Isabelle Rogers provides spark for Hazelwood West from midfield: Girls soccer spotlight (2024)

Isabelle Rogers knows her little superstition could lead to an embarrassing moment down the road.

Still, the senior midfielder for the Hazelwood West girls soccer team is not going to back down.

Rogers refuses to tie the shoelaces on her soccer shoes. She leaves the strings to bounce around as she zips up and down the pitch.

"It started by accident and then I had a good game and I thought, 'This is kind of working out,' " Rogers said.

So far, Rodgers has not lost a shoe while cranking up her deadly shot.

But that moment might not be too far down the road.

"Let's just hope it never happens," she said.

Rogers has been the driving force for the Wildcats (8-2). She tops the team with 16 goals and 12 assists. Her play from an attacking midfield spot has lifted the program to a new level.

Thanks in part to Rogers, Hazelwood West has completely turned around after an 0-13 campaign just three seasons ago.

"That's the best part because people look at us differently now," Rogers said. "They know they'd better be ready when they face us."

Rogers has scored three goals in three games this season and has a point in all eight matches.

Most importantly, she had added an extra punch to a veteran team that features 12 seniors.

And she does so with her boots not being totally secured.

"That's just her," said West senior forward Emma Sever, one of the Rogers' best friends. "She doesn't tie her shoes away from the field either."

Rogers admits it is a silly superstition. Those around her agree.

But no one wants to mess with the Wildcats' mojo at this point.

"I know that she knows how to tie shoes," said her mother, Kristin. "She just won't do it."

Rogers did not play her freshman season when the team went winless and was outscored 89-4. She had become burned out on the sport after seventh grade and decided to take a few years off.

But she missed her time on the pitch and came back as a sophom*ore.

Hazelwood West coach Michael Black immediately put Rogers on the back line, where she displayed an affinity for shutting down the opposition's top player.

Midway through last season, Black decided to try an experiment and moved her to the midfield spot with an emphasis on offense.

Rogers scored in her first game and has been unstoppable ever since.

"Shows how smart I am," Black joked of the initial choice to use Rogers in the back. "Not my best idea. But looking at her, you can tell, she can do almost everything out there.

"Now, she's right where she belongs."

Rogers had 19 goals and a team-best 12 assists last season to help West to a 17-5 record. She enjoyed the switch to a more offensive position.

"It was kind of a mutual decision, Coach just wanted to test it and see what happened," Rogers said. "I loved playing defense, but I've found my groove at attacking."

Rogers made the switch look easy. She said her biggest challenge was handling a new mindset.

"It's crazy how different it is," Rogers said. "Once I stated seeing things from a midfield perspective it was like, there's a lot more going on than there is when I'm just in the back.'"

Rogers, who had a .449 average as a leadoff hitter on the softball team last fall, is enjoying the Wildcats success over the past two seasons.

Hazelwood West's lone losses this season were a 3-2 overtime setback to Parkway North on April 8 and a 2-1 penalty-kicks setback Monday against Affton.

Rogers will continue her career at the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, where she plans on studying to be a physical therapist or trainer.

For now, she wants to close out her high school career in style.

The Wildcats will be in the ultra-tough Class 4 District 2 Tournament next month along with Nerinx Hall, Ursuline and Kirkwood.

"Just being able to compete with everyone we play has helped make this season something special," Rogers said.