SYRACUSE — Immediately following Lone Peak’s victory over Syracuse in the semifinals of the 6A girls soccer state tournament, played on Oct. 16, Lone Peak head coach Shantel Jolley fielded questions from local media.
Completely unprompted, she brought up Caroline Stringfellow.
“Obviously we’ve heard everything about Caroline and know how good she is,” Jolley said.
The same thing happened following last year’s 6A state championship game.
American Fork defeated Syracuse that day, and while celebrating his team’s victory, American Fork head coach Derek Dunn made sure to mention Stringfellow in his postgame interview.
Layton’s Tara Ferrin, Davis’ Souli Phongsavath, you name a coach whose team defeated Syracuse in either of the past two seasons, and that coach made a point of talking about Stringfellow (To be clear there aren’t many teams that have downed the Titans of late. Syracuse has lost just five games in two years, to Lone Peak, Davis (twice), Layton and American Fork).
Everyone involved in high school girls soccer knows just how good, how talented Caroline Stringfellow is, and if they don’t know, they learn quickly upon playing the Titans.
It is for that reason that she is considered the best girls soccer player in the state.
It is for that reason that she is the Deseret News’ 2018 Ms. Soccer.
“She is just incredible,” Syracuse head coach Taylor Allen said. “She is the best player in every game. She is skilled enough that she can play any position. She has it all, the shots, assists and through balls. There are some goals, they’re Caroline goals, she’s the only one taking and making those.”
Stringfellow burst onto the scene in 2017 as a freshman, winning the designation of 6A MVP in part because of her 29 goals scored and 32 assists. She led the Titans to a 17-3 record, the best mark in school history, a Region 1 championship — a program first — and a berth in the state title game.
This year she scored 22 goals, a classification-best, to go along with 16 assists. The Titans finished 17-2 and were once again Region 1 champs.
And yet, this season was different than the first — more difficult, more trying.
A relative unknown the year before, Stringfellow faced double-teams in practically every contest.
“Once they knew who I was after last season, I saw them every game,” she said.
“Every team double-teamed her the whole freaking year,” Allen added. “She just got a totally different look than she had ever seen in her life. For as easy as the goals came last year, it seemed like she earned every one this year.”
She often changed positions, an adjustment necessitated by the increased attention paid to her.
You put her in any situation and she will fight, she doesn’t care what it is. Caroline has a competitive edge that very few girls have. She wants to win. – Syracuse head coach Taylor Allen
“We kind of slipped her back and forth, between attacking mid and center forward. Every time we saw a team double-team her we would throw her up top,” said Allen.
Sometimes that meant Stringfellow played on the right wing, other times the left. Each and every game she played somewhere new on the pitch, put in whatever position her coaches believed would be the most beneficial to the team.
“Her response was incredible,” said Allen. “She just accepted whatever we talked about, and we tried to put her in a position to thrive. She did great adapting to each game.”
Her versatility and adaptability showcased a resilient nature that was previously unneeded, or at the very least unnoticed.
“Resiliency is the right word,” said Allen. “It’d be tough to go into every game knowing that every team’s game plan was to be physical with you and double-team you. But that is who she is. She is the best player in every game. That is tough to do day in and day out, to be the best player and make a difference.”
Ultimately, that resilient spirit comes from Stringfellow’s competitive nature, a competitive fire that Allen believes to be her defining trait.
“Her real gift is she is the ultimate competitor,” he said. “You put her in any situation and she will fight, she doesn’t care what it is. Caroline has a competitive edge that very few girls have. She wants to win.”
That included winning the title of Ms. Soccer.
“I am really happy I got it,” said Stringfellow. “Really happy, but it wasn’t just me. I’ve had a lot of help along the way. My team played great this season, and I’ve had a lot of coaches that have helped me get here.”
With Ms. Soccer won, all that is left for Stringfellow is a state championship.
“That is the one thing missing from her ring collection,” said Allen. “She committed to BYU as a freshman, has been the 6A MVP, been a back-to-back region champ and now she is Ms. Soccer. All she needs is a state championship.”
“We’ll be back next year,” Stringfellow added, definitively. “We have unfinished business.”