Thirty goals in one season, 13 assists, first team all-district, all-region team. These are only a few of junior midfielder Paige Kirn’s accomplishments.

Even though the soccer season ended for the Wildcats, the awards earned by Kirn did not.

At the end of May, Kirn was named to the Class 2 District 3 first team. As of last week, she was also named on the Class 2 region 2 squad. Now, Kirn waits to hear if she will make the all-state team, something she has yet to accomplish. 

“I’m super honored for the awards,” Kirn said. “It really drives me to have success for my final season and I’m excited for next year.”

Head Coach Jacob Wallace praised Kirn for her leadership on and off the field. Off the field, Kirn leads the way communicating with other girls on the team. On the field, Kirn would go to her coaches with ideas on how the team can improve during a game. 

“For her to get awarded this when she’s been kind of a coach on the field is super deserving and I’m really happy for her,” Wallace said.

Wallace noted that throughout the season, he made the realization that the coach does not have as big of an impact during a game because the girls are constantly playing with only a halftime break. With Kirn on the field being able to clearly see everything going on, the coaches relied on Kirn to tell them what she saw.

“She sees things in a different way and brings us things at halftime that really seem to be beneficial to the team and has helped us succeed,” Wallace said. 

Kirn was the only Wildcat to receive an honor, ending her junior season with 30 goals and 13 assists. Kirn has scored 50 goals total in her high school career, which led her to breaking the school record with goals scored this season. 

“I’m hoping next year that I can exceed or be around the same amount of goals I had this year,” Kirn said.

Kirn, in addition to Wallace, would also like to achieve winning a district game and having a winning season, something the program has yet to have. 

“I know that’s a big goal for me and especially my coaches because it would just be exciting and something I am really hoping for,” Kirn said. 

Outside of Wright City, Kirn also plays soccer for Missouri Rush ECNL. While she will soon be entering her senior year of high school, Kirn is looking to get recruited to play collegiate soccer. 

She noted the differences between high school and club soccer, saying that in club she has played with her teammates for a long time, but in high school she has new teammates every year.

“I enjoy meeting new people and getting to learn their style of play and work with them,” Kirn said. “It’s nice to come together and figure out how we play together.”

Kirn is hoping to find out early next week if she made the all-state team. Until then, she will be focusing on next season and where she will play college soccer.