The game of soccer has seemingly always had a reputation of being low-scoring. That was until Ella Petrosh came along.
The Holy Spirit High School senior has already broken one of her school’s scoring records this season and is eyeing up another as she continues to bury goals at an incredible rate.
On Oct. 13, Petrosh sailed past the Holy Spirit girls soccer program’s single season record of 34 goals, which was set by Christine Conaghy in 2016. Coincidentally, Conaghy returned home to coach the Spartans this year and has witnessed her own record getting smashed by Petrosh. No hard feelings between player and coach, at least according to Petrosh.
“She’s happy for me,” Petrosh said with a laugh. “But we were both shocked because nobody thought I was going to beat the record in that game.”
There’s a good reason for that. Petrosh was still four goals shy of tying the record entering the Oct. 13 matchup with Our Lady of Mercy Academy in the first round of the Cape Atlantic League Tournament. She scored six goals, as the Spartans pulled off an adrenaline-filled 9-7 victory over the Villagers to advance to the semifinals.
Petrosh has given OLMA nightmares this season, scoring 14 goals in three meetings with the Villagers despite all three games being tight outcomes. Petrosh’s increased scoring against the Villagers is eye-opening, but she’s been going hard at the rest of South Jersey, too. Through 14 games, Petrosh has scored at least one goal in 12 appearances. In nine of those games, she’s walked away with at least a hat trick. At that pace, Conaghy’s record never stood a chance.
“Something just clicked in me,” Petrosh said. “Every game, every practice, I give it my all and I just put it all out on the field. And it’s been working.”
Once she got off to a hot start, Petrosh said she researched the single season record and was surprised to find out that it was actually her new coach that held it, although she was well aware of Conaghy’s talents.
“When Alicia [Downey] was the coach, we would have alumni games and [Conaghy] would always come, and she was amazing,” Petrosh said. “I was intimidated by her. So I knew who she was, and I knew she was a good player. I was really excited for her to be our coach.”
Conaghy also holds the Holy Spirit career scoring title with 82 goals. Heading into an Oct. 16 matchup with Millville, Petrosh needed eight more goals to tie it. The Spartans also have a regular season game with Mainland, the semifinal round of the Cape Atlantic Tournament against Ocean City and at least one state playoff game with the possibility of several more if Holy Spirit can go on a run.
Petrosh is optimistic to break the next record but said she’s kicking herself because of a slow start her freshman year. “I got varsity time, but I didn’t score any goals. I’m making up for it now.”
To Petrosh’s credit and unselfish nature, it’s not
all about scoring goals. Holy Spirit is 12-2 through Oct. 15, and there have been several times when the Spartans are comfortably ahead. That means Petrosh comes off the field, and she’s perfectly fine with it.
“Even when we’re killing teams and the JV girls go in, it’s still fun, and we’re still supporting everyone,” Petrosh said. “I want to give the girls who don’t get much playing time a chance, too. … I’m happy to support the other girls.”
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