After going through nagging injuries that slowed her freshman season, Jenna Lang was determined to put it behind her.
Lang did just that and had one of the best campaigns in Columbus North girls soccer history as a sophomore. She led the Bull Dogs with 32 goals and had eight assists to receive the team’s Most Valuable Player honors, All-Conference Indiana and All-District first team honors and lead North to an 14-3 record and a Conference Indiana title.
Lang was poised to have a huge breakout season after putting in a lot of work and practice following her freshman year.
“I think my performance was a bit different this year because I’ve matured more and grown more and worked on certain skills that I may have wanted to work on from last year,” said Lang, this year’s The Republic Girls Soccer Player of the Year. “I think there definitely is an improvement from last year, but there is always more room for improvement.”
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Lang isn’t afraid to admit that she is one of her harshest critics, but coming from a successful family of soccer, it can be understandable.
Lang began playing soccer since she learned how to walk. She grew up watching her sisters Hayden and Addy dominate the soccer stage in high school. Hayden played at Columbus East, while Addy played for North. Both have left their mark with their success in high school.
Hayden and Addy played on opposite sides of the pitch in 2013 when Hayden was a senior and Addy was a freshman. The Olympians got the best of the Bull Dogs that year in 2013 with East beating North in the sectional championship. The Olympians eventually made it to the semistate that year.
Like Hayden, Addy also had to wait her senior year for her semistate appearance in 2016.
Even though Jenna Lang didn’t have the chance to compete with her sisters, being much younger, she had a front-row seat to see the success both of them have had.
“I would definitely like to add a sectional championship to my collection just so that we can all say that we did it,” she said.
Jenna Lang plays in the offseason for the Indy Premier Soccer Club, which is run by former Columbus Express Soccer Club Director of Coaching Kenrick Ramirez, and with the Indy Fire. She said that Ramirez has been one of her biggest influences in her soccer career since she started training in The Academy under the CESC with Ramirez when she was 7 years old.
“One of the things that I felt like made her an even stronger player this year was her offseason workouts,” first-year North coach David Young said. “Getting in the weight room, doing the speed and the agility work and bringing players in and getting them invested in the program, obviously, all those things helped her have a great sophomore year in scoring 32 goals. In most games, she was double- or triple-teamed, and to do it as a sophomore is a huge undertaking.”
Jenna Lang said a personal goal of hers this season was to try and break Addy’s high of 26 goals. She tied the mark against Bloomington South on Sept. 23 and broke it Oct. 1 against Batesville.
Jenna Lang’s 32 goals scored this year are the third-most in a single season behind Kayleigh Steigerwalt’s record of 39 set in 2010 and Lindsey Fox’s 37 in 2004. Jenna Lang’s 51 goals over two seasons is currently sixth on the all-time career list behind Steigerwalt’s 113, Fox’s 109, Addy Lang’s 60, Leah Sallee’s 55 and Kenadie Carlson’s 53.
“As the new coach at North coming in, with what I would argue is one of the toughest schedules in the state, and for a sophomore to score 32 goals, she did everything that I would want of her,” Young said. “Next year, we’re obviously going to ask a little bit more out of her, as well, given some of the players we’re going to miss, but I think she can do it.”
Several college coaches and scouts, some of which are in Division I, are looking at Jenna Lang. She said she has a few schools in mind, but where she wants to go could depend on the major she decides to pursue.
Jenna Lang will look to take on a much bigger role in the next two years at North.
“She is one of our hardest workers, and it makes my job as a coach much easier whenever one of your best players is also your hardest worker, and the other players see that and they want to rise to the occasion, as well,” Young said. “If she continues to progress, get stronger, continue to work with her teammates on the field, I have no doubt that she is going to be able to reach every goal that she sets.”
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The 2019 The Republic All-Area Girls Soccer team:
Jenna Lang, Columbus North: The sophomore led the Bull Dogs with 32 goals and had eight assists.
Lauryn Whitley, Columbus North: The junior scored four goals and led the Bull Dogs with 21 assists.
Nitya Chenanda, Columbus North: The sophomore had one goal and one assist and led a defense that allowed only 12 goals in 17 games.
Caroline Hollenkamp, Columbus North: The senior netted six goals and 12 assists.
Kaylyn Bates, Columbus North: The senior recorded 50 saves, 10 shutouts with an 0.97 goals-against average.
Lauren Barker, Columbus North: The freshman posted nine goals and five assists.
Lindsey Stoughton, Columbus East: The senior midfielder scored five goals.
Alana Dwenger, Columbus East: The junior led the Olympians with 12 goals and had four assists.
Emily Stiles, Columbus East: The senior had two goals and four assists and led a defense that allowed only 15 goals in 18 games.
Jaeda Berkermeier, Columbus East: The senior scored three goals and led the Olympians with nine assists.
Hannah Hemmerlein, Columbus East: The junior had one goal and helped lead a defense that allowed only 15 goals in 18 games.
Baylee Byford, Jennings County: The senior led the Panthers with 22 goals and 12 assists.
Kailene Cockerham, Trinity Lutheran: The sophomore led the Cougars with 17 goals.
Honorable mention
Brown County: Bella Hobbs, Izzy Rygiel. Columbus East: Maya Federle, Karisma Parker, Elena Stoughton. Columbus North: KJ Ely, Kate Kolhouse, Claire Lyvers, Rion Stevens. Jennings County: Emily Montgomery. Trinity Lutheran: Flossie Cooper, Emma Goecker.
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