has coached at Valley for the past three years.

“Lucie is going to be an irreplaceable part of our program. It’s not been very common for a girl player to play much against boys, let alone start the entirety of my time here,” said the coach. “She was someone, for two years, who went under the radar and it was finally her senior year that people realized how good she was and paid much more attention to her. The soccer knowledge that Lucie has is insanely beneficial to what we wanted to do, as well as helping younger players be able to learn the system that we run. She was not a void-filler or just a number on the field filling a spot. She was one of our main leaders, a very integral part of everything we accomplished as a program for the past two or three years. I am very excited to see what she is able to do against competition equal to her.”

Off the field, and in the classroom, Ashkettle is undecided upon a major —but “is thinking about Pre Medicine or Secondary Education”.

But for sure, Ashkettle combines the soccer skill, experience, knowledge and even unique background that has her excited about exclusively women’s soccer at Shawnee State.

“Soccer is definitely special to me, I’m super-excited about playing at Shawnee State and what my future holds, and I am thankful for all my coaches and teammates that have helped me get here,” she said. “It means a lot.”