STARKVILLE — Cailee Helen McClain was already resting, sipping of a post-match Gatorade and receiving congratulatory messages from her teammates.
It’s not every day a high school soccer player scores three goals in a match to lead a team to victory.
On this day, though, it happened twice.
While McClain, a forward for Starkville High School girls soccer team, was cooling down last week after a win at New Hope, Caleb Gwaltney was just getting started.
Also an attacking forward, Gwaltney put on a show, scoring three goals to help Starkville High’s boys earn a 6-1 win.
For their efforts, combining for six goals on one night, the Starkville High standouts are co-recipients of The Dispatch’s Player of the Week award.
“It is well deserved,” Starkville High girls coach Anna Albritton said. “They are both outstanding young players.”
While they accomplished the same feat, the duo did so in different ways.
McClain scored her goals by showing remarkable patience and touch around the net. Called a “finesse player who is so offensively gifted” by Albritton, McClain didn’t stop with the hat trick Tuesday night. On Saturday, when New Hope returned to Starkville, McClain scored two more goals in another Starkville win. For the week, the talented junior striker had five goals.
“I guess I just got into a zone,” McClain said. “It was my teammates getting me the ball in great situations, putting me in one-on-one spots with the keeper. They did a lot of the hard work.”
But McClain finished, and she has been finishing all season for the Lady Jackets (6-5-1), leading the team in goals.
“She’s very naturally talented and she works hard, so it’s a little bit of both,” said Albritton when asked if McClain’s goal-scoring ability comes naturally or through hard work. “She really leads by example. We are a very young team, and she has stepped her game up so much this season.”
McClain’s offensive explosion was partly due to a return to a more comfortable position. For several games, to compensate for an injury to a teammate, McClain started at center midfielder. That meant instead of heading straight for the goal and using her scoring gifts, she was tasked with controlling the ball and keeping Starkville’s attack in line. But against New Hope, the injured teammate returned, and McClain returned to striker.
She loved it.
“It’s where I feel the most comfortable,” McClain said. “I felt like I could help the team at center mid, too, but at forward, I just feel more natural. It’s instinct, I guess.”
It showed, as McClain scored early and often against New Hope.
“We had her in the middle because she’s such a good ballhandler and she helped our team,” Albritton said. “But once we moved her back, she just exploded. You could tell how happy she was to be back up top.”
While McClain’s week had a happy ending, the story was different for Gwaltney. While his week took a bad turn, the hat trick at New Hope made the accomplishment even more impressive.
A senior who leads the team with 17 goals, Gwaltney scored three goals with a broken collarbone, an injury he suffered in the game against the Trojans.
“On the first goal, the keeper came out and slid under me and I landed on my shoulder,” said Gwaltney, who had his arm in a sling during the interview. “I think I hurt it then, but we checked it and there weren’t any breaks, so I kept playing and I scored again. Then I scored the third time, and I had to jump over the keeper to finish the goal. When I landed, I think that’s when it broke.”
Despite the injury, he still scored half of Starkville’s six goals, notching a hat trick for the third time this season.
“It was disappointing the way it ended,” Starkville coach Brian Bennett said, “but he did a heck of a job.”
The injury, which will sideline him for four weeks, has been the only thing that has slowed Gwaltney. An attacking forward who relies on his athletic ability, Gwaltney’s speed sets him apart.
“His speed is unique,” Bennett said. “He can really put pressure on a defense, and he gives us a great weapon outside.”
Gwaltney agreed.
“I guess that’s the best part of my game,” Gwaltney said. “I just try to get to the front of the net as quickly as possible. A lot of times, my speed helps me get into one-on-one situations with the keeper, and I try to win all of those.”
Gwaltney hasn’t lost many. Averaging more than a goal per game this season, he has been key to Starkville’s hot start. He also hopes to be a key to the team’s championship aspirations. His recovery timeline puts him back in time for a possible appearance in the North State championship match.
If Gwaltney is unable to return, his knack for scoring has put Starkville in a position to succeed. Bennett said Gwaltney has “a natural ability to put pressure on a defense.”
Gwaltney, who said he has spoken with several colleges, including Alabama-Birmingham, about continuing his soccer career, hopes he will have at least one more game with his teammates.
“I want to get back out there,” Gwaltney said. “Hopefully, we make it that far as a team and my recovery goes well.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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