Claire Petersen is always one of the smallest players on the soccer field.
But it doesn’t take very long to notice the 5-foot-3 dynamo who patrols the midfield for the Hermon High School girls soccer team.
She is a fierce but composed competitor who has been transformed from distributor to goal scorer this season under first-year coach M.J. Ball.
Ball has coached her since she was 12 and playing for the Seacoast United club team.
“If I had the ability to clone one player, it would be Claire from a character standpoint as well as a player standpoint,” said Ball. “She is so humble and nice. She’s such a great kid.”
On the field, Ball calls her the “ultimate athlete.”
“She has a competitive nature, skill and a high soccer IQ. She also has that drive. A lot of players who have that kind of ability will take some time off and let the other players do it. Not Claire. She’s everywhere. She’s the Energizer Bunny. There is no quit in her, which is awesome,” said Ball. “I truly believe she should be an All-American.”
The senior midfielder recently was named the Penobscot Valley Conference’s Co-Player of the Year with Mount Desert Island’s Opal Curless.
After scoring 11 goals last season, Petersen has more than doubled that this season with 23. She also has notched 14 assists.
Ball said that he had to convince her to shoot more this season and it has paid off.
“I told her there is nothing wrong with being selfish as long as it’s not constant. I wanted her to take over a game and have more of an impact and she has certainly done that,” Ball said.
“He told me he would never get mad at me for shooting,” said Petersen. “The more you shoot, the better chance you have to score goals. And my teammates have been setting me up for shots. I never expected to score this many goals.”
Ball knows that even though he encourages her to shoot, she also will make the right decision and pass to a teammate who may be in a better position to score.
“She has the ability to read the game and understand the situation. She can get out of pressure with her first touch. She knows when it’s time to dribble and when it’s time to pass. The same with shootingwise,” Ball said.
Presque Isle coach Ralph Michaud has seen Petersen’s unselfish play.
“She is very composed with the ball. In our [Eastern Maine Class B semifinal on Saturday], we were down 2-1 and trying to tie it up. It seemed that every time they cleared the ball, it went to her and you know she’s not going to make a mistake with it,” Michaud said.
Petersen loves soccer and began kicking a soccer ball when she was 2 and began playing on a team when she was 4 or 5.
“It has always been fun for me and I love playing on the team. My teammates are great,” she said.
She is tenacious and fearless on the ball and rarely loses one-on-one battles even though she is small.
“She may be tiny but if you hit her, you feel it. She’s pure muscle,” said Ball.
“I don’t have any fear going up against bigger players. I don’t feel like a small person,” said Petersen. “I love to compete. Sports are my life. It’s what I love to do.”
She is a point guard on the basketball team and she helped the Hawks win the Class B softball state title last spring. She was their sure-handed second baseman and speedster on the bases.
“That was cool,” said Petersen, who hopes to play college soccer.
Petersen has played an important role in Hermon’s rise to prominence.
The Hawks won the EM Class B crown two years ago and lost to Waterville 2-1 in double overtime in last year’s EM B final.
The 15-1 Hawks and 16-0 Panthers will meet again in Wednesday’s EM title game at 2 p.m. at Thomas College in Waterville.
Hermon graduated All-American Kaitin Saulter along with standouts Maddie Page and Molly Roy off last year’s team.
“I knew we had talent and that we’d be good but it has surprised me how well we’ve done,” said Petersen.
She said that a lot of players in supporting roles last season have “stepped up” and been important contributors in more prominent roles this season. They’ve also added impact freshmen including Alex Allain, who scored all three goals in the 3-1 semifinal win over Presque Isle.