Highlands Ranch – Like many students, Mountain Vista sophomore Chelsea Stewart has a little notebook full of useful information.
Although she has a 4.0 grade-point average, Stewart’s notebook doesn’t have theorems, important dates in history or notes about Shakespeare.
Stewart’s little notebook is full of advice from U.S. national team coaches on how she can improve her game and become a top talent.
The constructive criticism – heading the ball better and finding the easy pass – is Stewart’s passport to another world, one she got a glimpse of earlier this year while touring Italy with the Under-16 Region 4 squad.
“It was definitely a trip of a lifetime,” Stewart said. “It doesn’t happen twice.”
Of course, catching lightning in a bottle twice is what Stewart and her Mountain Vista teammates are all about.
The surprise state champions last year in their first season in Class 5A, the Golden Eagles (12-1-2) are ranked No. 3 in The Denver Post/9News poll and have sufficiently debunked the notion they are a one-hit wonder.
And after a relatively quiet freshman season, Stewart appears poised to become something of hit.
Considered boring by soccer standards a year ago for playing a defensive game, the Golden Eagles have opened up and turned loose their speed and skill players, such as Brooke Lamphere, Mindy Daines, Karter Haug and Stewart, who has blossomed from a freshman wallflower into a stronger – and taller – player.
Quick and crafty, Stewart can score goals with both feet, has great passing vision, lateral movement and instincts, and is beyond her years when it comes to managing the flow and tempo of the offense.
Also mixed into Stewart’s game is a healthy dose of humility. That’s why Mountain Vista coach Theresa Echtermeyer can’t help but liken Stewart to Aleisha Cramer, the Gatorade player of the year in 1999 and national team standout whom Echtermeyer helped guide to two state titles while coaching at Green Mountain.
“She has an unbelievable amount of humility,” Echtermeyer said of Stewart. “It’s almost embarrassing. But Chelsea gets that. She gets that it’s about the outcome of the team and that there are other players before her that were great players.”
Stewart’s increasing skill has allowed her to dip her toe in the U-16 national team’s regional pool. Although not in the main pool, such as Grandview’s Beth West, Stewart is in good position to make the jump.
“Working out extra pushed me to make me better,” said Stewart, who also worked on her fitness and played against boys to raise her game to the next level.
In March, her region team played three games in Italy, winning by a combined 18-0 with three goals from Stewart.
She played in Milan, Florence and Verona; she got to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Vatican and a Champions League quarterfinal soccer match at the legendary San Siro stadium, where Inter Milan defeated Spain’s Villarreal 2-1.
With that kind of jet-setting on her résumé, could one blame Stewart for being just a little impressed with herself?
Enter Emily Stewart, Chelsea’s older sister, best friend, hero and senior defender with the Golden Eagles, who will play next season at Arizona State.
“I’m just happy for her,” Emily said. “She deserves all of it. I’m just glad to be her sister and share this with her.”
That was clearly illustrated Tuesday, when Chelsea headed in Emily’s free kick to give Mountain Vista a 1-0 victory over city rival Highlands Ranch.
Together, the Stewart sisters offer honest evaluations of each other and encouragement. They also push each other to the limit, a competitive streak they might have inherited from their father, Bill, a University of Denver alum who played hockey with the Canadian national team and was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars.
“At practice, we know when to stop,” Chelsea said. “In the car, that’s a different story.”
Emily Stewart is one of four college-bound seniors for the Golden Eagles, along with defender Mary White (Colorado), Lamphere (DU) and midfielder Adrea Johnson (School of Mines).
Haug, a junior midfielder, has verbally committed to the University of Southern California, a team that includes former ThunderRidge midfielder Shannon Dickerson.
Chelsea Stewart will get plenty of Division I attention after this season when colleges can contact her firsthand. She already has been invited to a camp at UCLA.
And while all these trips and moments are likely to fill their own notebooks in Stewart’s life, she is more focused on doing her part to get the Golden Eagles back to the state championship game.
“She is one of the those special players that is in the right spot when you need her,” Echtermeyer said.
