Abby Kerns didn’t think she stood out amongst her Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference competitors, but those same teams clearly thought otherwise.

It may have been a tough year for the Lady Hubs varsity soccer team and for Kerns, who spent most of her high school career as an attacker but was tasked with anchoring Rochelle’s defense this season, but the senior’s hard work and leadership paid off in the end, as she was the only Lady Hub recognized as an All-Conference First Team player by the NIB-12. Teammates Celeste Almaraz and Nancy Torres each brought home All-Conference Honorable Mentions for their efforts this year.

“I was pretty surprised when I heard my name called,” Kerns said. “After coach [Chris] Blevins called my name and explained why, I felt appreciated… I was definitely a strong defender throughout the whole season. I played the same position most of the time, so I knew what was going on.”

A four-year varsity player, Kerns helped the Lady Hubs take off to an unexpectedly strong start this season, with Rochelle winning over Mendota and LaSalle-Peru while drawing Indian Creek, Hinckley Big-Rock and Ottawa. Things became much for difficult for the Rochelle girls down the stretch, which included a 10-0 loss to the Sycamore Lady Spartans in regional play, but Kerns strived to remain positive, and her role as a team captain shined through.

“I felt like I was a strong leader for the team by helping my teammates out with knowing where to go and what to do,” she said. “I always tried to make sure I was setting a good example for the underclassmen whether it was on the field or in the classroom. I improved the most when I was a freshman and a sophomore because I always had to go against older and stronger girls. Almost every practice was an improvement though because we were always challenging each other.”

Kerns is one of five seniors leaving the program, and her plan is to study nursing at Kishwaukee College. With a young and somewhat inexperience group coming up, Kerns said she had some doubts about how the season would go, but she also said she was happy with how the girls competed.

“We thought it was going to be rough due to not having many very experienced players on the team,” she said. “We still tried our hardest on the field for every game whether we were tired or not, and we gave it our all even if we knew we were going to lose… I will miss the team because the girls are my family away from home, but they all know I’ll be there to cheer them on at future games.”