The journey started four years ago, where seniors Noelle Preast, Addison White, Olivia Small, and Keira Russell went to tryouts in the middle of COVID-19. With the world being in a full pandemic, these four players started their high-school soccer journey in an atypical way.
Each of the girl’s journeys playing soccer goes beyond just a game or two. Relationships that impacted each player were formed on the field and off from March to June. Not only are there memories from a memorable game, but there are also pasta parties, funny moments, and much more.
Senior co-captain Olivia Small plans to attend Grand Valley in the fall to study Computer Science. Small started playing soccer at the age of five. Small has learned the importance of patience as well as how to continue to improve on and off the field.
“Throughout the years, I have learned how to be patient with the ball and how to persevere through tough times on and off the field,” Small said. “Another thing I learned was how to analyze what I did wrong during a game and how to improve on that for the next game.”
Senior co-captain Noelle Preast plans to attend Rochester Christian University. Where she plans on majoring in nursing and continuing her soccer journey in college. Her abilities as a midfielder have impacted the team overall during her four years on varsity. The idea of continuing her soccer journey was important to her, and she was grateful for the opportunity.
“I decided to play soccer in college because I have been playing all of my life, and I wasn’t ready to stop,” Preast said. “I chose Rochester Christian University because it’s a smaller school that has a good soccer program as well as a good nursing program for my future career.”
Senior co-captain Kiera Russell plans to attend the University of Michigan to study Architecture. Russell plays midfield making creative plays and she is not afraid to take shots on the net. Throughout her years on varsity, Russell has enjoyed the fun games with her teammates and having pasta the night before a game.
“During high school soccer, my favorite memory has been all for the pasta parties at Coach Carl’s house,” Russel said. “My favorite game that we played was Farkle, which was a blast.”
Senior Addison White is going to attend Purdue University and is majoring in Biomedical Engineering. The enjoyment of pasta parties and goofing off around her coach holds a good place in her heart.
“One of my favorite memories is going to pasta parties at my teammates and coaches house,” White said. “The funniest moment was gifting our Coach a goldfish as a housewarming gift.”
Coach David Moran has been coaching both the Utica girls’ and boys’ soccer teams for the past 23 years and has made a huge impact on the program by building the whole soccer program from the ground up. One of his favorite games this season was Stevenson, where there was a big win with a score of 3-2. This game had a lot of action, and he was excited about beating the MAC White champs.
“I was very proud of what the girls accomplished this season,” Moran said. “The group we had this year was a special group, that continued to work hard no matter what.”
The seniors hung up their cleats on March 22, 2025, after losing to Romeo 0-3 in the district competition. The emotions were clear as hugs were made, and tears were shed.
Seniors Olivia Small, Addison White, Keira Russel, and Noelle Preast were honored on Senior Night with posters made with their chosen college. (Graphic by Kara Boice)
