Quincy senior soccer player closing in on 100 career goals

Quincy High School senior Emily Wurl is a standout on the soccer team.

She has been a top scorer since she joined the team her freshman year and is making her mark by having a chance of being one of the first girls in the Quincy High School soccer program to reach 100 career goals.

Wurl said 100 goals seemed like a cool landmark for her to reach and she thought 100 would be the equivalent to the 1,000 points for basketball many players strive for.

“I think she’s the only one that has even reached 50, so this would be an amazing milestone,” head coach Francisco Tafoya said.

Wurl was at 90 total goals as of Wednesday.

She scored 26 goals her freshman year, 19 her sophomore year, 28 her junior year and 17 goals so far this year.

“I did not think it was possible at the beginning of my junior year, after having a bit of a letdown sophomore year and a shortened junior year,” Wurl said. “Somehow I ended up on track for my goal though.”

She explained the letdown her sophomore year was because she was in her head a lot and had a hard time finishing (goal) opportunities. She said she also played a lot of goalie that year because it was where she was needed. This meant her stats weren’t as good as her freshman year and she said she knew she was more capable than that.

Wurl said the goal isn’t at the forefront of her playing, but it gives her additional motivation. She also said even though a large part of her role on the team is to score, she also has other roles like playing a decoy, distributing or at times playing defensively.

Tafoya said he had already heard about Wurl’s talents as a freshman, but over the years he has gotten to know Wurl better and has observed her character, as well.

“Emily is one of the most dedicated players I have ever had the pleasure of coaching. She is smart, not just on the field, but in the classroom as well, so it has not surprised me that she is so close to this very historic milestone of 100 goals. This is a marker that as a coach never would’ve thought to see given the fact that this program has had its struggles in the past to where we couldn’t even reach 10 goals as a team for a season,” Tafoya said. “It just goes to show that all her years of hard work and determination from youth to where she is now, have been rewarded with this century mark that is within reach.”

While it is within reach, it is not going to be so easy for Wurl.

“The struggle continues, as I am currently dealing with another injury, but I still believe the goal is far from out of reach,” said Wurl.

There are four scheduled games left for Quincy. The next match is against Othello on Saturday.

The Lady Jacks’ record is 2-2 in their conference and 6-3-1 overall.