Freeport grad Thomas helps Chatham women’s soccer maintain streak of PAC final appearances
Share this post:
To mount a defense of its Presidents’ Athletic Conference title, the Chatham women’s soccer team needed to replace several key defenders who graduated. Defense was one of the primary reasons for the Cougars winning the 2020-21 title: They shut out seven of their 11 opponents last season, which was shortened and played in the spring because of covid-19.
Chatham’s defense picked up right where it left off, allowing only 16 goals in 17 matches this fall. In the PAC Tournament, they shut out Geneva and Grove City en route to an appearance in their third straight title match.
Defense wasn’t the order of the day in Saturday’s final. After a scoreless first half, Chatham and top-seeded Westminster combined for six goals to end regulation tied 3-3. Chatham eventually got the winner in the second overtime to earn its second consecutive title.
Freeport graduate Hannah Thomas, as she had in every other match this season, started on defense for the Cougars in the championship game. She played 10 minutes before being forced out with a bloody nose.
Though her championship minutes were cut short, it didn’t diminish the role Thomas played in helping Chatham defend its title. Just a freshman, Thomas assumed a role at outside back — a spot left empty by the graduation of Kylie Redcay, an all-PAC honorable mention selection last season — and logged more than 1,200 minutes of playing time.
“Of course, I felt a lot of pressure, especially being a first-year,” Thomas said. “You have to work hard to claim a position on the field, and that’s a big role to fill an upperclassman’s shoes like that.”
Thomas admitted she was surprised to hear she would be in the starting lineup for the Cougars’ opener. But if she felt pressure, she never showed it, said Chatham coach Betsy Warren.
Along with Thomas’ physical attributes, her attitude, Warren said, helped to make her an instant success.
“Hannah just from Day 1 has been consistent for us,” said Warren, in her 10th season at Chatham. “We always know what we’re going to get with her. She’s been pretty effective against some pretty tough competition.
“She’s very coachable. She takes what we give her and runs with it. She doesn’t show any arrogance, but she also doesn’t show any self-doubt that she’s not capable of doing it.”
Thomas did not grow up as a year-round soccer player. She never played on a club team. And in the spring, she would run track for Freeport, competing in the 400-meter run and 1,600 relay.
That speed helped to make her effective on Chatham’s back line.
“My physicality I brought from high school definitely helped me on a college level,” she said. “And just having a defensive mind set and being able to hold a defensive shape because that’s very important within our team.”
Thomas is pleased with the way she fit into the Cougars’ defense, but as she grows into the college game, she is hoping to become a more well-rounded player. Specifically, she wants to help jumpstart the offense by being more aggressive in pushing the ball up the pitch.
First, she and her teammates will turn their attention to the NCAA Division III Tournament. And regardless of what happens there, she and the Cougars already have had a successful season.
“It’s very exciting. All our hard work has paid off,” she said. “With every team, there’s ups and downs to get through, and to put in that much work and see those results is important.”