Dreher girls soccer forward Kasey Parker is S.C. Gatorade Player of the Year

After scoring five goals in the Class 3A girls soccer championship game, Dreher forward Kasey Parker was selected as the S.C. Gatorade Player of the Year.

The junior scored 59 goals with 10 assists in the season, but she will not accept sole credit for the success.

“I’m very honored to be selected Gatorade Player of the Year, but I consider that award as going to my whole team,” Parker said. “The number of goals I have, all those goals weren’t scored just by me. None of them would have been possible without my team.”

“Honestly, I do a lot of what I do for my teammates. We really love working together, and being able to play with such a talented group of girls really inspires me to work harder,” said Parker, who has verbally committed to South Carolina.

Coach David Kleinfelder said, “Kasey’s a really good teammate. She just really enjoys playing with her teammates and they enjoy being on the field together.

“She doesn’t make a big deal of herself, but I think they recognize that she’s a phenomenal talent,” he said.

Parker, a three-time all-state player, also was chosen Class 3A Player of the Year by the S.C. Coaching Association of Womens’ Sports. In her career, Parker has scored 139 goals for the Blue Devils – 38 as a freshman and 42 in her sophomore year. This season, Parker is the state’s scoring leader. Allie Young of the Governor’s School scored 54 goals this season.

He said Parker’s speed and footwork with the ball are part of what makes her a standout player.

“She’s done some things where, standing on the sidelines, my jaw just drops. She’s creative with the ball and what she wants to do, and she can do things you don’t see often,” Kleinfelder said of his striker.

Parker said she sometimes does not know how she does what she does either.

For instance, Parker helped the Blue Devils to a 7-2 win for the state title on May 15, but all she could remember after the game was “getting a really good through ball from a teammate.”

“After the game, I had to watch the highlights to know how some of the goals happened,” she said.

Parker’s goals may appear automatic, but they are not effortless. Soccer is a four season sport for Parker, and it shows on the field.

“I really have to do extra to stay on top of my game, and I don’t really do anything else,” Parker said. She plays with South Carolina United in the fall, and with the exception of last summer, participates in the Olympic Development Training program in the summer. At home, she stays on the ball too.

Winning the state championship was a great payoff for all that hard work.

“It was a relief, like exhaling after inhaling all season,” Parker said.

Being named player of the year has made certain that Parker will not relax too long.

“It’s a lot of pressure, because I don’t want to let anybody down, but it’s also motivation not to slack off, to keep pushing forward, to keep working to make myself better,” Parker said.

“She works at it a lot, but I think the most important thing is that, this is fun for her. She’s always smiling because she just loves this so much,” Kleinfelder said.